The upward communication, from employees to management, is a communication system that encourages employees at the bottom of an organization's hierarchy to convey information to those above them.
Employees at the bottom of the organizational structure often have an invaluable perspective that can be capitalized on by communicating to those who can act on it..
Upward communication provides information about the needs, values, perceptions, and opinions of employees. This helps organizations select and tailor their programs and policies to meet the specific needs of their employees..
It enables managers to communicate goals through milestone planning, and team members are encouraged to create the necessary steps to reach those milestones on their own.
Communication plays a key role in the success of any program or policy in the workplace and serves as the foundation for psychologically healthy types of work practices..
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Upward communication is a process in which the members of the work team are invited to participate in each step of the management process..
The way in which the tasks are executed will depend on the work teams, and that is why they feel involved in the development of the project..
The most important characteristic is the influence that all team members have on how and when tasks will be completed..
The logic is that someone who is closely involved in a certain field will be able to better estimate what needs to be done and how long it will take. This leads to better approximations of the most important project deadlines and milestones..
Strong communication with team members is an absolute must. This requires a high level of confidence and comfort..
Not all team members may be confident enough to speak their minds in front of a group. However, to ensure the success of upward communication, everyone involved must be able to contribute to the project plan..
Each employee can help his manager, making him know his own opinion about his capabilities.
This allows a manager to take advantage of resources that he may not have been fully aware of, thereby maximizing his team's productivity..
It allows the grassroots employees of an organization to have a voice in the decisions that affect their working life. Consists in:
- Establish and supervise feedback systems that channel communication directly to the appropriate levels of the organization. Thus, everyone can be heard. Then facilitate responses to that communication in a timely manner.
- Communication channels can be: employee surveys, suggestion boxes, assemblies with workers, individual or small group meetings with managers, and an organizational culture that supports open and two-way communication..
- Prepare team members who have reservations to give suggestions and comments to direct supervisors. Also prepare management to foster a culture of open communication.
- Develop systems to measure how information is received, interpreted and executed by employees. Also measure how this better communication has helped the organization achieve specific objectives.
- Identify new ways to improve communication, both in channels and in content, as a result of feedback.
- It allows you to make decisions with a much broader set of knowledge. As each team member is involved, they contribute their own knowledge and unique experience in the tasks that need to be completed..
- It allows all levels of the organization to become part of the process, thus helping everyone feel an important part of the objective.
- Helps build high motivation and improve productivity. Employees are more open to work and try harder to achieve goals and objectives in the way that works best for them.
- It allows all the talents of the employees to be used. A lower level employee may have a unique perspective on how to solve a common problem.
- Allowing all employees to participate in decision-making has potential pitfalls. Participating in the process can obstruct employees and cause them to suggest too many untested ideas.
- With too much information, managers may have a harder time finding an effective plan to achieve goals. This can lead to the inability to choose a plan and stick with it, or to constantly alter processes and goals..
- Planning a project takes more time as more stakeholders need to be involved.
- In a highly competitive environment, employees may not completely separate their ego from the bigger goal. This could create significant divisions between employees and teams. Likewise, possible conflicts that could have a negative effect on productivity.
More and more companies are using the bottom-up communication style in their daily work. Companies like The New York Times, Ernst & Young and IBM are implementing elements of this communication style throughout their hierarchy..
Each of these companies offers unique methods to include employees at all levels of the decision-making process..
After 10 years of operation, the Container Store company opened a new store in Houston.
Sales exceeded expectations, creating the immediate need to communicate more clearly the company's values, in order to support the decision-making of new employees. Also, these values were not fully defined.
So Kip Tindell, president of the company, gathered all the employees of the Houston store. Meeting at the store manager's home, Tindell opened up a frank conversation. He thus shared the ideas he had about his main principles and values, which he had chosen since high school.
These ideas were received positively and eventually refined by its people, in what the company called its "fundamental principles." These values remain essential to the success of Container Store.
If Tindell had simply taken his principles and pasted them on store walls, you could bet that the adhesive at the core of the success in Container Store culture would not be as strong..
Engaging employees in an open and honest conversation gave them the opportunity to be more committed to acting in alignment with key values.
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