What Happens When Communication Stops Flowing UP?

I found the following post (waaay down below my post. Look for "A Night Out In August") on a blog that I follow by April Dowling. She is both humorous and serious and always thought provoking. She works in the Birmingham, AL area and is aware of our company and I have communicated with her a few times via email. She is always helpful and eager to share her knowledge of the HR industry. Thanks, April, for your insightful and delightful musings. OH, crap. I was starting to sound like a blogger myself!

Seriously, though, her blog post brought back all the memories of our company of days gone by. We had regional and company-wide management meetings where everyone had a voice and a direct line of communication with the owners of the company. We had Club Navigator meetings where the company's tenured top performers and management got to share ideas but more importantly, got to know one another. The meetings fostered a corporate culture of family and camaraderie--we knew each other, we all worked together for the common good and we had each others' backs. As a result and perhaps more importantly, we all cared deeply about the company and its success which in turn guaranteed our own successes.

You've no doubt heard "United we stand, divided we fall". In those days, we were united and we could meet every challenge that lay before us but then, just as in April's story, we stopped the Navigator Club meetings and trips and we stopped the quarterly management meetings and eventually all company-wide meetings stopped--even the Christmas parties. And, just as in April's story, employee morale began to decline, the family fell apart and all we had left was a job.

Don't misunderstand me. I know we still have many employees who still care deeply about the company and its success, the difference is that no one knows it. There is no opportunity to share ideas, feelings, successes, and failures. The company is fractured with each region doing its "own thing" and mostly just keeping to itself. I think the monthly management conference calls have even stopped. I think that there is enough caring and compassion out there to bring us back to the glory days but we must act quickly to get everyone together, face-to-face, to reignite, rejuvenate, and reinvigorate the troops, to get everyone on the same page and plan, doing the same things, watching each others' backs and working as one. We should know everyone and be able to put a face with a voice. Heck, as small as we are there are still people who don't recognize a co-workers' name or voice much less a face. I know we are geographically spread but that is no excuse with today's technology and low cost of travel.

Let me be the first to admit that I'm guilty of every charge presented but I also believe that it is critical that we change our current culture and and reengage our staff and provide them the forum for the voice they need. If you believe as April does, as I do, that we need to take a chance and spend the money to reengage staff company-wide, make your voice heard. Post a comment, call your manager or Regional VP, heck, call an owner. The only place I disagree with April is I don't want to wait to work it into next year's budget--we need this now!

Night Out In August

Posted on August 5, 2009 by adowling

Way back in the day, I worked for a company that held an annual “Night Out In August”. Each department was given a budget and allowed to take their entire staff out to dinner to a place of their choosing. The only catch was the manager had a list of questions and topics to discuss with the staff and then had to give a written report to the CEO. These questions were things such as XYZ Company is considering adding a new widget to its product list, what do you think about this?

I loved “Night Out In August”. Not only did it give us a chance to share our ideas for product lines, services offered, marketing ideas but it gave us a voice to the CEO.

Sadly, when things started going south this was one of the first things to go. It was greatly missed by all employees.

I found it an interesting observation; after the program ended, employee morale started declining, rapidly. Employees felt their voice was unheard and many felt they didn’t know what was going on in company. I must admit I was one of those people – pre HR days.

Fast forward to present day….

I’ve considered presenting the same type plan to my current employer but I’m a bit hesitant. The cost of the program can run rather high, especially when the department head count reaches 20. I think it would be a great plan to increase employee engagement.

When employees see their ideas become reality, and they receive credit for the idea from the top, it is a huge motivator. I think the cost would be worth it, the hard part is selling it to the Corporate types; to be included in next year’s budget of course.