Communication, whatever the size of the company, means getting the resources and information needed to achieve the best possible productive results to the whole organisation. Poor information can wreck certain departments and cause the company heavy losses.
It is vital for management to pass on the information needed to pursue the objectives properly and, in the other direction, for information to travel from the bottom up: what comes in from outside, or from within the company itself, about the instructions received.
Communication can be internal or external. Internal communication takes several forms:
a) Downward communication, when the company’s management tries to get its plans and objectives across to middle managers so that they can pass them on to their subordinates.
b) Horizontal communication, when information is exchanged between levels with the same responsibility.
c) Upward communication, when subordinates make their aspirations known to their superiors.
Downward communication
This is information passed from the organisation’s top management down to the lowest rung of the company through the various communication channels. It aims to transmit orders and rules for the smooth running of the company and its business.
It is downward because the leader of the organisation passes information to middle managers through meetings or established systems; they in turn pass it to their team coordinators, who pass it on to their subordinates, and so on, depending on the size of the company.
The information sent through this channel includes:
- The company’s mission and vision
- The company’s medium- and long-term business objectives
- The instructions that follow from them for achieving those objectives or business plans
- The company’s image as presented to its employees
- Procedures and suggestions about the work to be done
- People-management measures
- Training procedures
- The characteristics of each job and its tasks
Upward communication
Complaints, grievances, suggestions or opinions expressed by the lower levels of the company to those higher up the chain of command. The aim is to learn about the concerns, aspirations, lack of motivation and difficulties of the organisation’s staff, starting from the lowest levels and passing through the middle ones until the information reaches the top, where solutions are decided.
This kind of information faces two major difficulties:
- Subordinates’ silence, or their fear of passing information on to their leaders, and
- The way middle managers handle the information they receive from their subordinates.
This can be avoided with established channels open to the entire workforce, such as surveys, polls, contact with the employees’ legal representatives and even complaint and suggestion boxes. These go hand in hand with a quality service within the company.
Horizontal communication
This takes place between departments, among people at the same level who support each other in providing joint services, whether internal to the organisation or aimed at meeting work objectives.
Its main drawbacks are rivalry between people, a lack of teamwork, and a lack of willingness and enthusiasm when it comes to passing on important information.
This information is shared through briefing meetings, teamwork or by rotating people between departments.
Featured image: Unknown author (scan: Seattle Public Library), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
