Make time for communicating
Even after the mission, vision and values
have been communicated and the majority
of employees are on board with where you
want to take your company, you still need
to set the example. That comes back to
spending time with your employees.
Whether it’s walking the halls, gathering a
group together for lunch or holding a scheduled meeting, you once again need to get
back to the basics of effective face-to-face
communication with your employees. But
you’ve probably discovered that becomes
increasingly difficult as your company grows.
Dawes says the time for personal communication won’t find you as your business
grows and more tasks end up on your desk.
You have to find the time yourself.
“It’s a matter of scheduling,” he says. “You put it on your schedule, then you follow
that schedule. It’s like anything else. If you
want to have face-to-face time with your
employees, you schedule that.
“The other part is, you need to have a philosophy of being available to your people.
If I go down to our cafeteria to eat lunch or
breakfast or what have you, I sit with the
staff. I talk to them; I don’t ignore them. I
eat with them, and I just have that conversation. That’s the way you find things out, a
way to communicate, maybe relay to them
some things you think they need to hear or
know about.”
When you are having these personal communications, there are a couple of things to
keep in mind.
“When you are with people, you need to
listen,” Dawes says. “Listening is a critical
factor in communication.
“Be consistent in what you are saying.
Don’t waffle on things or change all the
time. If you have a message, make sure you
are consistent in telling that message over
and over again.”
And while technology may be easier, it
doesn’t match the effectiveness of face-to-face communication.
“With today’s computer technology, it’s
easy to get caught up in that being the way
you communicate with everyone,” Dawes
says. “E-mail and related technology are
very good tools, and I’m thankful for the
technology we have. But it’s not a substitute for face-to-face communication, doing
it live and in person and having that type of
interaction with your people.” <<
HOW TO REACH: Hendricks Regional Health, (317) 745-4451
or www.hendricks.org
