Cascade communication
If you run a large organization such as Tata Technologies, daily communication might not be as simple as walking the halls or pulling people aside for spontaneous chats. With a 4,200-employee worldwide presence, Harris’ communication methods are more formalized than might be necessary for a smaller company. But Harris says formalized communication methods, in any form, can help a company through a transitional period.
After the acquisition, Harris says, “I spent my life on a plane.” He traveled the world visiting Tata Technologies’ locations, getting a personal feel for the questions and concerns employees had about the acquisition. In the ensuing years, he’s kept the communication pace through a quarterly video he produces, which all regional managers must play for their employees. After playing the video, which updates employees on the progress of the company and any alterations in goals, the regional managers are asked to communicate Harris’ message in the context of what it means for that particular region.
As your company grows and changes, so will the communication needs of employees. Harris says you need to develop a communications strategy that is scalable with growth, and in order to do that, you have to put the pieces in place soon after you’ve announced a major change.
“What I would suggest is that you need to emphasize communication early on in the process,” he says. “That is one of the things we did. We spent a lot of executive time on it. We made sure the processes were formalized and understood. We made sure the processes that support communication are formalized, and we measured the effectiveness of communication forums.
“The thing to remember is that it is first about conditioning the importance of communication. The second thing to remember is that you need to make sure you have institutionalized processes. Third, surround those processes with metrics and make sure you have appropriate feedback loops.”