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Improving Communication Skills Increases Employee Retention

The radio transmission from the site was a little a fuzzy. The business owner identified the problem: The equipment on-site was broken. It was broken because an employee had done the one thing the owner had warned him not to do. The owner was furious! The entire operation would now have to be shut down until they could locate the parts and fix the equipment. The other employees stood around idly as several phone calls were made to find the needed parts.

Dollar signs began to spin in the owner's mind as he saw broken equipment that would need to be fixed, employees being paid while they waited for the operation to resume, and now slipping project deadlines.

As a result of this error, the employee, according to the owner, "received the butt-chewing of his life." In addition to chewing him out, the owner announced that he planned to deduct the employee's wages for the day. At this point, the sheepish employee shared that he had already planned to offer to forfeit his pay for the day.

At a recent conference the business owner was sharing the story about the broken equipment and the employee who did not follow his directions. After he finished telling the story he continued to share his frustration with his employee situation. "I can't seem to keep help at all. Not just good help, but any help."

Employee retention and an employee not following directions may seem to be two separate issues, but they are connected more than many business owners realize. It is said that 80% of your success in business depends on your ability to communicate. Good communication methods can strengthen your business, help you keep your best people, and also help to attract good employees.

Employees today want to be involved in the work process. They want information beyond simply being told to complete a task for reasons unknown to them. They want -- and are empowered by -- knowledge. When we share with an employee the reasoning behind a job task, as well as why certain methods are preferred and others discouraged, the employee will feel valuable and will begin to have a greater understanding of the work process. Empowered workers develop a vested interest in the success of the business, which translates into higher profits. The employee who was responsible for breaking the equipment might have made a different choice if the owner had explained that the process can only be accomplished one way due to the high risk of broken equipment if directions were not followed exactly.

You can improve your company's communication processes in many different ways. The bottom line is that people want to be "in the loop." Too often, management shares information with one or two employees, and other employees hear the information through the grapevine, if at all. Many times this causes hurt feelings, as people conclude that they must not be important to your business.

Once the fiasco described above had taken place and the necessary calls had been made, a wise business owner might have asked for the employee's input -- on what went wrong, why, and what action could now be taken -- based on the events of the day. The owner then could have filled any details the employee didn't have about why things went awry. After all, the employee was already feeling bad for his poor decision, and belittling him served no one. And by turning the situation into a learning experience and allowing the employee to "save face" in a bad situation, the owner could have improved the employee's job performance and increased his loyalty.

Today's employees do not want to be "robots" just performing the tasks assigned to them. They want to know the how and why of the processes being performed. By taking the extra time to explain the why of each process, you give employees a valuable understanding of the importance of the work being accomplished. For your efforts, you will gain employees who are more knowledgeable about your business and who increase their worth to it.

Eight tips to increase communication and reduce employee turnover:

1. Say "thank you" at the end of the day. It will cost you zero but yield great benefits.
2. "What is your opinion?" These can be the four most important words in the English language. People want to know that they are important and that their opinion is valuable.
3. Hold staff meetings to keep everyone informed. Employees want to know what is going on at work, and often become frustrated when they hear things through the grapevine, rather than from the management or owner level.
4. Use memos to update employees on technical information. Have each person read the information and initial the memo. One office manager places the area to initial in a different location each time, to reduce the likelihood that an employee will skim and sign it.
5. Address people by their first name. People love to hear the sound of their names.
6. Praise in public, criticize in private. This is a timeless lesson that bears repeating. When praising, choose something specific the employee has accomplished and sincerely communicate why it was so important.
7. Build a work community. Community-building activities can range from organizing informal potlucks to having food delivered to planning an event outside of work. Remember to involve some of your employees in planning events that will require employee preparation.
8. Titles are great way to tell people they are an important part of the work environment. The cost to the employer is zero, but the employees learn that they are assets to your business.

You can strengthen your business now by taking some time to explore your communication methods and their effectiveness -- from both your perspective and your employees'. Take steps today to enhance your communication methods so you can enjoy a stronger, more profitable business future.