Why is communication often judged critically?

Using the topic of "communication" as an example, we would like to show you how important it is to prepare an employee survey in the company well, to inform employees about it in good time and then to deal with the results at team level.

"Communication is poor in our organization!". Does this statement sound familiar? When analyzing data from our employee surveys, we repeatedly see that companies are judged critically by their employees when it comes to communication.

But what exactly is behind this statement? Is it about

• Information for your daily work?
• communication within your own team?
• Lack of structures for exchange?
• Lack of information about important and new issues from the management?

The diversity of these aspects in the area of communication alone shows how important a well-developed and well thought-out questionnaire is for an implementation-oriented survey. The questions must be specific enough so that concrete measures can be derived from them. In our blog post "A good questionnaire for employee surveys" and the sequel, you will find detailed information on how to develop a good questionnaire.

Timely information

Once the questionnaire has been completed, the topic of communication comes back into focus. Employees must be informed in good time about the upcoming survey. Objectives and expectations should be communicated, as this increases motivation to participate. ValueQuest supports you with appropriate ideas and communication templates.

During the survey, you can monitor participation using response statistics and react immediately if necessary, e.g. with a reminder.

Results down to team level

Once the data has been analyzed, the correct handling of the results is crucial. Communicate the results as quickly as possible. Provide transparent information about strengths and potential areas for improvement. Establish an open dialog within the company/team and define the next steps to be taken.

Action-oriented results reports

ValueQuest's evaluation reports clearly and unambiguously show which aspects were assessed as good or critical and which are the strongest levers for improvement. ValueQuest analyzes the results down to team level. This means that possible problem areas and measures can be addressed individually right down to the grassroots level. Every team and every unit benefits from discussing and reflecting on potential improvements together.

During the implementation phase, ValueQuest supports you with a database of measures. You can read more about this in our next blog post.

Self-organization processes of communication

A brief digression on the topic of communication. In his book 66 Commandments of Systemic Thinking and Action in Management and Consulting (2019), systemic expert Torsten Groth talks about self-organization processes in communication. These are patterns that are consolidated over time and (usually unconsciously) determine what is said and where it is better to remain silent. Both the form and content of communication are different in every social system (teams, departments, organizations).

An open culture of dialog within the company - also with the help of regular employee and/or pulse surveys - promotes employee commitment and increases motivation.