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CHAPTER 8 Communication audits: building world class communication systems Dennis Tourish and Owen Hargie Effective internal communication by both management and employees alike is a vital prerequisite for the functioning of any organization. In this chapter the authors suggest that the key to building an effective internal communication system lies in managers having an accurate picture of how well they and everyone else in an organization is actually communicating. To achieve this goal the authors believe that all companies must have a focused communication strategy designed to build a world-class system for sustaining internal communication and that this system must be rigorously and honestly evaluated utilizing communication audit techniques. Introduction Effective internal communication is a vital prerequisite for the functioning of all organizations. Yet it is a commonplace that communication is poor in most. Employees complain that they neither know nor understand corporate priorities, while frustrated senior managers insist that they have invested a great deal of time in explaining them. There is additional evidence that information transmission from the bottom to the top is also defective, with employees and even managers fearing to articulate their true opinions to those further up the hierarchy (Rosenfeld et al., 1995). Thus, senior managers often have a very limited understanding of the communication dynamics within their own organization. In our own research in this field, we have frequently found that the people most surprised by audits which point to problems are the senior management team (Hargie and Tourish, 2000). The result can be a climate of mutual suspicion rather than trust, with energies that should be focused on beating the competition squandered in internal struggles. In this chapter, we suggest that the key to building a world-class communication system lies in managers having an accurate picture of how well they and everyone else are actually communicating. In a nutshell, we advance a twofold argument: © 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection; individual chapters, the contributors
1 All organizations need a focused communication strategy, designed to build a world-class system for sustaining internal communication. 2 The first step in implementing the above is that current practice must be rigorously and honestly evaluated, utilizing communication audit techniques. We then discuss in-depth how audits can be implemented, and the data collection options available. While the main focus of this chapter is upon internal communication, audits are also of importance for external communication, and so we raise issues of relevance to the latter area as well. The nature of a communication strategy It is a truism that organizations seeking a competitive advantage must design their systems to at least match, and then exceed, world best practice. Organizational communication is no different. It has been suggested (Clampitt and Berk, 2000) that a world-class communication system has five key attributes: • The leadership team has a strategic commitment to effective communication. • Employees at all levels have the appropriate communication skills. • There is a proper infrastructure of channels to meet organizational objectives. • There are proper communication policies and procedures to meet organizational objectives. • Information is managed in a way to meet organizational objectives. Few organizations have systems in place that are consistent with these attributes. Often, the sad reality is that communication is: • widely touted as a panacea for organizational ills, but allocated minimal fiscal or functional resources; • all pervasive, but often unplanned; it is often the case that communication is what happens to companies when they are busy doing other things; • hailed as being of central importance in terms of what managers actually do, but rarely investigated with the same rigour as is reserved for such other functions as finance; • still regarded as something that managers do to their subordinates; they drop information like depth charges on to those employees submerged in the organizational ocean but make it very clear that they do not expect to receive any feedback torpedoes in return. (Hargie and Tourish, 2004) The result is a disabling gap between theory and practice. This is clearly dysfunctional, and can impact adversely upon the workforce, resulting in reduced employee motivation, lower rates of production, greater industrial unrest, increased absenteeism, and higher staff turnover (Hargie and Tourish, 2000). The schema proposed by Clampitt and Berk (2000) suggests that senior management is not solely responsible for the effectiveness of the entire communication system. All employees have responsibilities in this area. For example, while our own work with communication audits (e.g. Tourish and Hargie, 1998) has often found people clamouring for more information, it has rarely found them insisting that they have any responsibility for transmitting it. A communication strategy built around the five assumptions outlined above will fundamentally challenge such mindsets. Communication strategies are all about strengthening relationships, sharing owner- © 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection; individual chapters, the contributors
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CHAPTER 8<br />
<strong>Communication</strong> audits: building world class<br />
communication systems<br />
Dennis Tourish <strong>and</strong> Owen Hargie<br />
Effective internal communication by both management <strong>and</strong> employees alike is a vital<br />
prerequisite for the functioning <strong>of</strong> any organization. In this chapter the authors suggest<br />
that the key to building an effective internal communication system lies in managers<br />
having an accurate picture <strong>of</strong> how well they <strong>and</strong> everyone else in an organization is<br />
actually communicating. To achieve this goal the authors believe that all companies must<br />
have a focused communication strategy designed to build a world-class system for<br />
sustaining internal communication <strong>and</strong> that this system must be rigorously <strong>and</strong> honestly<br />
evaluated utilizing communication audit techniques.<br />
Introduction<br />
Effective internal communication is a vital<br />
prerequisite for the functioning <strong>of</strong> all organizations.<br />
Yet it is a commonplace that communication<br />
is poor in most. Employees<br />
complain that they neither know nor underst<strong>and</strong><br />
corporate priorities, while frustrated<br />
senior managers insist that they have invested<br />
a great deal <strong>of</strong> time in explaining them. There<br />
is additional evidence that information transmission<br />
from the bottom to the top is also<br />
defective, with employees <strong>and</strong> even managers<br />
fearing to articulate their true opinions to<br />
those further up the hierarchy (Rosenfeld et<br />
al., 1995). Thus, senior managers <strong>of</strong>ten have a<br />
very limited underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> the communication<br />
dynamics within their own organization.<br />
In our own research in this field, we have<br />
frequently found that the people most surprised<br />
by audits which point to problems are<br />
the senior management team (Hargie <strong>and</strong><br />
Tourish, 2000). The result can be a climate <strong>of</strong><br />
mutual suspicion rather than trust, with energies<br />
that should be focused on beating the<br />
competition squ<strong>and</strong>ered in internal struggles.<br />
In this chapter, we suggest that the key to<br />
building a world-class communication system<br />
lies in managers having an accurate picture <strong>of</strong><br />
how well they <strong>and</strong> everyone else are actually<br />
communicating. In a nutshell, we advance a<br />
tw<strong>of</strong>old argument:<br />
© 2004 S<strong>and</strong>ra Oliver for editorial matter <strong>and</strong> selection;<br />
individual chapters, the contributors