A corporation depends on its employees to represent it. It is the everyday face of the organization. Yet, many employees may not be as well informed as they should be. In some areas, such as compliance and ethics, they may be lacking in even a rudimentary fashion. This is generally not because the company has deliberately kept them in ignorance. The problem can be traced to communication or a lack of same. The corporation has simply failed to provide effective employee communication materials. In Chicago, this can be easily remedied.
The Importance of Communication
Communication is how we explain who we are, what we are, as well as what we want to or intend to do or not do. For a corporation, this is extremely important. Unless employees understand what the company does, how it does it and why, they will fail to be an active part of the corporation. The same applies for understanding the rules and policies regarding compliance and ethics. If a Chicago corporation inadequately communicates the official stance, the policy is as ineffective as if employees have never been told.
The Role of Employee Communication Materials
There are many means of communicating policies. They may be verbal or written down. In the latter form, they may be communicated on paper or online. They may be created as an actual policy paper or book or a PDF file. The entire point is to get across a specific policy, regulation or rule so that everyone – from the head office down, knows the current position of the company. They will be able to see the stance and understand what it is that is expected of them and their efforts in this direction. Whatever the means used to express the compliance, organizational or ethical issue, such policies must maintain certain characteristics if they are to be well-received, read and understood.
Desirable Characteristics of Employee Communication Materials
When it comes to preparing good employee communication materials, it is very important that those in charge of its creation recognize what makes them “work.” They should possess the following characteristics to be effective in their attempt to be comprehensible.
- Clear
- Consistent – including the template and other formatting characteristics
- Well written
- Collaborative – should include members of all that are affected to ensure those who may have trouble accessing or even reading such information have an alternative mode
- Reviewed regularly
- Easy to access – a central repository (online or in situ) will be able to keep policies in one place
- Interactive – whenever possible to improve the ability of employees to retain the material and actually find it easy to utilize
Employee Communication Materials
While everything may start with a policy, the policy will not be effective or even implementable in Chicago companies if the employees do not have ready and easy access to it. It requires those in charge work with other groups both within and without the company to prepare effective employee communication materials. In Chicago as is the case with other cities across the country, it takes the co-operation of everyone to make sure a policy – including ethical and compliance policies, actually works.
