Geschreven door Marijn de Geus | December 07, 2017
Managers and employees don’t communicate enough with each other. Of course, you and your employee don’t need to be best friends, but at the moment that certain things cannot be discussed anymore, something is wrong. Unfortunately, this is not a rare case: 60 percent of Dutch office employees indicate they have unspoken issues with their manager. More than half of your organization. But who are they? And what issues do they have?
Often, managers are too busy with substantive activities and they lack the experience for people management. But why is there not enough communication? And how to make communication run more smoothly? I’ll give you answers in this article.
Generation (WH)Y
The digitally skilled generation Y (from 1980) expects more communication from their managers. They are used to quick interaction and would for instance rather receive direct feedback than a performance appraisal once a year. And they’re not alone in this. A whopping 45 percent of employees thinks their manager should learn to communicate better with employees. 16 percent says they aren’t informed enough. Next to this, clarity about the expectations of the manager and a lack of attention, availability and appreciation rank high in missing communication.
Address more often
It makes sense then, that many issues remain unspoken. Managers don’t deny this problem: earlier research showed that 40 percent would like to address their employees, colleagues or manager more often. They think this issue is even bigger for their fellow managers: 60 percent says their colleagues have to address their employees more often. In another survey, Erasmus University and KPMG found that managers are looking for help in skills such as effective communication, handling conflicts, leadership styles and indicating limits. So why is there still too little communication?
Juggling
Lack of time is an important reason, but not only executive tasks are keeping managers away from people management. The lack of experience with the necessary soft skills is also playing its part, which makes the threshold to express issues even higher. Juggling is hardest for ‘new’ leaders who are promoted from their executive position and get their own team for the first time. While they would benefit the most from knowledge and practice in the different communicative situations they will encounter, at the same time they suffer from packed calendars that leave little room for intensive training sessions. A time-efficient solution is needed.
Acquiring soft skills online
To disconnect required practice with these soft skills from time and place, you could use online training. A program on the PC or smartphone shows theory about a certain skill first and then lets participants practice it in front of their camera. Deloitte for instance is training managers in having meaningful conversations through performance coaching skills, with online video role plays as an indispensable part. Not just because managers can train themselves anywhere and anytime now, but also because the learning effect turns out to be bigger than it was.
60 percent of employees walking around with unspoken issues is way too many. However, make sure your managers have both the time and skills to have good conversations with your employees, and this number will definitely decrease. This way, your employees become happier and your organization more efficient.
Read more about how Deloitte is training manager in the case study!