For human resources (HR) professionals, communication is a two-way process that involves top-down dissemination of HR plans and bottom-up questions from employees. When communication flows freely, employees enjoy a clear understanding of their benefits while HR managers take in feedback on how effectively HR programs are working. Effective communication is central to the study of organizational behavior and leadership in advanced, specialized degree programs like the online Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Human Resource Management from St. Thomas University (STU).
What Components of HR Management Rely on Effective Communication?
HR policies govern nearly every aspect of labor relations and an employee’s work experience, from the expected clock-in and clock-out time to vacation policies, retirement packages and conflict resolution processes. Common examples of HR communication include:
- Employee policies and procedures: Most workplaces make HR policies and procedures readily available to employees. This information can be posted on the company’s website, bulletin boards, in binders or through some other system. Workers should especially be aware of information about hiring, firing, promotions and performance evaluations.
- Performance feedback: One of the most common reasons an employee may interact with an HR professional is for routine evaluations. Ideally, an HR department has a standardized approach to sharing this information, either electronically or in person. Any system should be free of bias. If the feedback is seen as legitimate, employees are more likely to see it as fair.
- Onboarding: Onboarding involves teaching new hires about company policy. Beyond work-related training, HR professionals often spend several days bringing new employees up to speed on important policies.
- Interactions in remote and hybrid environments: Remote and hybrid workplace models are commonplace in the post-pandemic world. These environments can pose challenges for ensuring communication across multiple channels is clear and appropriate. HR must help teams select virtual communication channels and learn how to use them effectively and efficiently.
Tips for Improving HR Communications
Organizations rely on HR professionals to relay important information and policy changes to employees. Effective communication can increase productivity while preventing misunderstandings. Leaders who can explain the benefits of HR plans, for example, are more likely to cultivate employee buy-in.
This point is important because employee support is critical to ensuring that employees use HR services. HR leaders can even boost office morale by implementing a few tips:
- Create a cohesive long-term communication plan: Managing multiple communication channels, policy dissemination, content clarity and overall communication strategy and structure requires HR leadership take an intentional, proactive approach to designing and clearly defining the organization’s communication plan. Employee input, engagement and buy-in is critical to a communication plan’s success.
- Embrace two-way communication: Effective HR leaders listen to employee feedback as readily as they communicate HR initiatives. One way HR personnel can improve this two-way communication is to hold informal group meetings where workers can ask questions or express concerns. This simple step shows workers that their opinions are valued.
- Leverage advances in technology: Social media, videoconferencing, Teams chats and online group platforms like Slack can provide effective means of catching workers’ attention. HR analytics software can also help HR leaders identify and address areas of organizational communication in need of improvement. Further, modern technologies help HR professionals communicate insight from people analytics data to inform strategic advising and decision-making.
- Make accessing HR information easy: File folders may not be the most inviting means of storing details about HR policies, and distributing packets of HR materials can leave new hires feeling overwhelmed. Effective HR departments make pertinent HR documents readily available, often via an online portal.
- Keep HR documents easy to read: HR professionals may know industry terms, but that jargon can lead to employee confusion or even misinterpretation. If the average adult cannot quickly comprehend what is being communicated, maybe employees can’t either. Clarity is key to all HR communications.
- Focus on culture and people: Modern HR practices are structured by policy and augmented by technology. But improving culture, the employee experience, retention and performance are still the core drivers of HR efforts, and these factors are primarily rooted in the human elements of an organization: people and culture.
Communicate HR Policies With an Online MBA From St. Thomas University
STU’s all-online MBA with a specialization in Human Resource Management helps students build a strong foundation in business and HR management skills, including methods of using effective communication to improve business outcomes. The accelerated degree program, which is taught by STU faculty, can be completed in as few as 12 months.
Learn more about STU’s online MBA with a specialization in Human Resource Management program.
