Workplace Communication Flows 2

Page 2

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By: Robert F. Abbott 

Upward Communication: Compliance

A second major flow of communication is upward, from employee to supervisor, supervisor to department head, department head to vice-president, and so on.

It's a key component and has some very important functions. To illustrate, let's consider another example, one that starts with downward communication. In our example, a CEO tells the vice-president of retail operations to reduce inventory; the vice-president develops specific strategies for accomplishing this objective and passes them on to the local store managers. The local managers, in turn, instruct their staff that the prices of some items are to be reduced for clearance and others are to be sold directly to liquidators.

At each stage in the downward flow of communication, people in the organization receive information to help them do their jobs. And, at each stage the information become less abstract, more specific, and more detailed.

Less detail

Now, turning to upward communication, we know that the staff at each store will report back to the local manager on their inventory reduction ef-forts. The manager, in turn, will report, in less detail, to the vice-president about how the store has done. Finally, the vice-president will report to the CEO on how well all stores have done in reducing inventory.

Compliance

In this case, we see upward flows, flows of compliance information. Feedback that helps superiors understand how well subordinates have carried out the instructions that came in the downward flow.

And, having that compliance information come back up to the top allows the person at the top, whether CEO or any other manager, to issue appropriate new instructions that will be communicated down the chain of command.

Note, too, that as information is communicated back up the chain, as it flows upward, it becomes less detailed and more abstract. The CEO likely isn't concerned about what happened at any individual store, but he is concerned about the aggregated results for all stores.

A system emerges

By now, you're probably beginning to sense a looping process, a system in which there is input (information communicated downward); processing (subordinates carry out the instructions they received); output (something happens as a result of the downward communication and processing); and feedback (compliance information that flows upward).

Intuitively, that makes sense. Organizations move toward their objectives by getting stakeholders to act and as those stakeholders report back, management gets an indication of the feasibility of the instructions, or the degree to which they have been implemented.

Going back to our example about inventory reduction, we can see that the CEO and vice-president will be able to make better decisions in the future with each new piece of compliance information. Over time, they learn to make better decisions and increasingly better forecasts, because of feedback.

Lateral communication: Coordination

So far, we have discussed how communication flows downward and upward in organizations. Downward flows provide information that enables people in the organization to do their jobs. On the other hand, upward communication involves a flow from a subordinate to a superior, compliance information.

Now, think of the information that flows back and forth between you and your peers, whether you're a front-line worker, a manager, or a member of the board of directors. This is lateral communication.

While it can take on any number of functions, I mostly think of it as a process by which we coordinate with each other. When I was a construction laborer, I exchanged information with other laborers almost continuously. Exchanges such as, "Let me know when you're finished mixing the cement, and I'll help you pour it."

When I now serve on the boards of associations, I often communicate with other directors. We might discuss how to shape a proposal for the full board, for example, or decide who should make a motion. Again, it's coordinating information that helps each person who participates, and the organization, too.

Characteristics

A couple of aspects of lateral communication come immediately to mind. First, no superior/subordinate relationship exists here; it's strictly a case of two people with roughly equal amounts of power and prestige. That makes this form of communication voluntary and discretionary. Yes, the boss may tell us to communicate with each other, but unless we both want to do it, we're not going to exchange much information of value.

That takes us to the second aspect, the idea of reciprocating. The quality and quantity of information we provide to our peers generally reflects what we get back from them. I may provide good information to you when we start work-ing together, but I won't continue to provide it unless you reciprocate in kind. Obviously, this can be a difficult form of communication to start and maintain. While there are obvious and ongoing connections between superiors and subordinates, the same can't always be said of connections between peers. That's especially the case when it comes to communication between departments.

Downward and upward communication involve relationships between superiors and subordinates, creating natural vehicles for communication. The same does not always hold for lateral communication, although meetings sometimes fill that role, in piecemeal fashion.

Needless to say, many communication tools and communication technologies, as well as processes can be used, whether on a mass communication basis or a one-on-one basis. Among the tools are the employee survey, which as I'll explain on another page, allows us to get from opinions to facts, for better decisions.

Team Communication

Team communication is a special form of lateral communication, and an essential one.

For teamwork in the workplace, members must not only communicate with each other, but will often need to communicate with peers outside their immediate group. For example, suppliers and customers to their processes figure prominently in team communication, as well as suppliers of internal resources, and perhaps external consultants.

Leaders will need to keep these communication flows in mind, as well as the upward and downward flows that connect them directly to their team members. Communication for team building and just plain teamwork and is many-faceted and requires consistent attention.

Next: Grapevine communication

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