Workplace Communication Suffered After Annual Employee Meeting Canceled

Time To Change The Internal Communications Strategy

One employee wrote:

"The organization where I work held an annual employee meeting for all staff. The event was the primary vehicle for face-to-face communication and dialogue between upper management and front-line employees.

"The year that the organization marked its 50th anniversary they held the annual employee meeting in conjunction with the anniversary celebrations. It was well-attended and well-received.

"The following year the company executives decided not to hold an employee meeting since it had been such a big success the year before. They perceived here was no great need for such an event.

"Employees were disappointed that the event was not held and management's credibility as being open and communicative started to slide as a result.

"To add insult to injury, the employee meeting was 'canceled' again the next year because the organization was in a period of turmoil with a systems re-engineering. The leadership justified their decision by saying the company was too busy to send all staff offsite for a day-long meeting.

"Company morale and pride continued to erode.

"By the third year, management recognized the erosion of morale and the detrimental effects on the company so they re-established the employee annual meeting. Employees were ecstatic. Over 500 attendees completed surveys at the conclusion of the event that indicated overwhelmingly how important the employee meeting was perceived to be by the staff. They saw it as not only an effective communication vehicle and source of information, but also inspiration."

Sandra comments:

An annual employee meeting is a valuable internal communications strategy, especially if it is combined with other regular and effective workplace communication.

It offers the organization a venue to set the vision, report on progress, introduce new initiatives, and to recognize employees for their contributions. It can be an opportunity for two-way communication during a question and answer period and it can offer employees a chance to meet face-to-face and rub palms with company leaders.

This company learned a valuable lesson about communication in the workplace. Fortunately they had the wisdom to reverse their decision.

The reality is that effective business communications require an effort and an investment. Cutting corners on communications may seem like the right thing to do when you are busy, dealing with turmoil, or facing economic challenges. But it is a false economy, with the ultimate price tag to repair an organization being very costly.

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Sandra Thornton has had a special interest in employee communications for more than 10 years. Contact Sandra with questions or comments.

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