Communicate to Keep Your Team: Business Writing for Leaders
I came across a new report by Deloitte that is compelling, but not surprising: poor communication is damaging employee morale—and undermining business success. Failing to connect authentically with employees, especially when the chips are down, can cost a company everything from lost business to lost talent.
What I didn’t expect was the magnitude of the statistic reflecting tough times and poor communication: almost half of respondents said they are tuning up their resumes for greener pastures when business improves. Yikes.
The Deloitte Special Report on Talent Retention, “Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Keeping your team intact” (September 2009), states the following:
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49% of employees plan to seek alternate employment when the talent market heats up.
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Of those surveyed employees who intend to leave, 76% report a drop in morale and 62% fault lack of communication from executives during the recession.
Could a few e-mails make a difference?
Those who use writing successfully to empower and motivate their people always
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write personably and nonjudgmentally
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get their point across the first time
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deliver sensitive messages with tact
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turn negatives into positives.
Since we communicate so much now in writing, building trust and unsnarling communication tangles in the process can be done with some easy-to-learn writing strategies.
