As a supervisor you represent your company to your employees. They rely on you for information about the Company. There is a proven relationship between good communication and a productive labour force. Sharing information with employees shows them that you are important enough to know the information and have the self confidence and the consideration for them to share it.
There are several kinds of information you should share with your employees:
Some information can be passed on in written form by newsletters, circulating and posting documents and through e-mail where it is available. However, the present working population grew up with television and is very verbal and visual. A unit, department or shift meeting is a very effective means of communicating. With regular, well planned meetings you can communicate all the information quickly and allow time for discussion and questions. The Corporate Communication department provides you with videos so that you can easily have senior managers as "guest speakers" at your meetings.
At regular, well spaced intervals you should place on your meeting agenda a discussion on how employees would like to receive information and what information they would like to receive. Get their input on how often you should meet, for how long and what should be on the agenda.
In planning your agenda, allow time for discussion of information which may be controversial. Encourage and facilitate open discussion, then summarize and move on. Show you are prepared to listen to their ideas and where appropriate present their ideas to your supervisor. If you are not confident that you can lead discussions without them getting out of control, talk to your Human Resources Department about attending sessions to improve your facilitation skills.
A typical agenda should include:
The Golden Rule of meetings is start and end on schedule. Order your agenda so that the items you don't want to miss are near the beginning. If you have problems with stragglers, start your meeting on time, but plan your agenda so that they won't miss your most important points. If discussion becomes prolonged, simply remind participants of the remaining time and the number of items left. End the meeting on time even if not all points have been covered. Employees will learn to pace themselves after a few meetings.
At most companies, we pride ourselves on listening and responding to our employees. You are often the first person employees turn to with ideas and questions. As a supervisor, your response to employees' suggestions or concerns is the most important signal to employees of our willingness to listen.
If an employee approaches you at a difficult time, explain that the employee's ideas or comments are important to you, that you don't have time right now and schedule a time on the spot.
When you have time to listen to an employee, stop what you are doing and look at the employee to show you are paying attention. Take notes if necessary. Summarize or paraphrase what has been said to confirm and show that you understand. If you can, respond immediately explaining what you intend to do in response to the employee's suggestion or question and explain why. If you can't respond right away establish a realistic date to get back to them. If you are not the appropriate person for them to talk to, explain who they should talk to and make sure they know how to contact them, or if necessary help them make the contact.
There are some very specific situations where your listening skills are critical. Please see the sections on dealing with Human Rights or Harassment Complaints and Dealing with Formal Complaints.
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