Recently in a column E. Balaji, MD & CEO, Ma Foi Randstad said that "I am convinced that businesses need to act like organised ‘engagement exchanges' that promote, mentor and align employees' engagement with other internal and external stakeholders. Employers will have to host the conversations, networking activities and collaborations between employees and external stakeholders."
That brings to the point, once again, the importance of communication and networking in engaging employees. Having said that, the importance of communicating the right message at the right time is even more important. Yesterday, out of the many commercials that I am forced to see on the television, two stayed in the mind for different reasons. The one was of Toshiba laptops which had Sachin Tendulkar sprinting across a 'digitized pitch' amassing more & more runs and of course glory. A commentary in the background further eulogized the 'performance' of Sachin and drawing the same parallel to Toshiba's product performance. The other one was that of Birla Sun Life Insurance which featured Yuvraj Singh. The ad made him say in hindi which when translated meant that '...until the time one is performing, scoring runs, everything seems to be alright and everything follows you. but one day, when the runs dry-up, then things change overnight and you do not seem to be in-demand anymore.'
Going by India's miserable performance in England in the on-going test series, the first ad is definitely ill-timed. The audience (cricket-crazy fanatics) is generally furious over India's test debacle and losing the number one test position so meekly. At such a juncture, Toshiba's ad is sure to add salt to the seething fresh wounds of the fans. The communication is ill-timed and is a sure disaster for the brand. On the other hand, Birla's ad is sure to generate some sympathy and empathy for the protagonist and shall gel very well with the element of ‘uncertainty’ and 'risk-coverage' highlighted in the advertisement. The latter ad-communication is much more appealing and engaging.
The same is true when communicating with employees. organization must wisely choose the messgae and the timing keeping in mind the context. I call it 'contextual communication'. The importance of judging the context before choosing the message and time of delivery is key. Otherwise no matter how well the message has been crafted, it shall fail to achieve what it set-out for in the first place; worst it shall boomerang.
6 comments:
An organization can communicate contextually if they are engaged to the employees and don't reside in ivory towers! can we call this reverse Engagement?
Unfortunately 'communicating contextually' is not happening in most of the companies in India since companies do not know what is happening at the ground level (workers level). Most of the companies decide on their policies as per needs (comfort-zones) of the leaders running the show.
I think the column of Mr. Balaji holds weight if companies and its leader will 'actually' understand the practical scenario of workplace and then frame the communication in line with context.
The food is supposed to be eaten when served fresh & hot or else the hunger dies away. I believe that the contextual communication plays a similar & vital role in creating a High Performance Culture. This process starts with announcing the selection results during the pre-employment stage till any communication right from confirmation, appraisals or any circulars. Organisation utilises this concept of contextual communication in various ways such as TATA Croma's Instant recognition program or HUL's quick response to each and every comment on intranet blog "YOUR SAY". In all such cases & the timing & content plays a pivotal role.
Prof. Asha,
Thanks a lot for your comments. What you say makes absolute sense. An organization's ability to communicate contextually stems from the fact that they have not been peeping from the castle windows alone. However I still think it being an engagement process and not a reverse one in any sense. In fact this takes us back to the concept that culture of an organization plays a pivotal role in the success of its engagement practices. That culture only faciltates contextual communication or ruins it and consequently the engagement.
Regards,
Debashish
Hi Manmohan,
Your view-point on leaders operating from their comfort zones most of the times is right. That breeds their innate disbility to judge contexts and communicate accordingly.
Best,
Debashish
Hello Dev,
You have further articulated and illusrated my write-up on Contextual Communication. I am glad that you found it so relevant.
Thanks,
Debashish
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