You hold a meeting with managers to brief them about an important topic. At the end of the meeting, you ask them to share what they've learned with people on their teams. Several weeks later, you're surprised to find out that managers haven't communicated--that employees are still in the dark.
What went wrong?
While it's true that managers are employees' most trusted source of information, it's also true that managers are not natural communicators. But before you invest in extensive training, consider these three reasons why managers don't fulfill their role:
Expectations. Don't know that communication is a key part of their job.
Knowledge. Don't understand the topic well enough to present it, interpret it or answer questions about it.
Accountability. Aren't held responsible (through performance management or other metrics) for communicating.
What can you do to address these issues? Here are three immediate action steps:
Make sure you clearly articulate communication roles. Be specific about what and how you (as senior leader) communicate--and what you expect managers to share. Ask your HR manager to include communication into managers' job descriptions so the expectation is baked into their role.
Build accountability into performance management and other methods to evaluate managers. You know the problem: Unless communication is part of the formula to give managers raises or bonuses, it won't be a priority. Put managers' money where their mouth is.
Invest time in making sure managers understand content. Especially if the topic is complex, a 20-minute presentation is not enough to make managers comfortable. Design sessions to give managers the confidence they need to present:
When planning to brief managers, allocate at least 90 minutes for the meeting.
If possible, get everyone together face to face. If your office is too distracting, consider taking managers off site.
Of course you'll present content, but presentations should be the shortest part of the meeting. Allow at least 50% of the time for questions and dialogue.
If the topic is important enough, consider creating tools to help managers share information. Managers aren't big fans of PowerPoint presentations, but they do like receiving a one-page summary of key messages. And they love FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), a document that provides the questions employees are likely to ask, along with the answers managers need.
Set managers up for success in communicating by being clear about what they need to do, providing knowledge and holding them accountable.
