Skip to main content

How to Prevent Rumours in the Business Through Communication

Rumours in the business should be managed through proper communication.
As a manager you have the added responsibility to look after the communication in the business, that is to make sure that communication is coordinated, early enough, frequent and clear.  Many large businesses have communications employees to deal with the communication aspects for the business, but it ultimately remains the responsibility of the manager.  It is human nature to discuss issue with you colleagues, especially if there is uncertainty about unforeseen changes in the business or problems with employees.  But it is important to stop or prevent rumours early enough before they get out of hand, damage the reputation of the business or the morale of the employees.  What role should the manager play to put an end or prevent rumours in the business?
  • A weekly blog on the Intranet is increasingly being used by managers worldwide to inform employees about goings-on in the business or to obtain feedback on an important matter.  Similarly this blog can be used to put an end or to prevent rumours.  What better way for employees to hear information straight from the manager?
  • More social gatherings could also discourage rumours if employees get to know each other better.
  • The daily business operations should be conducted in a transparent way including how promotions are done, business systems are working or by making minutes of meetings available to all employees.
  • A rumour should be dealt with immediately.  As a rule, the business should have a couple of communication channels to communicate with employees and those channels should be used immediately when rumours are spread.
  • Team work and team spirit should be encouraged.  Employees should feel they are all working towards a common goal and are not competing with each other.  If employees feel jealous about the achievements of others, that could easily lead to gossip and unfounded rumours.
Rumours should thus be managed both the prevent and to stop them and communication plays a key role in doing so.

Related post

A CEO Blog for Better Communication
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The role of the manager in effective business communication

Happy employees are more productive. Business communication is no longer about how to write a letter, email or use effective writing skills.  It has also extended to other areas in the business, for example, excellent relationships within the business. A manager should not only concentrate on successful communication with its external clients, customers and stakeholders.  The employees of the business actually are   internal clients   and should also be treated with care.  Many scholars refer to this as   internal marketing , a very important feature of good business communication.  Employees’ well-being and work satisfaction play a large role in their productivity and how loyal they will be towards the business.  The role of the manager is to ensure good relationships with and among employees.   A healthy working environment is equally important.  Previous research has indicated that employees also have other career as...
Read more

Time for a communication audit?

When is the right time to do a communication audit in a business?  Why is it important to know whether communication in a business is effective or not? During a communication audit the strength and weaknesses of all communication in the business is analyzed, namely its communication policies, strategies, practices, messages, capabilities and even the media that are used, including social and other online media. If you have read some of my other postings in this blog, you will know how important communication in a business is.  Lack of effective communication can even cause the business to eventually fail. When is the right time to do a communication audit?  You could consider a communication audit in your business when: a major restructuring of the business is taking place   the business seems to be failing and not reaching its objectives. union negotiations are upcoming a merger or acquisition of another business might be happening a new management ...
Read more

What is your managerial communication style?

As a manager you communicate in a specific manner to your employees.  Your communication style can fall within different managerial approaches but in this article I will focus on the two most common styles, namely the classical and humanistic managerial communication styles.  I will first explain the more formal classical style. A manager who has a classical managerial (authoritarian) communication style: communicates through formal communication media such as oral and/or written and visual communication and very little face to face discussions. creates but also uses opportunities to make the long and short term goals of the business clear using these formal communication media. changes 'unacceptable’ attitudes and opinions by shaping new ones through manipulation. diminishes fear and suspicion because of misinformation or misinterpretation of the right but unclear information. communicates numerous rules to employees. prevents or corrects misunderstanding fr...
Read more