It is easy to become overwhelmed in the workplace and fall into bad habits with your communication! Writing for The HR Director Simon de Cintra reveals the most common communication errors made in business. It is time to self evaluate and establish whether you are making the following communication errors.
An HR Director manages organisational development, recruitment and have the tricky task of maintaining a positive work culture thus cannot afford to be experiencing any communication mistakes.
BEING UNAPPROACHABLE
If an employee has an issue either in their home life or at work that may be impacting negatively on their productivity it is crucial that they feel comfortable to approach you and be open with their situation. However in reality a common communication error made by HR Directors is unwittingly coming across as unapproachable, this can occur either through non verbal communication such as distant body language, or through verbal communication for example an unsympathetic tone, paired together this can come across as you are generally uninterested in their welfare. It is important to be engaging, ask questions and take an obvious interest in each and every employee. Simple actions such as smiling when passing an employee in the corridor or operating an open door policy will help create a positive atmosphere where employees feel welcomed by the HR Department should they require its services.
INABILITY TO SAY NO
As aforementioned you do not want to portray an unapproachable persona to the workforce, nevertheless with that said being too understanding can be a fatal communication error as people are quick to take advantage of any sign of weakness. Struggling to say no to employee requests is often the catalyst for bad communication in HR, as well as avoiding difficult conversations can result in problems getting heightened as they are left to bubble under the surface and build, only to erupt at a later date. As a HR professional you are responsible for employee relations thus difficult conversations can definitely not be avoided if you are to build a strong, happy workforce.
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