Many entrepreneurs lack requisite skills necessary to communicate clearly with their staff and customers. Once an entrepreneur has grown his company to size that a clearly defined organization is necessary to support company functions, it becomes mandatory that a professional manager with essential communication and management skills be hired.

Companies that clearly communicate company's goals, from top down, always stand out from their competition. However, open communication needs to be a two way street since input of employees on front lines will convey opportunities to improve and grow company.

Business communications transmits and manages messages that inform, persuade and collaborate by speaking language of company. HR Communications creates a “one company” culture, integrates acquisitions and facilitates information sharing company wide. Both work at highest levels of organization, aligned with senior management and board.

The most successful HR professionals are consummate communicators. Typically their organizations over communicate with all constituents. Their leadership styles transmit traditions and values of their company. You often find a strategic HR function when spoken and written words parallel leadership actions.

Human Resource Communications is a subset of our corporate culture. Corporate cultures determine communication styles. Cultures as diverse as a business headquarters viewed as a traditional downward style with an abundance of males in dark suits and white starched shirts to other companies which express their identity by polo’s with logo’s and scores of identical sites around country.

Which of three following communication styles dominate your culture?

A.Downward – helping employees perform their jobs B.Upward – senior management and board level C.Horizontal – selling your value proposition and merging cultures

HR COMMUNICATIONS ARE SPECIALIZED Human Resource professionals uniquely position themselves at both start point and finishing point of communication chain. New hire orientation and policy and procedure manuals exemplify downward communication intended to help employees perform their jobs. Employee opinion polls, employee focus groups and exit interviews deliver information upward to solve problems and make executive decisions. Employee newsletters help work teams requiring a coordinated action between units or locations.

How well is HR information exchanged in your company?