The Key To Reduced Employment Practices Liability Exposure? Communication!
Source: SOI Blog
Organizations are monitoring national developments unfolding in areas of healthcare, immigration, wage and hour matters, and others. Employers want and need to know what is happening and what will be required of them. Similarly, employees want to know what their employers will be doing and how those actions affect them and their families. Effective employer-provided communication is key to proactive employee relations, critical to reduced employment practices liability and invaluable in time, cost and stress reduction. PEOs are proving invaluable as resources for employers to keep abreast of developments, to determine applicability nationwide, to clarify meaning, and to prepare and disseminate communications. “Developing and disseminating concise, complete and understandable information is fundamental to good management. However, the task is becoming more complex and potentially volatile,” says Raymond A. Parker, SPHR, Senior Vice President – Human Resource Consulting, for SOI, a leading U.S. professional employer organization (PEO). “Accelerating program implementation, increased speed in getting information out, wide-spread and global business, and continuing changes contribute to communications challenges. Effective oral and written skill, applied via the most effective mode (hardcopy, digital, in-person, etc.) make or break communication success both internally and externally.”
Communications professionals are confronted daily with selecting the best mode of communication to disseminate messages so that employees and clients will understand and respond accordingly. Before deciding on the best communication channel, consideration must be given to the audience, the objectives of the communication and the outcomes expected. Group size and proximity of participants, the level of urgency of the message, confidentiality and complexity of the information, the need for the information to be used multiple times, and collaboration and discussion needs are several factors to weigh. Once identified, a proven communication mode must be selected. As an example, for complex information dissemination, an in-person meeting, video conference or phone call where participants can ask questions may be the best choice of communication channel, whereas information that needs to be retained and searched for future reference may best be disseminated via email, the company’s intranet site, a SharePoint site, or other means, depending on content confidentiality.
PEOs can assist employers in assessing an organization’s communications program for future success and reduction of employment liability practices by evaluating:
- Communications objectives
- How objectives are established
- How organizational objectives, beliefs and goals are presently communicated
- Communication effectiveness via present methods
- Problem areas in the current communication program.
Once identified and evaluated, PEOs work with employers to design communication training programs for managers to best utilize resources and appropriate channels for maximum benefit to the company and employees. Contact us today for a free comparison quote.
About SOI
SOI is a leading professional employer organization (PEO) for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) serving as a trusted partner in employment practice liability, integrated human resource (HR) compliance, payroll processing and employee benefits, empolyee safety, compensation and risk management. SOI is based in Charlotte, NC and supports tens of thousands of worksite employees throughout the U.S. For more details, visit: employment practice liability.
