Expectations About Communication That Every Employee Must Know

Communication is a contact sport. You need to play to win. For communication to flow effectively, it needs to be a two-way street, and requires active participation. Said another way, communication is something you do with people not to people.

Setting Expectations Is Important

Everyone in your organization should understand what’s expected of them when it comes to communication.

No matter what position you hold, and whether it’s your first day or you’re celebrating your 20^th year, here are the expectations you want employees to rise to:

• Play an active role in communicating with others
• Stay current with company information
• Ask questions
• Listen for understanding and take action
• Be respectful in your communication with others
• Participate effectively in work conversations
• Avoid information overload by sharing communication with too broad an audience
• Use communications to improve results

People managers and senior leaders should have additional expectations as well based on their role, and must be measured on how well they meet the expectations.

Have you set your expectations with your team, or do you need to do that at your next all-hands meeting?

—David Grossman

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