The awesome power of word-of-mouth communications.

It all might start with the simple question, "How did things go at work today?" The family member or neighbor didn’t mean anything by the question. It was just a casual part of everyday conversation.

That question however, conveys a certain power on the person answering and that power can manifest itself in damaging your company’s reputation, lowering the company’s stock price or make it more difficult for you to recruit top-notch applicants, among many other unintended consequences.

Suppose the answer is, "The place has never been worse!"

The questioner will naturally ask, "Oh, why is that?"

From then on, the person answering is in the classic position of opinion leader or informed source. What is said will be taken as absolute truth. Who, after all, could know better than someone who works there?

The conversation continues: "Well, you know I’m in purchasing and the amount of money those people waste is just criminal!"

Whether or not that comment is accurate or is said for some ulterior motive isn’t important. What is important is that the listener will carry away an opinion that he or she will pass on to others and those others will transmit it again and again in an ever widening circle. With each successive iteration, the comment will lose accuracy, just as in the old party game.

This rumor system is unavoidable, but from an employee communications standpoint, it can be minimized or at times made to work for you, not against you.

When at all possible, give employees the news first. It is always unwise to have employees read first about the organization they work for in the newspaper. If the news is detailed, provide a handout in plain language that states the facts.

Don’t limit the dissemination of news to the big events or just bad news. Develop a system that communicates regularly and accurately and one that congratulates good performance by individuals and departments as well as the whole organization.

After sending out important news, promise a follow-up and then provide it. Remember that every employee wants to be armed with the facts when he or she is asked. Few people want to say that they don’t know what’s going on and a few may just say, "They never tell us anything!"

Large & Page Communications, Inc. 242 Newbury Street, Hartford, CT 06114-2234

mailto:info@largeandpage.com