Since communication plays a central role in any organization’s operations, it is essential to ensure the presence of a supportive communication climate to foster employee commitment and satisfaction. As an employee in John Doe Corporation, which is a large international business, I find the climate in my team extremely supportive and predisposing to devotion among staff members. In this post, I apply Gibb’s framework to analyze the communication climate from an employee’s viewpoint and outline opportunities for improvement.
The communication climate surrounding interactions between the members of my team and our direct supervisor, Jane Doe, is supportive, positive, and conducive to innovation and creativity. Unlike my previous workplace, the atmosphere in John Doe Corporation features the boss’s healthy attitude to constructive feedback from subordinate employees. For instance, after the launch of a new website to support customers and process orders, she encouraged the entire team to offer their feedback. Nobody was afraid of voicing their concerns about the design features and areas for improvement, and Jane communicated the remarks to the top management without hesitation. During our first encounter, the supervisor made it explicit that she had nothing against criticism that could potentially improve the team’s or even the entire department’s productivity. As my experience suggests, the principles that Jane declares are consistent with her actual management and communication strategies for the most part. Overall, the climate in my team can be seen as supportive, and this conclusion perfectly aligns with the CCI scores (see Appendix).
The communication climate affects motivation and team commitment to a large degree, which is clear from my organization’s case. According to Dukes (2012), supportive climates require the application of flexibility and empathy as the core principles, and it can effectively motivate employees to repay in kind and transform their professional strengths into quantifiable benefits for the company. Aside from the freedom of expression, the climate in my team is supportive because the supervisor does not create artificial barriers to positive interaction and team communication, thus demonstrating empathy (Clayton, 2011; Eltayeb, 2016). For instance, strict decisions and policies related to schedules and communication between employees exemplify defensive climates (Dukes, 2012). Jane does not distribute responsibilities in a way to prevent or limit encounters between employees that are friends or good acquaintances. Being allowed to work with colleagues that they get on well with, employees in our team feel very comfortable, which strengthens motivation by promoting each member’s better mood.
Although the communication climate in my current workplace is extremely supportive, there is still some room for improvement. For instance, on some rare occasions, the supervisor may offer her critique and encourage others and me to do something differently without delving into another person’s perspective on the situation, which probably stems from being pressed in time. To improve this aspect, I could further increase our communication model’s problem orientation by proposing the idea of more frequent organizational meetings and training sessions that would boost employees’ ability to explain their positions concisely (Eltayeb, 2016). As a person who aspires to fulfill a managerial role in the future, I would like to improve multiple skills, such as better flexibility as a communicator and active listening skills, to maximize my ability to create a supportive communication climate. In the context of organizational climates, flexibility and openness to dissimilar viewpoints are the prerequisites to building the climate of acceptance, whereas listening can support employees’ sense of self-worth and the willingness to demonstrate creativity.
To sum up, fostering a supportive communication climate is an essential goal for organizations, and my current workplace succeeds in this regard. Supportive communication ensures high employee motivation and individuals’ commitment to their teams, thus improving the practical outcomes of employees’ work. The creation of supportive climates requires a vast set of communication skills, including proper listening, flexibility, empathy, and a proper understanding of negotiation processes.
References
Clayton, M. (2011). Swift trust – why some teams don’t storm. Management Pocket blog. Web.
Dukes, A. J. (2012). Defensive v supportive climates in the workplace. Communication Is Life. Web.
Eltayeb, N. M. (2016). The impact of communication climate on employees’ motivation (an applied study on travel agencies). Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, 13(2), 103-120. Web.
Appendix
Communications Climate Inventory Results
Adapted from Gibb, J. (1961). Defensive communication. Journal of Communication, 11, 141-148.