In the global marketplace, employees are both innovators and implementers. Their knowledge is hugely important in successfully shaping work and team processes within companies. Yet this information resource is only rarely harnessed, as recent findings show.
In most cases, employees keep their knowledge to themselves. They do not dare give feedback to their superiors or suggest improvements. The reason: fear of criticism and repression.
Obstacles To Openness
A study carried out by the US-American organization researchers Linda Trevino and James Detert in a US technology company with 50,000 staff shows that half of employees think communication with a superior should not be too open.
According to Trevino and Detert the biggest obstacles to openness are the personality, behavior and demeanor of senior staff. An intentionally hierarchical structure at meetings and appraisal interviews as well as inadequate top-down communication often means that mistrust towards management becomes the norm.
Breaking the Silence: Management by Walking Around
How can employees‘ confidence be restored? The answer, according to both US-scientists, is well-known: Management by Walking Around. This is a method that focuses communication between employees and management on informal discussions and thus builds relationships without a concrete reason and with an open ear for what is being said.
In order to see how these findings can be implemented without face-to-face contact in virtual teams, we are happy to demonstrate our developments in the area of “Virtual Performance Improvement” (VPI).
