The goals of a company and the strategies to achieve them may have to be tweaked, modified, or altered as market conditions change and also when the company moves through different phases in its lifecycle. Every little shift in strategy or change of goals needs to be effectively communicated to employees to enable them to work together as a cohesive team. Thus, internal communications regarding strategy have to be contextually sensitive, prompt, simple, direct, and unambiguous.
For any communication to be effective and result-oriented, clarity is highly essential. Furthermore, organizational alignment is crucial in today’s dynamic and competitive landscape. A study by California-based business consulting and coaching firm LSA Global found that companies with high organizational alignment are 72% more profitable and outperform others by growing revenues 58% faster. The same research found that strategic clarity or clear communication of business strategy accounted for 31% of this performance difference.
In organizations where employees are highly aligned with the company’s vision, they clearly understand the company’s business strategy, are fully convinced that the strategy is practical and implementable, and have complete confidence in its success. They also believe in their organization’s uniqueness and culture. Due to clear communication of goals and accountabilities, employees trust their leadership enough to stake their own careers, efforts, and time in pursuing the company strategy.
Despite this, a research report by Chris Zook, partner at Bain and Company, published in the Harvard Business Review, indicates that only 40% of the workforce is aware of the company’s goals, strategy, and needs. Meanwhile, 60% of the company employees work aimlessly and keep investing efforts that don’t significantly help achieve its goals. That is why companies and teams fail to accomplish their targets. Hence, every company must clearly, consistently, and powerfully communicate its goals and strategy to employees at every level. A company can do so by using strong internal communications and thereby function as a single unit, and realize its vision.
