Effective Communication Between Managers And Employees

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

At Walgreens Corporation, communication is made a top priority between the executives and store managers to ensure that everyone in the company is on the same page. The executives facilitate strategic conversations between lower management and their board of directors regarding the company’s vision and strategic goals. The company uses formal communication methods in a downwards, upwards, and horizontal direction to guarantee messages are given and received accurately. Managers use the downward method to allocate goals and tasks procedures, along with praise and motivation. The upward method of formal communication is used for learning of task issues, disputes, and feedback. The store managers use horizontal communication to work out departmental problems and coordinate routines between the different departments. Walgreens managers also use informal communication techniques such as written communication in emails and networking like with go-to-meetings and conferences. The company also makes a point to use a centralized network style of communication in its many functional, problem-solving, and task force teams. By utilizing so many techniques and tools, Walgreens has become very effective with their communication from top management all the way through their everyday employees, and they continue to seek new ways of improving their communication skills.

As a result, Walgreens recently introduced a new position in their company, the director of diversity networks & communications (Donaldson, 2012). This position is to aid in closing any gaps in communication caused by intruding issues or any oversight from the organizational culture. The director’s responsibility is to develop and deploy an enterprise-wide network to enhance employee engagement and increase communications both externally and internally. Walgreens has a very open door culture that enables a great proactive and innovative setting, which in turn continues to develop through the positive associations that are nurtured daily within the company (Walgreens, 2012). This open culture allows formal communication to flow freely in all directions, as well as giving all employees the option of informal communication such as emailing upper management if deemed necessary. This organizational culture is also a great additive to suppressing unnecessary communications like gossip through the grapevine. Walgreens has spent a lot of time ensuring they have a great line of communication throughout their company. I believe the next step in this diversity network should be to work on the lines of communication the company has through its marketing and with its customers. This can be accomplished with a top of the line problem-solving team in place to develop a strategy for improving these communication areas.

As with any organization, Walgreens has many different teams in place to work on several different tasks. Walgreens uses many functional work teams, which are designed to identify and address problems in their area of expertise (Daft, 2012). One such team is the pharmacy team. These employees are well trained and work together with a centralized network of communication with the pharmacist on duty to complete daily tasks. This company also has a specialized problem-solving team in place that continuously works on projects as issues arise to find solutions and get the projects back on target to reach their end goals. Other teams are put into place, such as task force teams, during holidays due to merchandise that is only available for a specific amount of time. These teams disperse after the holiday has passed. Each of these different types of teams is evaluated for their effectiveness depending on the circumstance in which the team was created. For example, the "completion of the task" measuring method can be used to determine the effectiveness of the holiday task force teams. This measures the teams’ effectiveness by the accuracy of their set goal, the time it took to complete the task given, how creative the team was, and any cost incurred while completing the task (Daft, 2012). The "development of the team" method of measuring effectiveness can be utilized with both the functional and problem-solving teams. This will measure how well the team came together, their flexibility, the effect they had on those with at stake, and customer satisfaction. An issue arising with a prescription that needs to be filled immediately for a customer, whose doctor’s office has already closed, is a great example of a problem-solving issue that the pharmacy functional team will have to assess and find a solution to. With what is at stake for the customer as well as their satisfaction with the service the "development of the team" method will easily measure the effectiveness in which this team achieved a solution for the problem. These measures are in place to ensure that, ultimately, the team goal is met, but also to aid the company in discovering what areas may need improvement with future teams.

As a result, the many communication tools and processes are put into place to help a company master the art of communication. This vital aspect is the nervous system of the company’s backbone. Open and honest communication between the upper and lower management, as well as each store employee, is key to successful communication, especially in team settings. As a team member, it is important to remember that whether it be centralized or decentralized communication, the goal is still the goal, and with open communication any goal is possible.

Daft, R. L. (2012). Management (10th ed.). [Vital Source digital version]. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9781133890737/pages/51614135

Melissa Donaldson. (2012). Profiles in Diversity Journal, 13(1), 22. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/ehost/detail?sid=77dbf036-40fc-4a75-93cb-4e965f198035%40sessionmgr10&vid=1&hid=27&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=58770519

Walgreens. (2012). Corporate Culture. Retrieved from http://careers.walgreens.com/life-at-walgreens/corporate-culture.aspx