Interpersonal Communication 9tv

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Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment Mary Bambacas

Interpersonal communication skills 51

University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, and

Margaret Patrickson International Graduate School of Business, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, to investigate the interpersonal communication skills that human resource (HR) managers expect managers in supervisory positions possess. Second, to identify which of these skills HR managers expect managers use to engender subordinate commitment to the organisation. Third, the paper aims to investigate what interpersonal communication skills that enhance employee commitment to the organisation are most lacking in managers in supervisory positions. Design/methodology/approach – The approach of the study is a series of in-depth interviews with 32 senior HR managers in organisations with over 100 staff. Findings – The paper finds that senior HR managers expected managers to be effective in interpersonal communication focusing mainly on the clarity and frequency of the messages, their ability to actively listen and the ability to lead in a collaborative way. The way messages were sent, especially their clarity, and a leadership style that engendered trust, was of the highest importance when HR managers wanted to enhance employee commitment to the organisation. However, these skills were also the ones found most lacking. Practical implications – HR practitioners need to consider more explicitly what behaviours are important to promote organisational commitment. Originality/value – This paper highlights that the interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment and are most valued by organisations are those that are most lacking in managers. This paper also provides insight for practitioners to the interpersonal communication skills areas that managers need to develop so that their interaction with staff may enhance commitment to the organisation. Keywords Interpersonal communications, Interpersonal skills, Job satisfaction Paper type Research paper

Introduction Over the last three decades, studies on how to encourage organisational commitment have been of interest to researchers in the area of organisational communication (Buchanan, 1974; DeCotiis and Summers, 1987; Putti et al., 1990; Reichers, 1985; McGee Wanguri, 1995; Gaertner and Nollen, 1989). Researchers and professionals assume and investigations have confirmed that the way managers convey information to their staff has consequences on the attitudes they develop towards the organisation. Overwhelmingly, research espouses the positive organisational outcomes that committed employees bring to organisations. Committed employees are believed to be more productive and less likely to quit (Arnold and Mackenzie Davey, 1999; Arthur,

Journal of Communication Management Vol. 12 No. 1, 2008 pp. 51-72 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1363-254X DOI 10.1108/13632540810854235

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1994; Cohen and Hudecek, 1993; Somers and Bimbaum, 2000; Tett and Meyer, 1993), more dependable (Angle and Lawson, 1994), perform better (Suliman and Iles, 2000), produce more (Tjosvold et al., 1998) and are more involved (Brett and Stroh, 1997). The evidence overwhelmingly s the idea that employee commitment is enhanced by general aspects of communication such as satisfaction (Varona, 1996), climate (Guzley, 1992; Van den Hooff and de Ridder, 2004), organisational information provision (Ng et al., 2006), relationships with upper-level managers (Putti et al., 1990) and quality of communication (Thornhill et al., 1996). In an era of apparent constant change and “erosion of corporate loyalty” interpersonal communication skills in managers are vital to promoting employee attachment to the organisation (Brunetto and Farr-Wharton, 2004) However, researchers have paid little attention to the interpersonal communication skills that managers need to enhance their subordinates’ commitment to the organisation. The aim of this paper is to identify the skills human resource (HR) managers consider to be essential in effective interpersonal communication. Literature Interpersonal communication A popular view of communication is that it is the process by which information about policies, procedures, finance and customer (Vandenberg et al., 1999) is conveyed to others in organisations. Yet, it is the medium of interpersonal communication or the content and quality of the messages we send to “initiate, define, maintain, or further a relationship” that determines the success of this process (Dainton and Zelley, 2005, p. 51). In other words, communication as “the process by which people interactively create, sustain, and manage meaning” goes beyond the view of communication as another managerial activity (or what needs to be done) to explaining the how of activities (Dainton and Zelley, 2005, p. 2). Interpersonal communication explains “the means” by which organisational activities, such as managing, controlling, planning, and leading are delivered. Downs and Adrian’s (2004) model of communication draws attention to the processes of encoding (decide on what and how to communicate) and decoding (interpret message) while highlighting the filtering of messages which result in the interpretations of messages that are received. Here, the loop that develops two-way communication between individuals demonstrates this to be more effective than one-way communication. It is this interpersonal communication that may impact on the substance of the message, the relationships between communicators and their credibility and the resulting interpretation (decoding) of the message received by the individual (receiver). The interpersonal communication skills that individuals have may therefore contribute to communication effectiveness (Devito, 1996). A number of studies have tried to identify interpersonal skills essential in people management (Boyatzis, 1982; Whetten and Cameron, 2002). Robbins and Hunsaker (2003) reviewed a large number of studies and synthesised the interpersonal skills that surfaced on most lists. Most of these skills belong to three categories – leadership, the process of communication and motivation. Interpersonal skills under leadership relate to leadership style, handling conflicts, running meetings, team building and promoting change. The process of communication includes sending messages, listening and providing . Similarly, motivating is broken down into goal setting, clarifying

expectations, persuading, empowering, and providing . Other interpersonal skills include empowering others, persuading, politicking and negotiating Interpersonal communication has been investigated through a variety of measures that touch on interpersonal communication skills. For example, the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), a popular instrument for analysing communication processes in organisations, deals with eight factors that consider communication at the informational and relational level (Gray and Laidlaw, 2004). Communication at the informational level is considered as information pertaining to the task-role or organisational activities. Relationships between superiors and subordinates, horizontal and informal communication and the personal dimension form the relational dimension. Each dimension considers a number of skills simulatneously. For example, the “relationship to superiors” dimension measures skills such as “openness of superiors to subordinates as well as superior’s ability to listen” (Downs, 1994, p. 115). The personal dimension considered “superiors” understanding of problems faced on the job and the clarity of criteria judging employees (Downs and Adrian, 2004). It would appear that literature on communication has investigated general aspects of interpersonal communication rather than communication skills. A good example is the study by Brunetto and Farr-Wharton (2004). Brunetto and Farr-Warren investigated supervisor communication, corporate communication, personal communication and the communication climate of employees from three Australian private and public organisations. Few articles have considered specific interpersonal communication variables (Guzley, 1992; Heffernan and Poole, 2005; Henttonen and Blomqvist, 2005; Penley and Hawkins, 1985). Penley and Hawkins for example, considered communication responsiveness of supervisors (listening and responding to issues), and personal communication (discussed personal issues with subordinate) but more variables measured what information was exchanged rather than how it was exchanged. In addition, Guzley (1992) considered superior/subordinate communication (two way communication) and employee participation, and both Heffernan and Poole (2005) and Henttonen and Blomqvist (2005) believed that building mutual trust was an essential element in building relationships with overseas partners or teams respectively. Communication links to commitment Managers communicate daily with their subordinates typically giving on performance, executing performance appraisals, providing information and so forth. These actions in turn facilitate developing or negating subordinate organisational commitment as it is the way these practices are perceived that influences levels of commitment (Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001; Tansky and Cohen, 2001). The organisational commitment concept is multidimensional in nature (Allen and Meyer, 1990; Angle and Lawson, 1993; Hackett et al., 1994; Meyer et al., 1990; Somers, 1993). Meyer et al. (1990) have incorporated three conceptualisations outlined in the literature (affective, normative and continuance commitment). Affective commitment is conceptualised as identification or attachment, normative commitment is conceptualised as responsibility to repay a debt or commitment to norms and continuance commitment is conceptualised as sacrifice and investment that increases an individual’s cost of leaving. Organisational commitment is thus made up of these

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three separate components and literature has considered how the decoding of organisational messages influence different aspects of organisational commitment. Feelings of attachment and moral obligation have been enhanced by messages that have been decoded as positive experiences. In other words, individuals who feel that they have been ed by the messages sent through organisations have enhanced employee levels of affective and normative commitment (Meyer and Smith, 2001). Contrary to this, however, Meyer and Smith found that iveness did not contribute to feelings of it being costly to leave the organisation. Further, the way the message is decoded is dependent on how information is categorised and interpreted (McShane and Travaglione, 2003). For example, Francis-Smythe and Smith (1997) and Beck and Wilson (1997) concluded that it was the quality of the employees received that had a positive relationship to their level of attachment or affective commitment to the organisation. In general, literature that has considered communication that is linked to commitment has focused on two areas. First, the focus has been on general aspects of communication such as communication satisfaction (Varona, 1996), communication climate (Guzley, 1992; Van den Hooff and de Ridder, 2004), quality of communication (Thornhill et al., 1996), communication systems (Jacobs, 2006) and their links to affective commitment. Second, specific facets of communication such as, organisational information provision (Ng et al., 2006), relationship with upper level management (Putti et al., 1990), and their link to affective commitment has been considered. Interpersonal communication, a specific aspect of communication, the skills within this feature and their link to commitment has only been given minimal attention within the management literature. While Robbins and Hunsaker (2003) have suggested 14 skills under the three major categories of leadership, the process of communication and motivation literature is limited in relation to these skills and their link to different components of commitment. Leadership skills are regarded as key interpersonal skills by most studies (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003; Chia, 2005) and promote openness and trust. Schindler and Thomas (1993) state that three of the key dimensions underlying trust are openness (being truthful), integrity (honesty), and consistency (reliability in handling situations). Costa (2003) has linked trust and affective commitment while other studies that have connected open communication to commitment have related individual voice (freely speaking of ones concerns) and argumentativeness (ability to argue the issues governing those concerns) (Gorden and Infante, 1991; Infante and Gorden, 1991) to commitment. Even though links between some leadership skills such as trust, openness and affective commitment have been established, whether other leadership skills such as team building or conflict handling are linked to commitment is unclear. These interpersonal communication skills are also important as they engender co-operation, reduce conflict which, in turn, increases affective commitment, diminishing the tendency to leave (Morgan and Hunt, 1994) Skills in the process of communication the second category of key interpersonal skills requires competency in sending messages, listening and providing (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003). Skills in message clarity, developing and maintaining credibility and obtaining are essential as they have profound ramifications in

the coordinating and controlling of the organisation (Downs and Adrian, 2004). In effect, it is the nature of the superior-subordinate relationships that influences employee attitudes and commitment (Dubinsky and Yammarino, 1992). However, how to measure and improve the interpersonal skills needed to maintain effective communication that ultimately influences commitment to the organisation is less clear. Active rather than ive listening skills and the way is given influences the effectiveness of the message. Listening skills are valued as these do not judge but probe, reflect and deflect reinforce verbal messages. A review of the literature on requirements for teamwork reiterates the importance of listening for individual team (Stevens and Campion, 1994). Moreover, Guzley’s (1992) investigation linked attentiveness and perceptiveness (listening techniques) to affective commitment. In addition, literature associates quality (Beck and Wilson, 1997; Francis-Smythe and Smith, 1997) that is timely, job specific and useful (DeCotiis and Summers, 1987) as having a positive relationship to organisational commitment. Although the positive effects of a number of effective interpersonal skills have been investigated (Garside and Kleiner, 1991; Mayer and Davis, 1995) the effect on the different components of commitment have not been established. Motivating employees, an important element in managing employees to engender positive organisational outcomes (Linstead et al., 2004) also considers skills in goal setting, clarifying expectations, persuading, empowering people and providing (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003). Goal setting has been linked to affective commitment (Tziner and Latham, 1989) and empowering people is noted as a positive step toward managerial effectiveness (Pringle, 1986). Aspects to how goal setting is achieved such as how to obtain goal commitment from employees, how to clarify expectations, how to persuade (credibility or logical reasoning) and how these skills will enhance employee commitment to the organisation are areas that have been overlooked. Linking interpersonal communication with the development of normative commitment has not been the focus of much prior research. In general, earlier investigations in management literature have assumed that normative and affective commitment is closely allied. Literature on continuance commitment on the other hand, has shown that the way the receiver decodes messages may have a negative effect (high sacrifice to leave, availability of alternatives) on commitment. For example, Allen and Meyer (1990) illustrated that ive practices such as management receptiveness and were negatively correlated to continuance commitment, while Eisenberger et al. (1990) and Smith (1995) demonstrated that perceived was also linked to calculative factors and continuance commitment respectively. The review of this research stream shows that interpersonal communication skills as potential determinants of affective, normative and continuance commitment have been ignored. This paper by way of contrast deals with this particularly neglected area of interpersonal communication skills that link to employee commitment to the organisation. Aims of this paper The aims of this paper are, first, to gather information on the interpersonal communication skills HR managers expect their managers to have. Second, to identify the interpersonal communication skills they expect managers to use to engender

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positive perceptions and commitment to the organisation. Third, to find what HR managers believe are the interpersonal communication skills most lacking in organisations needed to improve employee commitment to the organisation. Method The aim of this paper was to provide some understanding of a relatively unexplored area. The intention was to speak with senior HR managers in depth regarding the interpersonal communication skills managers in supervisory roles needed to possess in order to enhance their subordinates commitment to the organisation. HR managers in the most senior organisational positions were chosen as these individuals are ultimately responsible for selecting and recruiting the staff that the organisation needs to achieve its objectives. These managers are involved in the development of the strategic direction of the organisation (Brewster and Larsen, 2000) that dictates the resulting skills needed by managerial staff. Interpersonal communication is one of the sets of skills needed by managers to achieve positive organisational outcomes. Therefore, it was important to note their expectations. As they are also responsible for auditing different facets of communication and employee attitudes such as commitment within the organisation, their understanding of the communication skills and resulting employee attitude toward these skills was invaluable. The aim of this research was to understand their perspective on the interpersonal communication skills needed by managers in supervisory roles. In order to achieve our intended goal we sampled the most senior HR managers in medium to large organisations with more than 100 employees in Southern Australia. The paper presents, empirical findings from 32 qualitative interviews. A total of 32 HR managers (12 male and 20 female) in public and private organisations of 100 or more employees were interviewed concerning how they select new managers and how they prepare managerial staff to deliver HR practices. One to one-and-a-half hour semi-structured interviews were conducted and interview data were analysed using template analysis (Crabtree and Miller, 1999). This facilitates the understanding of the process of engendering positive perceptions and commitment. The interviews consisted of in-depth discussions to promote exchange of information and elaboration by the respondent on the prime areas of this investigation (Cooper and Schindler, 1998). Three main themes were addressed: (1) The interpersonal communication skills HR managers look for in prospective managers. (2) Interpersonal communication skills senior HR managers expect that managers in supervisory roles use to engender positive perceptions and commitment in employees. In other words what is important about what and how managers say what they say. (3) What is the one most important aspect of interpersonal communication that leads to employee commitment that needs to be addressed. Response categories were determined from the interview responses for each of the interview questions (see the appendix). Responses were tabled according to the number of times male and female HR managers mentioned each category. As there were a greater proportion of female HR managers in the sample we wanted to note whether gender influenced the categories that were mentioned. In order to identify the

interviewees, a number notation was allocated to each interviewee (no. 1, no. 2, no. 3 . . .), with an indication of their gender (M ¼ Male, F ¼ Female). An example of no. 5M would indicate that the fifth interviewee was a male. Categories used both manifest content (elements that are physically present and are countable) and latent content (meaning conveyed by the message) (Berg, 1995). Internal reliability was achieved in the manner suggested by Drew et al. (1996). The interviews were recorded with interviewee permission and coding of the interview question responses was checked for accuracy and congruence of perceptions using two researchers. Results First question The first question related to the interpersonal communication skills senior HR managers look for in prospective managers when recruiting managers in supervisory roles. In response to this question, the 32 senior HR managers eluded to a number of communication skills they preferred. There were 99 responses from the 32 practitioners (Table I). The managers’ responses for interpersonal communication skills were allocated to ten of the 14 categories as suggested by Robbins and Hunsaker (2003). The two main categories concentrated on the way messages were dispatched (36 per cent) and the characteristics of an effective listener (18 per cent). Senior HR managers conceded that managers needed to articulate their ideas clearly, but even more critically managers needed to clarify the business context by specifying why the issues were important to them. This need to clarify the business context was seen as more important by the male respondents (four out of six mentions). One HR manager explained the communication skills managers needed in the following words: the ability to communicate clearly what the business issues are, and to ensure that staff understand the business realities, the business context that we’re in, and the ability to translate those into actions and outcomes that relate to the team [and what] that individual might be responsible for . . . so it’s the translation of business realities into individual abilities (no. 10M).

Importance was also placed on the credibility of the source sending the message. One senior HR manager commented that: it’s the credibility of the source, its believability, honesty and transparency . . . so I think it comes down to the credibility of the person giving the message (no. 1F).

Another important factor concerning the way messages were conveyed included the tone and choice of language directed to employees at different levels of the organisation. One senior HR manager summarised it well when she said that she wanted managers to: think through issues and then to communicate them back in that simple friendly, this is what it means to me language. I want them to be able to speak in a language that the employees relate to. I don’t want, you know, jargon and managerial blah, in our case public service blah. I want real genuine conversations with people (no. 25F).

Next to be mentioned were HR managers views that it was necessary to show respect while communicating “frequently in a variety of ways and in a more friendly

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Interpersonal communication skills Sending messages Clarity Business context Credibility/friendly Frequently/regular Choice of language Understand individual Tone Respect Confident Listening Active listening Body language Empathy Providing Goal oriented Open/honest Goal setting Business realities Leading Consultative Trust/honest/transparency Persuading Influencing Running meetings Presentation Clarify expectations

Female mentions

Male mentions

Total mentions

8 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 2

4 4 1 1 1

12 6 4 3 3 2 2 2 2

6 2 2

3 3 2

9 5 4

5 2

2

5 4

3

6

9

36

1 1

18

9 9 9 6 2 2 1 1 3

1 3 2

6 3 2 4 1 5

6

3

Resolving conflict

2 2

2

37

1 99

Empowering people Total

6

3 3

Table I. Interpersonal communication skills possessed by prospective managers

% of total mentions

1 1 62

99

genuine basis” (no. 14F). In addition, understanding the individual through “being able to differentiate their needs and requirements” (no. 4F) were also considered relevant when sending messages. Effective listening skills were the second most important characteristic for prospective managers. This communication skill related to active listening where individuals were an active participant of the communication process. Body language, such as being able “to talk to people and to listen to people and make eye ” (no. 10M) was seen as demonstrating this but was a skill stressed more by male (three out of five mentions) than female HR managers. The general feeling of HR managers was that body language was almost as important as: empathy and trying to help them [employees] as much as you can . . . being able to respond to their issues and complaints . . . I’m looking for a commitment by managers to improve the workings of the people below them (no. 24M).

The way , goal setting and leading was carried out were the next most mentioned characteristics in effective communication. The female respondents placed greater value in the way (seven out of nine mentions) was delivered and the consultative form leadership (six out of six mentions) took, than the male respondents. Male respondent on the other hand placed greater importance on communication about setting goals for the business (six out of 19 mentions) than their female counterparts. Goal-oriented was important so that the individual or team understood the “business directional strategy. . .and their contribution to the overall organisation” (no. 3F) while giving: open and honest so as . . . to be able to say “look I get the feeling that this is what’s going on, I could be wrong but I’m just letting you know that this is what I’m concerned about”. That’s the culture that we’re trying to drive (no. 15F).

When considering goal setting the major focus for the HR managers was on clearly translating corporate goals to business reality. The comment of one senior HR manager illustrates this point when he comments on the ability of managers to send the message that is understood at all levels of the organisation by: cascading information effectively . . . [which means] . . . the information from senior management will cascade beautifully down through the ranks to the people in the operational areas (no. 27F).

Another HR manager adds that the way the goals are communicated when discussing the business context is also paramount. He said that we need managers who are: committed to the organisation’s goals and therefore able to articulate them, and show some enthusiasm and ion towards the goals, rather than articulate stuff (no. 24M).

These findings are summarised in Table I. A leadership culture of collaboration and consultation was favoured by the female senior HR managers (six out of six mentions). As noted by one of the female HR managers working towards a consultative style, meant working towards a more: democratic culture, introducing effective consultation. In the beginning the feeling was . . . oh, I don’t have time for that, oh, its going to be inefficient, its going to be taking over too much time, everyone’s going to get all crazy, but I think they’ve slowly learnt that, you can actually have targeted consultation . . . you can still be clear about what you want to achieve, but let staff have a say (no. 22F).

In general female HR managers felt that the participative leadership style “engage[d] people so they become champions of the idea” (no. 17F). The general feeling was also that leadership needed to “build trust and honesty” (no. 2F) which translates into respect rather than leadership of intimidation which has the opposite effect. Second question The second question asked HR managers how they encouraged supervisors to transmit information to their subordinates, in other words, what did they say and how did they say it, so as to encourage employees’ commitment to the organisation. The way in which information was transmitted to employees influenced their commitment. Commitment was described as feelings of attachment and wanting to stay, feelings of obligation to stay or feelings that they had to stay.

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Senior HR managers in this sample considered that seven out of the 14 interpersonal communication skills needed for effective management (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003) were important in enhancing subordinate commitment (Table II). Yet, these communication skills differed from the set that HR managers used to select managers in supervisory roles. Three of the communication skills, such as running meetings, resolving conflict and empowering people were not considered in the set of communication skills that HR managers gauged would enhance commitment. The majority of respondents agreed that the way messages were sent and the style of leadership was influential in enhancing employee commitment. From the HR manager responses, 46 per cent focused on skills required to send messages, while 25 per cent focused on leadership skills (Table II). Presenting messages clearly and maintaining the consistency of the message throughout the different levels of the organisation was of the utmost importance. The belief was that individuals who received the same consistent message would have a greater understanding of the value of what they were doing helping to connect them to the organisation. The female HR managers’ felt the clarity of messages were of the utmost importance (11/13 mentions) and commented that supervisors needed to be clear on: what the corporate message and decision [was] . . . [so that] . . . people in the organisation [were] not getting two or three different messages . . . [otherwise] . . . like the Chinese whisper, what start[ed] at one end and what you g[o]t at the other end c[ould] be a quite different message (no. 14F).

Interpersonal communication skills

Table II. Interpersonal communication skills that encourage organisational commitment

Sending messages Clarity/consistent One – on-one Two-way communication Respect Feel valued – fulfilling needs Credibility/friendly Leading Trust/honest/transparency Consultative/collaborative Decision making involvement Clarify expectations In business context Listening Active listening Empathy Goal setting Clear/realistic Persuading Use logic Providing Individual Total

Female mentions

Male mentions

Total mentions

11 5 3 5 3 2

2 3 3

13 8 6 5 5 2

% of total mentions 46

2

25 11 3 2

4 1

15 4 2

8

2

10

2 2

2

4 2

1

1 2

3

3

23

2 84

12 7 4 2

4 2 2 61

100

Conveying the message directly to individuals was the next most preferred method for HR managers to send messages that would enhance employee commitment. One HR manager summarised it well when he commented: It’s the one-on-one that people have . . . they are always on the move, and so you know trying to get them to sit down for an hour’s meeting is just about impossible. And so the best way is one-on-one, like today. I’ll go out to the site and I’ll spend a good last half of the day outside just catching up and seeing how everyone’s going (no. 6M).

Two-way communication which takes into skills for obtaining was also illustrated in the HR managers’ responses. Testimony to this was comments such as: The how is about expecting a two-way communication so making themselves [supervisors] available for giving , for other ideas, or what ifs (no. 20F).

Sending messages that illustrated to employees that they were valued was also an important communication skill that HR managers felt enhanced employee commitment. Managers that employees by addressing their needs were noted by HR managers. Participants believed that: If they’re valued by the supervisor then efforts will be made to communicate in a way that will encourage them to stay . . . [discussions by managers that attempt to find employee needs facilitate commitment] . . . what are you looking for? Why are you going? If it’s promotion can we offer something? If it’s about development can we offer that? (no. 24M).

Another major consideration for the female HR managers when sending messages was being respectful (five out of five mentions) when responding to others. This focused on the interaction between managers and their subordinates. This aspect of sending messages was not part of Robbins and Hunsaker’s (2003) classification of skills for sending messages, however rated highly amongst our female interviewees. As one of the female HR managers noted: It’s not what you say it’s the way you say it. What we’ve been talking about is that communicating it with measures of respect . . . in other words think about what they’re saying before they share (no. 25F).

Skills in leading were considered the next most important skill to enhance employee commitment (Table II). The dimension most valued was honesty and truthfulness which builds trust. The female HR managers considered this communication skill (11/15 mentions) to be very important in enhancing employee commitment as this signifies recognition in the messages managers send. One HR manager acknowledged how being open and honest resulted in employee commitment: Honesty and consistency in action and in words . . . Share information with those who need to know, protect confidential information, so that also shows integrity . . . [and builds trust and as a result] . . . our employee surveys actually rate their [employee] commitment to their immediate leaders quite high.

Respondents were also clear on how leadership engendered commitment. A consultative style meant that managers would consult and include subordinates in the decision making process. One HR manager highlighted the importance of collaboration saying:

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My experience has been the more you involve your staff in the decision making process and give them the full picture [while] saying this is us doing this together, the more committed they are to it and the more they understand what we’re trying to do (no. 1F).

Skills in clarifying expectations and in listening were also considered to be part of improving employee commitment. Female HR managers placed great importance on clarifying expectations (eight out of ten mentions) as they did for sending clear messages (11/13 mentions). Clarifying expectations added to the clear message that needed to be sent. It specified each person’s role within the organisation. One female HR manager explained that managers needed to clarify how and where the individual sat within the organisation so that they would want to continue with the current organisation: That they keep the macro view persistent and not drive straight to the detail, so as to reinforce the linkages . . . [and] . . . exhibit the individual’s role in alignment with the organisational structure . . . [so managers] . . . provide the business context so that people can see the bigger picture (no. 8F).

Skills for goal setting, persuading and providing that would enhance employee commitment were also mentioned by the respondents. Participants commented that initially goals needed to be clear and realistic as well as making sure that was provided to staff: You need to know if you’ve achieved your goals at the end of the day, when you go home, you should know that you’ve had a good day or you’ve had a reasonable day or you’ve had a darn bad day. If you haven’t achieved your goals you should know why and you should know what you’ve gotta do (no. 10M).

The male HR managers also placed importance on the skill of persuasion (three out of three mentions) in improving employee commitment. Persuading individuals to change their behaviour by presenting a logical argument and giving were illustrated by one HR manager when he commented also given some consideration as the comments below attest: Your [manager] job is to influence their [employee] decision. If you’re talking to a subordinate . . . you’ve gotta talk to them in a way that will change their behaviour, you’ve got to logically argue the point (no. 9M).

The second part of the question required that managers report their feelings towards the organisation as a result of this communication. The way messages were sent was crucial to employee commitment to the organisation. The feeling was that it was the way messages were sent and the way employees were led that mattered the most. For example, one respondent summarised it well when she said: You can at least make them feel that ok, I’ve been listened to, I’m actually valued, I am a part of this business, and I’m an important part too, and they know that they have been acknowledged and want to stay (no. 5F).

The collaborative leading category relating to interpersonal communication meant that the organisation: was providing an avenue to actually demonstrate the organisations commitment to the individual, [which] would in turn make that staff member more loyal to the organisation, [in

other words the employee] would feel that the organisation had an interest in them and was interested in their future and wanted to do these things to retain them (no. 8F).

Commitment to managers due to the way messages were sent “was quite high” (no. 2F). The two-way communication on the one-to-one basis assisted in clarifying expectations and the individual wanting to remain with the organisation. One HR manager from a public sector organisation noted that a supervisor who found out over a casual discussion with a subordinate that: They were looking at going to another organisation, a private sector organization ’cos they didn’t think the government was moving quickly enough in XYZ [the public sector organisation] and their manager told them about a you beaut new program that was about to be kicked off and that gave them the incentive to stay (no. 1F).

Feelings of obligation to stay (normative commitment) were not related to the interpersonal communication skills managers possessed. Rather, the obligation that was felt was due to the interpersonal relationships built within communities: I think employees who feel obligated are those out in our branches . . . because they are so intertwined with the community that they feel that if they were to leave that community, the farmers who depend on them [managers] for advice and , that they would be letting down an aspect of the community . . . I guess that’s a sense of moral obligation for them (no. 16F).

They felt that employees thought it would be costly to leave as the perceived a limited availability of jobs elsewhere (continuance commitment) which was again not due to the interpersonal communication skills but due to the situation. One HR manager’s comments summed it up well when she noted that employees: feel they have to stay ’cos they’re not gonna get another job, or if they’ve got a lot of pressure because they’ve got a mortgage and they’ve gotta leave, they feel they have to stay (no. 30F).

Third question For the last question, HR managers needed to choose the one thing they could do to improve the way something was communicated that would improve employee commitment. In essence, this question considered the improvement that HR managers needed to make in their managers’ communication skills so that employee commitment would improve. Interestingly, the interpersonal communication skills HR managers valued and expected managers in supervisory roles to possess in order to enhance employee commitment (Table III) were the very skills that were problematic. For example, the area that respondents revealed needed most attention was skills for sending messages (59 per cent). This was the case for both males and females. While skills in leading rated a little lower (25 per cent) then for sending messages, it was the second most valued communication skill by HR managers as well as the communication skill needing most attention for both genders. As in the previous question, the clarity and consistency of the message had the highest focus for females. One HR manager’s comment summarised it well when he said: The trick for me is how do you get that same message from David to Jenny? We’ve all done [it], you know, tell a person one story and move it round the room to a different story at the

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Interpersonal communication skills Sending messages Clarity/consistent Two-way communication Credibility/friendly Leading Trust/honest/transparency Situational leadership Consultative/collaborative Clarify expectations Business context Listening Active listening Total

Female mentions

Male mentions

Total mentions

7 3

4 3 1

11 6 1

3 1

2 1 1

5 2 1

% of total mentions 59

25

13 4

4

1 20

1 32

3 12

100

end . . . .So how do we nail getting consistent information [relayed with] the same level of enthusiasm and commitment that the CEO has, right down to [every person]? (no. 18M).

Part of the importance of the way messages were sent was the importance of the two-way communication between managers and employees: Having managers take the time to sit down and talk to their staff on a regular basis . . . understanding what drives staff . . . this regular pattern of communication, this is what we talk about [which suggests to] a staff member, that “all these managers are interested, and he [manager] is committed to my development and he’s interested in what I’m doing and where I’m heading” (no. 4F).

Skill in leading was the next most important communication skill HR managers thought managers needed to improve so that employee commitment would be enhanced. HR managers felt that the recent changes that organisations had experienced made the leading role important. Here, communication needed to be made by the highest-ranking member of the organisation to reinforce transparency and build trust and commitment. One respondent noted that: We’ve just gone through a change of ownership [so] the managing director is visiting all the sites, speaking to each work site about the change of ownership followed up with a sort of question and answer sheet (no. 10M).

In view of the changes that were being experienced in their organisations a small number of female HR managers considered clarifying employee expectations to be very important in improving employee commitment. Unless expectations at the senior levels of the organisation were clearly conveyed at all level of the organisation commitment to the organisation would not be achieved. One HR manager concluded that: I think it is improving the linkage between the corporate formal communication and the one-on-one. [In other words clarifying] the workgroup/manager level of expectations and making sure those messages are in sync and ive of the ones at the organisation level (no. 1F).

Discussion The intention of this paper was threefold. First, to gather information on the interpersonal communication skills managers are expected to have. Second, to identify the interpersonal communication skills managers are expected to use to engender positive perceptions and commitment to the organisation. Third, to find the interpersonal communication skill most lacking in organisations needed to improve employee commitment to the organisation. In general, the interpersonal communication skills considered important in the running of organisations and in improving employee commitment focused on specific skills under the three categories suggested by Robbins and Hunsaker (2003) (leadership, the process of communication and motivation). Interestingly, the problematic interpersonal communication skills that these HR managers felt needed attention in order to improve employee commitment were the ones considered essential in improving employee commitment. This signalled a potential disparity between the interpersonal communication skills that HR managers desired managers in supervisory roles possess compared to the reality. The interpersonal communication skills in the process of communication category (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003) were given the greatest emphasis in selection and with regard to enhancing affective commitment. In particular, the skill of maintaining clarity and consistency of messages was rated as having the utmost importance. HR managers considered this skill as key in their selection of managers in new supervisory roles, key in enhancing commitment and key to any communication behaviours needing attention in the organisation. This suggests that sending clear and consistent messages were an important element in interpersonal communication yet difficult to achieve. This is consistent with Downs and Adrian’s (2004) total environment communication model which highlights the importance of the dynamic context in which message exchange occurs. As well as interactions being shaped by external determinants such as the culture, economy, and competitiveness, messages are also filtered through individual differences such as listening habits, motivation and perceptions. Clarity and consistency of messages throughout all the levels in the organisation meant that the message that was sent needed to be received and decoded maintaining the understanding intended by the source (Downs and Adrian, 2004). Consequently, Clampitt (2001, p. 83) highlighted the difficulty of managing information effectively and noted that “effective information management lies in supervising the knowledge base as well as the processing mechanism”. The difficulty of maintaining message clarity and consistency impacts on employee commitment to the organisation and has repercussions for organisational outcomes that draw attention to the training managers receive regarding this aspect of communication. Our findings suggest that in order to enhance affective commitment, delivering the message needs to focus on the individual receiving the message so that the message is coherent, engaging and above all is interpreted as it was intended (Blundel, 2004). This was accentuated by the respondents who suggested that in order to improve commitment managers needed to be aware of and fulfil individual needs, maintain a two-way communication, be credible, respectful and value others while encouraging one-to-one communication. These interpersonal communication skills

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send messages to employees of respect and being valued which ultimately leads to employee affective commitment (Chang, 1999; Whitener, 2001). Although listening skills, from the process of communication category, were considered to be the second most important criteria in the selection of new staff (Table I), it was skills in leading that mattered the most next when employee commitment to the organisation was considered. This may be due to the changes these organisations were experiencing at the time of the interview and in line with the importance placed on leadership style when managing change (Howard, 1995). Even though HR managers believed a consultative leadership style was important when selecting and participative decision making was essential for them to enhance commitment to the organisation, to be trusted was rated higher. Trust, characterised by honesty and transparency (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003) was the next most important skill in achieving an affectively committed workforce. This confirms literature that promotes a link between attentiveness and perceptiveness (Guzley, 1992), openness and trust (Dubinsky and Yammarino, 1992) and affective commitment. HR managers felt trust was important given the prevalence of changing circumstances for organisations. In line with Kouzes and Posner’s (1987) they felt that change made trust an essential element in assisting leaders to maintain relationships with followers that ensured they remained committed to the leader’s vision. This has implications for HR managers and the importance of developing trust through openness and truthfulness in addition to being competent in their job and consistent in handling situations (Schindler and Thomas, 1993). Although the distinguishing characteristic in developing trust was integrity or in other words honesty and truthfulness, credibility of the source gained importance with changing conditions. As a result interpersonal communication skills were needed at the highest level. The level of the source delivering the message influenced the credibility, minimised filtration and encouraged trust and amplified affective commitment to the organisation. Respondents who experienced the opposite so that people in organisations at the highest level such as managing directors and CEOs were not prepared to communicate the proposed changes to employees both moral and affective commitment to the organisation dropped. This is in line with change management literature that proposes top-down strategies (Dunphy and Stace, 1990), increasing the strength of the driving sources (Lewin, 1951) and not only setting goals and vision for change but enthusing people for change (French and Bell, 1983). Clarifying employee expectations, in the motivating category (Robbins and Hunsaker, 2003), was the next most important skill in interpersonal communication when employee commitment was considered. This is an important aspect for developing employee commitment as it deals with managing expectations in the area of employer-employee psychological contract (Clutterbuck, 2005). Breaching the psychological contract can result in negative outcomes including declining organisational commitment (Restubog et al., 2006). Interestingly, this area was linked to the clarity of the message sent to employees and the need for improvement. It was clear that there were problems in trying to link organisational expectations, the organisational vision, to those of the individual at different levels of the organisation. This coincided with the two-way communication problem that was continuously voiced by the respondents.

This has implications for HR managers and the development of skills linked to clarifying and managing employee expectations. It is important with workforce diversity, highlighted by changing workforce demographics, that sharing mutual expectations is an ongoing process that facilitates understanding by minimising ambiguity and uncertainty (Osland et al., 2001). In addition minimising ambiguity enhances affective commitment. For example, Clinebell and Shadwick (2005) found that increased ambiguity lowered levels of affective commitment, job satisfaction, and job involvement, for bank employees in branch offices from three different banks with 28 branches. Affective commitment was the major commitment component that was linked to the interpersonal communication skills. Feeling obligated to stay with the organisation (normative commitment) and feeling that it would be too costly to leave the organisation (continuance commitment) were only considered with the situational factors. So feeling obligated to stay related to the debt they felt they needed to pay to the local community and the cost of leaving related to mortgage repayments and no perceived job alternatives that kept them at their current employment rather than the level of interpersonal skills illustrated by their managers. This implied that affective commitment, a desired aspect of commitment that is valued by organisations for the benefits it provides (Arnold and Mackenzie Davey, 1999; Somers and Bimbaum, 2000; Suliman and Iles, 2000), is reinforced by the way managers communicate to their subordinates. Conclusions Although there has been some research on communication skills and how these influence employee commitment to the organisation, there is limited research on interpersonal communication skills and their influence on employee commitment. Our results demonstrate that some interpersonal communication skills more than others are considered to be important in enhancing employee commitment. These findings current literature and extend them. The findings propose that affective commitment may develop from messages from managers who can be clear and consistent in what they say. Being truthful, open and honest is also a skill that engenders trust and encourages followers to accept the leader’s vision committing themselves to the goals of the organisation. Given the changing organisational circumstances and the need for organisations to have a committed workforce, there is a need for continued research into the link between interpersonal communication skills and organisational commitment. Managers and organisations achieve objectives through people. In order to be effective communicators one of the aspects of communication that has been overlooked, interpersonal communication needs further attention. Future research should devote attention to how interpersonal communication skills can contribute to positive perceptions and commitment. Limitations The findings from this study cannot be generalised. However, the number of in-depth interviews with the most senior HR managers in the organisations provides a valuable insight into the interpersonal communication skills that are needed in organisations in order to enhance organisational commitment.

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Varona, F. (1996), “Relationship between communication satisfaction and organizational commitment in three Guatemalan organizations”, Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 111-40. Whetten, D.A. and Cameron, K.S. (2002), Developing Management Skills, 5th ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Whitener, E.M. (2001), “Do ‘high commitment’ human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling”, Journal of Management, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 515-35. Further reading Downs, C.W. and Hazen, M. (1977), “A factor analytic study of communication satisfaction”, Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 63-73. Appendix (1) What interpersonal communication skills do you look for in prospective managers that assist in generating employee perceptions and employee commitment? (2) When supervisors transmit information to their subordinates so as to encourage their commitment, what do you consider important about what your managers say and how they say it? (3) If there is one thing you could do to improve the commitment of employees by improving the way something is communicated what would it be? Corresponding author Mary Bambacas can be ed at: [email protected]

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