Upward communication

Upward communication is a type of organizational communication in which lower-level members of a group transmit information to higher-level members. The most basic example of this communication would be workers at a company offering suggestions or opinions to the managers or owners of the company. A relatively new development in organizational dynamics, upward communication may improve day-to-day and long-term prospects for employees, employers, and whole organizations. This communication can increase cooperation, confidence, trust, and transparency by empowering workers to share their concerns and opinions. Organizations may benefit when upward communication offers insights that can increase worker satisfaction or make company operations more efficient.

Background

Communication refers to the processes by which humans and many other living things transfer information. Humans have a wide variety of highly advanced communication techniques. The most well-known and frequently used communication technique is verbal, which refers to the use of spoken language to share ideas. Most people communicate verbally many times each day, at home, work, school, and countless other locations. During verbal communication, other people may also listen actively, meaning they pay attention and offer thoughtful and useful feedback to speakers.

Not all communication is audible, however. Nonverbal communication makes up a large and important category of human expression. This refers to the process by which people use their bodies to share information, such as through gestures, facial expressions, or other physical actions. People may also use symbols for communication, such as in written and visual communication. Written communication uses printed words and may be found in text messages, billboards, product packaging, newspapers, novels, encyclopedias, and any other media that relies mainly on print information. Visual communication, meanwhile, uses mainly pictorial images, such as sketches, paintings, symbols, and signs, to convey messages.

Communication is an immeasurably important aspect of the human experience, and effective communication has allowed humans to achieve world-changing feats. People have used means of communication to study the universe, record their discoveries, share and debate their beliefs, and spread learning and innovation worldwide. In many ways, communication has served to bind people into social groups and facilitate all types of interpersonal relationships. Perhaps nowhere is this concept as clear as in the modern organization. An organization is a group of people, often a business, united by a shared goal that its members meet through strategies and cooperation.

For much of human history, organizations were generally small, family-based groups occupied with simple but critical life-sustaining tasks such as hunting and farming. Typically, these groups had a strong leader who provided the dominant voice in decision-making, although assistants, councils, or others might have also helped. In this way, most critical information about the group began at the top and was disseminated downward among the regular people, whose main role would be to obey and fulfill the roles assigned to them. However, as cultures and their organizations grew and developed, so too did the scale and complexity of communication needed to sustain them.

Modern organizations cannot function without effective communication between their members. People within an organization may vary in role and rank, with workers typically at the base of the hierarchy and company owners and officers at the top. However, regardless of their position, all members of an effective organization should have communication skills such as giving or following instructions, effectively explaining information, listening carefully and actively, and seeking to solve problems through discussion. As organizations became increasingly large, widespread, and influential, so too did the study of the types and importance of communication that allow an organization to thrive. Over time, distinct concepts such as upward, downward, and horizontal communication would emerge.

The study of upward communication—and organizational communication in general—may be traced back to early philosophers, such as those of ancient Greece and Rome, who studied how humans relate to one another and communicate for various purposes within their groups or societies. In ancient China, some philosophers focused on their own growing governments and the methods by which leaders and citizens could communicate. These scholars identified different channels and directions of communication, such as from leaders to citizens, from citizens to leaders, and between different leaders. However, the study of upward communication and other organizational communication did not reach its peak until the middle of the twentieth century, at a time when big businesses were expanding at a high rate and striving for the highest possible efficiency. Some pioneers in this field were P. E. Lull and W. Charles Redding, who emphasized the role of communication in fostering an effective company structure and higher worker productivity levels. Alexander R. Heron focused on the relationship between employers and employees, while other scholars explored specific communication skills such as persuasiveness, public speaking, and effective writing. The study became even more important toward the end of the twentieth century, at a time when many experts emphasized the importance of individuals within organizations and the need to ensure that all members are empowered through the ability to express themselves.

Overview

Upward communication is a type of communication-based on the hierarchical model of organizations. In this model, organizational leadership, such as owners and presidents, may be seen as occupying the uppermost rungs of the hierarchy. Managerial staff occupy the middle rungs. Meanwhile, the largest group, the workers and other employees are seen as the base, or lowermost part, of the hierarchy. Traditionally, most communication begins at the top, among the highest leaders of the group. These leaders might make decisions or create policies unilaterally, and then send information about new developments down through the hierarchy to managers and possibly submanagers, who would decide what to share and inform the workers. Leaders expected that workers would accept and carry out orders with minimal questioning or feedback. This system exemplifies downward communication. Meanwhile, leaders who conferred with one another on more-or-less equal terms would engage in horizontal communication.

In modern organizations, however, many experts place increased emphasis on information that lower-level employees may send upward to their managers and, ultimately, to organizational leaders. This information, which is known as upward communication, often includes feedback about the organization and its leaders, such as concerns and problems or suggestions for improvements. Many business experts feel that promoting upward communication improves work culture because it allows employees to voice their opinions and protect their interests, thus creating a more cooperative atmosphere. Accordingly, increasing numbers of organizations have focused on improving upward communication channels in the hopes of improving their day-to-day and long-term operations.

Organizations that embrace upward communication may see many benefits. This form of communication may foster greater trust because it increases the interplay between employers and employees. Employees may trust their employers more when they feel that workers have a strong and respected voice in the operations of the organization. In turn, employers may be able to trust that employees are being honest with them and that they are indeed loyal and seeking to improve the organization. This form of communication may help to create better ideas and decisions because it incorporates a much wider body of knowledge, opinions, and perspectives than would be achievable by a single leader or a small group of leaders, which can help the organization prosper. At the same time, upward communication generally improves worker satisfaction because employees can feel like valued team members rather than simply cogs in a production line.

Organizations that foster upward communication may use many techniques to help lower-level members share their ideas and feelings with their leaders. Sometimes, this process may be done directly during company meetings that allow workers to come face-to-face with leaders and communicate with them directly. Other times, employees may be invited to participate in focus groups, in which they meet with each other and organizational officials to discuss proposed new plans or policies. These direct meetings may build stronger relationships between organization members and create a greater sense of transparency, or the feeling that people in a group are being fully honest and forthright.

Some forms of upward communication may be made less directly, such as through satisfaction surveys or suggestion boxes. These tools allow employees to voice their opinions or ideas in writing, which may be less stressful than in-person discussions. Employees may also have the option of submitting anonymous information, which can alleviate any fear of reprisals should their input be controversial or harmful to leaders. Some organizations even use performance reports. Traditionally a method of allowing managers to rate workers, performance reports may allow workers to assign grades to their leaders. This can build confidence and empowerment among workers as well as potentially offer helpful insights to officers, who may choose to adjust their ideas and future performance based on the feedback received.

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