By Irene Ancin Adell
Several authors in the field of management have pointed out that crises, depending on how they are handled, can become an opportunity to generate positive changes in organizations and to rethink the future.
During the pandemic, organizations have had to adapt to the changes that, on a daily basis, occurred in a context characterized by high levels of uncertainty and in which communication became a key element due to its ability to positively affect the performance of work teams and the well-being of employees.
In recent years, with the arrival of new tools such as Trello, Slack, Basecamp and G-Suite, and their incorporation into organizational life, many believed that their communication shortcomings and problems would end. But this has not been the case. Applications are tools that allow communication to be more agile and fluid, but it is the employees, at all levels of the organization, who use them and, therefore, the success or failure of these technological innovations will depend on their intention (wanting to communicate and share meanings), on their communication skills and competencies.
In the midst of the pandemic, managers and area directors were shaking their heads because communication, in the midst of the chaos, was not flowing and they were unable to connect with their collaborators, which had a negative impact on their mood and, in most cases, also on the goals previously established. It was somewhat ironic that the “most forgotten”, in-house communication, became, in a matter of hours, the most acclaimed and longed for, and that managers wondered what they could do to improve communication with their teams as if it were a matter of implementing a plan and executing it in the short term.
The organizations that have managed to overcome the crisis without physically and emotionally wearing out their collaborators are those that, over the years, have conceived communication as a philosophy, a way of understanding reality and human beings, and as a key and irreplaceable element of their culture. In addition, they had been concerned with creating communication dynamics based on dialogue and transparency, which in turn fostered relationships of trust, and had understood, over the years and through experience, that communication determines its functioning as a social system and the type of interactions established among its members.
This crisis has once again highlighted the importance of communication in organizational life and the need to rethink the role of communication from an integral perspective. Organizations need asymmetrical communication systems that promote a good communication climate and generate trust among their members. It is also essential to conceive it as a “long-distance race”, not a “sprint”. Continued effort over time will generate healthy dynamics for the organization and its members, such as commitment, quality of service, performance, quality of work life and life satisfaction.
Irene Ancin Adell, Ph.D.
Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Educational Sciences UEES
