We now have more ways to communicate than ever before, but effective communication is still a challenge for many businesses. A new infographic by EmployeeChannel plots the course we have taken to get where we are, beginning with the cave drawings of 40,000 years ago.
In the infographic, EmployeeChannel points out workforce communications has evolved dramatically. And you don’t have to go back millennia to appreciate this change. In less than a decade, smartphones and video communications solutions have made employees available in real-time from virtually anywhere.
For small businesses this type of accessibility is responsible for granting access to a remote workforce and a global talent pool. But these tools have to be used properly to exploit their full capability and deliver the efficiency they are capable of providing.
History of Workplace Communication
Long after the cave drawings, cuneiform scripts in clay tablets were developed at Sumer around 3100 BC. And several millennia later Gutenberg came up with his printing press in 1448.
The telegraph followed in 1837, the telephone in 1876, and the computer between 1936 and 38.
Development in messaging, pagers and mobile phones came in 1961, 1964 and 1973 respectively, with the birth of the internet, which was nicknamed the “network of networks” appearing in 1983.
Real mobile communications for the masses came in the late 90s and Steve Jobs would finally announce the iPhone in 2007 and forever change how we communicate.
You can look at the rest of the history of communication in the infographic below.
Effective Communications
EmployeeChannel says, in today’s workforce, companies need to give communication strategies the same amount of attention as business strategies.
Businesses, therefore, have to implement purpose-driven communications with individuals who communicate well. According to EmployeeChannel, this can be achieved with real-time, in-app coaching on content creation and analytics that provide insight into communication performance with integrated communication campaigns using multiple touchpoints.
You can do this by extending your reach to all of your employees no matter where they are any time of day or night. This includes having multiple touchpoints for engaging your workforce with targeted messaging, on-demand content, surveys and polls as well as connections to peers, managers and experts.
Image:EmployeeChannel