The importance of top-down communication

29/5/2023

Top-down communication establishes discipline and organization within a company. The model of communication going from top to bottom, also called ”Top Down”, is the diagram of oldest internal communication. However, this does not make it an obsolete internal communication model, there are a thousand ways to bring your business communication back to life. This model of internal communication is used to provide important information relating to the company's professional life and makes it possible to deliver essential messages while avoiding the risk of confidential leaks. In some cases, it also helps to remind staff to order and resolve internal conflicts. Nevertheless, top-down communication remains often criticized for its hierarchical framework that restricts speech, ideas and the integration of employees. To overcome the limits of this internal communication pattern, a digital solution like Cenareo makes it possible to facilitate employee inclusion and staff motivation. Digital signage makes information more accessible. A faithful communication tool to transmit information in a more dynamic and warm way, the solution provides software that can be controlled from a CMS in real time and remotely, to digital screens.

 

Clear communication

Downward communication has the advantage of being clear. It clarifies the communicative intention by disseminating information essential to the proper functioning of the company as well as its goals. It may be a question of reminding the hygiene rules or the company's internal regulations to avoid any overflow. Top-down communication can cover a wider range of information without losing sight of its effectiveness. It can also include information on the latest decisions taken by management and the various upcoming projects. Top-down communication can also aim to motivate teams by recalling the projects and objectives to be achieved in order to ensure that employees feel concerned and engage more easily and intensively within the company. However, this is not always the desired effect. This is when a digital solution like Cenareo can be useful, which will give businesses a boost.

 

Our digital signage solution allows to make the hierarchy's message more accessible to staff. It is also an innovative way of communicating with your employees, convey your corporate culture and thus gain their involvement. We offer organizations the opportunity to reinvent communication scenarios endlessly. It is sometimes difficult to maintain a close relationship within an organization of several hundred employees. Digital signage offers the opportunity to maintain and strengthen the proximity between employees and hierarchy. Our software humanizes exchanges and promotes more accessible communication.

 

Maintain orderly communication and engagement

Downward communication also has the advantages of vertical transmission. The vertical routing of the message makes it possible to avoid noise around the information and promotes understanding by all. It is also an opportunity for management to affirm a corporate culture in line with the values of the establishment, set an example and communicate the spirit of the company in the same way as the company. Despite the choice of top-down communication, there are solutions to overcome the image of an authoritarian hierarchy. Initially, it may be a question of digitizing corporate communication, of making it more accessible via various digital media. To stand out from the crowd and make a message more appealing, use digital signage may be a solution to consider to continue to communicate in an orderly manner, while strengthening the commitment of employees.

 

What tools are there for top-down communication?

Studies conducted by researchers in information and communication sciences demonstrate that organizational communication has a real impact on the psychological health of employees. Therefore, this has a direct effect on the well-being and productivity at work of employees. The choice of communication devices should be taken into account in the development of a managerial strategy. The emergence of information and communication technologies in recent decades has opened the way for more innovative communication methods.

Historically, in the context of top-down communication, emails were perfect for getting the message from management to employees fluidly and effectively. Over the years, the Intranet solution has become popular among organizations. Many still use it today as a means of internal communication. However, these solutions remain limited in their exchange opportunities. They offer individual communication, and can cut off the feeling of belonging to the collective and at the same time demotivate your troops. To reconnect teams with a sense of commitment, maintaining social ties with your employees is essential. Our digital signage solution puts staff motivation at the service of the group. Cenareo offers dynamic signage software for actors in the public or private sector, on which it is possible to communicate in real time and remotely. The digital signage solution helps to improve the communication of organizations as well as their image with their employees and customers and thus contribute to well-being at work.

 

The pros and cons of top-down communication

Good communication is essential for the successful development of an organization. Downward communication allows making decisions quickly and effectively. However, it leaves little room for employee expression and initiatives. Nevertheless, alternatives such as digital signage exist to combine top-down communication and well-being at work.

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