The question of sustainability in organizations has become a norm where most organizations aspire to base their operations on sustainable levels to minimize unnecessary losses that can occur due to communication loopholes. Siano et al, (2016) observe that communication is a vital tool in ensuring that a company operates at a sustainable level. The choice of a communication channel used during the process of communicating sustainability also needs to be sustainable itself. Further, Siano et al (2016) identify that organizations have seen the need to embrace digital communication platforms in order to determine a better evaluation of what communication strategies to implement in order to ensure that it encourages sustainable operations of the organization.
Genc (2016) states that communication, as far as sustainability is concerned, plays an important role. For example, in order to plan and develop sustainable sustainability approach, it is necessary that individuals express themselves both internally and externally by employing the use of appropriate communication modes. Therefore, in order to build an effective communication base, managers in an organization need to streamline the reception of any communication to the receiver in an understandable manner which is considered simple, direct and precise irrespective of whether it is orally communicated or written down.
Australian Institute of Business (2014), in their blog, note six reasons why communication could be considered important in a business as far as sustainability is concerned. Effective communication is a building block for relationship boost in the organization. It encourages positivity between people even as they interact in the organization. A positively interacting workforce is a motivated staff capable of upholding the company’s aim at heart and working to ensure that the main goals are achieved in a manner which is beneficial to the organization, sustainable.
Secondly, an effective communication channel is a great facilitator of innovation. As mentioned above, a motivated workforce will embrace innovation and come up with innovative ideas that will make the company achieve goals and objectives sustainably without encouraging losses of any nature.
Thirdly, effective communication builds an effective team which is all-around involved in the company’s undertakings without detraction. Australian Institute of Business (2014) note that if open, clear, precise and concise communication is encouraged in an organizational setting, it will encourage an eruption of a more adhesive workforce ready to work with each other to ensure that the organization meets its aims sustainably.
Effective communication also is a base for managers to manage their teams effectively. Being able to pass any relevant information to a team you manage or by assigning tasks and responsibilities in a timely manner through proper communication channels will make your staff to clearly understand what is required of them and not do the contrary. In response, managers will have a good base for also giving feedback to their immediate staff regarding the performance of the task assigned and if possible determine an appropriate solution to the deviations from the tasks. This is the beginning of a sustainability approach.
Australian Institute of Business (2016) also note that in regards to effective communication, a company’s growth is imminent and easy to evaluate. Consider marketing strategies such as advertisements, if the channel of communication to the external partners is inefficient, marketing will be affected, a good communication will ensure that what goes out in terms of marketing reaches the target audience in the right manner. This will boost the customer base and confidence hence the growth of the company to sustainable levels.
Lastly, effective communication encourages transparency and fairness. A regular communication of relevant information to an organization’s partner encourages transparency and the company would also remain transparent. Consumers are keen about this, it helps the company to build trust and to sell more products. Increase in trust and volume of sales is a step towards sustainability.
Yeomans (2013) in his article “Communicating sustainability: the rise of social media and storytelling” identify the critical role organizations are faced with when communicating their sustainability activities, and the role social media plays in all. Yeomans (2013) further assert that communicating sustainability is no longer a smallholder business affair but big companies are coming in and seeking ways of communicating their sustainability approaches in an engaging yet compelling manner to their large audiences.
Companies use the smart editorial approach in communicating their sustainability. Alongside editorials, some companies have come up with games, applications, and maps in their sustainability communication endeavor. Social media usage is also on the rise as it offers a big base of meeting many consumers of the sustainability information.
Reilly and Larya (2018) identify that communication of sustainability activities to external forces vary significantly across many organizations. There is variance in the use of communication channels, the content to be communicated, and the frequency of such communications may also vary. The variance in the channels, content, and frequency reflects on the resource allocation and utilization priorities, the culture and the style of leadership in the sustainability realm of that particular organization (Guziana and Dobers, 2012).
A company may choose to use both formal and informal channels of communicating sustainability activities. The use of annual reports as an example of a formal channel is dominant even though companies have started embracing the use of informal channel such as social media. Twitter and Facebook form part of the largely used social media outlets. von Kutzschenbach and Brønn, (2006) note that communication of sustainability requires a well-organized approach which is systematic where all the activities of communication are directed towards the achievement of high standards of understanding between the organization and the relevant stakeholders about the reported issues. Finally, Genc (2017) further identifies that horizontal communication of sustainability may take various forms such as interpersonal one-on-one or face-to-face communication to controlled levels of mass communication.
Companies should focus effort on long-term communication activities that promote sustainability while being able to sustain the chosen communication strategies (Rowe and Bansal, 2013). Organizations should, therefore, be mindful of the choice of communication strategy it seeks to use in communicating its sustainability activities. The communication channel in question should be one which relays information to the expected consumers of that information in a simple, precise and understandable, yet remaining cheap in the long run.
Rabin (2018) proposes that a company should be timely in its communications both internally and externally. Untimely communication activities where there is no particular structure and base for communicating any activity will prove expensive in the long run hence rendering the communication process unsustainable.
According to Graham-Rowe (2010), companies that seek to communicate sustainability need to embrace transparency in doing so. The choice of a communication channel is critical in doing so. Both the formal and informal communication channels need to be considered while communicating sustainability activities. Of importance though according to Graham-Rowe (2010) is the transparency in the means with which the communication is passed across. Failure to be transparent while communicating sustainability activities will render the whole process of communication expensive since wrong information shared to the partners both internally and externally may not represent the true nature of the organization hence affect its operations. In so doing, it shall have made the communication process inappropriate and expensive hence the company shall not have ensured the sustainability of the communication activities.
Graham-Rowe (2010) also notes that for sustainable communication activities, managers tasked with the act of communication process should ensure that while communicating sustainability activities, there is need to engage and dwell on the positives of the sustainability aspect and not the negative. Negative reports on sustainability approach kill the morale of the internal environment which constitute the workforce. When demotivated, the workforce or staff will have a negative attitude towards their work and processes that in the long run will affect output thereby affecting sustainability activities. For the external partners, negative reports will kill the trust and particular affect customer loyalty which in effect will translate to say low sales volume per unit of the organization’s product or service. Communication sustainability will be affected in the sense that; the company will stand the test of restructuring its communication efforts to recommunicate the positive aspect of its sustainability activities which will need a further adjustment in the available capital to carter for the re-communication of the sustainability activity in a positive manner.
Conclusion
In conclusion therefore, it is vital for an organization when considering to communicate sustainability activities to both its internal and external partners, to consider using appropriate and effective communication channels that are sustainable in the long run and those that will enable it to reach out to a large population of its partners for example social media platforms. Also to consider is the act of remaining transparent and positive while communicating sustainability activities as these will enable the organization to communicate relevant information to the partners including its consumers and to win trust of all stakeholders without having to run the loss due to inefficiency in relaying the information thus making both the process and the actual product unsustainable.
References
Australian Institute of Business (2014). 6 Reasons Why Effective Communication Should Be a Focus in Your Business. [Blog] Australian Institute of Business. Available at: https://www.aib.edu.au/blog/communication/6-reasons-effective-communication-focus-business/ [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Genc, R. (2016). The Importance of Communication in Sustainability & Sustainable Strategies. [ebook] Science Direct. Available at: https://ac.els-cdn.com/S2351978917300719/1-s2.0-S2351978917300719-main.pdf?_tid=e27b050c-aaf9-486e-9e98-1d25d669659c&acdnat=1537692070_fea822fb9409ba29513c9be237c10911 [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Graham-Rowe, D. (2010). How to communicate sustainability. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/how-to-communicate-green-business [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Guziana, B. and Dobers, P. (2012). How Sustainability Leaders Communicate Corporate Activities of Sustainable Development. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, [online] 20(4), pp.193-204. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/csr.1292 [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Rabin, E. (2018). Inside Out: Sustainability Communication Begins in the Workplace. [online] GreenBiz. Available at: https://www.greenbiz.com/news/2005/07/31/inside-out-sustainability-communication-begins-workplace [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Reilly, A. and Larya, N. (2018). External Communication About Sustainability: Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and Social Media Activity. Environmental Communication, [online] 12(5), pp.621-637. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2018.1424009 [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Rowe, A. and Bansal, T. (2013). Ten Steps to Sustainable Business in 2013 •. [online] Iveybusinessjournal.com. Available at: https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/ten-ways-to-help-companies-become-sustainable-in-2013/ [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Siano, A., Conte, F., Amabile, S., Vollero, A., and Piciocchi, P. (2016). Communicating Sustainability: An Operational Model for Evaluating Corporate Websites. Sustainability, 8(9), p.950.
von Kutzschenbach, M. and Brønn, C. (2006). Communicating sustainable development initiatives. Journal of Communication Management, [online] 10(3), pp.304-322. Available at: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13632540610681185 [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Yeomans, M. (2013). Communicating sustainability: the rise of social media and storytelling. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/communicating-sustainability-social-media-storytelling [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
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