Communication Contract

Communication Contract

     Effective, ethical communication is essential at all levels of an organization, and it has a tremendous impact on the relationships that exist between people who work closely together, such as a supervisor-subordinate relationship or between employees working as a team.  These types of relationships have a multitude of rules and expectations attached to them, but when the individuals have an effective way of communicating with one another, they can more easily operate within their roles.  The communication policies within an organization establish the style of communication used by all employees, so when developing a communication strategy, the organization should consider how it will affect employees at all levels.  The resulting strategy should be comprehensive enough to be used throughout the organization, while addressing the needs of the organization’s communications with its customers and business partners.  A style of communication that adheres to the organization’s core ethical values will ensure that all these needs are met.  This paper outlines a communication contract that provides a small group of employees, including their manager, who work very closely together with a clear and effective way of communicating with one another, but to be most effective, it is necessary for all members of the team to understand and agree to abide by it.

     A communication contract is in the best interest of all involved, the individuals who make up the team, the team as a whole, and the organization for which they work because it promotes upfront and honest communication.  “Doing the right thing continually while contending with immediate crises—and sometimes in opposition to business logic—requires courage, commitment to core values that include the greater good, understanding of the big picture, and a willingness to trade short-term profit or ease with long-term viability” (Hays, 2007).  Developing a comprehensive communication policy and making the commitment to follow it in all communication will benefit not only the organization but also the employees who work there.

Clause 1: Sincerity

     This sincerity clause simply means that all coworkers agree to communicate honestly with one another “without deliberately omitting, hiding or falsifying knowledge or intentions” (Dresp-Langley, 2008).  The American workplace can be competitive, even adversarial at times, and for various personal reasons, employees who work closely together may be tempted to hold onto information that a coworker might need.  This clause reminds all team members of their duty to communicate in a way that is best for the organization.  The person initiating the communication agrees to be forthright and honest in all communication, while the person receiving the communication agrees to do so with an open mind and to add honest information wherever possible.  Even in the most productive team, it is not reasonable to expect the members of the team to always be enthusiastic about what the team is producing.  A team member might be insincere for any number of reasons, personal or business related, but under this contract, all team members agree to always remain cognizant of their communications and how it relates to the team’s goal.  This will help build trust within the team, which will benefit the team members, the team, and the organization.