What Is Upward Communication

What Is Upward Communication?

The flow of communication from the front-line employees or subordinates to the superior or managerial level is known as upward communication. When people ask what is upward communication, it simply refers to communication moving up i.e. communication moves from a downward to an upward direction. For eg. When an issue arises in your class, your class teacher reports to the in charge, who then reports to the principal. However, upward communication is a concept that is mostly used in the context of organisations.

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The main purpose of upward communication is to share feedback to the higher authorities, tell them about the progress toward goals, and talk about the challenges being faced in various areas of organisational functioning. Upward communication is participative in nature where the main themes are requests, suggestions, feedback and opinions. It is liberal and democratic in nature.

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Upward Communication Examples

Some upward communication examples could be:

For instance, the class representative reports issues being faced by the students to the class teacher, who further takes it to the wing in charge.

Performance/Work Reports | Front-line employees send their progress and day-to-day reports of their work to the upper managerial levels. Or, a student who is the maths in charge, sends submission reports of the students to the maths teacher.

Focus Groups | Meetings between HR and the employees of the organisation to discuss issues being faced by the employees. Or, a meeting between the teacher and the whole class regarding any issue being faced which can be further forwarded to the principal.

Company Meetings | Meetings where there is one-to-one talk with the higher authorities. Or, a direct meeting with the school principal regarding the issue being faced by the class as a whole.

Suggestion Box | Suggestion boxes are usually installed by organisations for the employees to write and submit any feedback or complaints. They are now found online, that is, on the websites of the companies as well. Or, grievances boxes or complaint boxes are kept in school or on the website where the students can put in feedback for the teachers and other students.

Continue reading the article to know more about upward communication, how to improve upward communication and the advantages of upward communication.

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How To Improve Upward Communication

Listed below are some of the ways to improve upward communication in a school:

• Authorities execute an open-door policy where the students can go to the teacher directly whenever they wish to. Develop an attitude where the students feel you as a teacher are approachable to him/her.

• Teachers adopt communication methods and pedagogy which directly align with the comprehension capacity of the students according to their age and class.

• The class teacher appoints a class representative who forwards the concerns of all the students to her.

Listed below are some of the ways to improve upward communication in an organisation:

• Management executes an open-door policy where the doors are always open for all the employees to come and share their opinions and feedback openly

• Management reasonably encourages employees and motivates them to work diligently, giving realistic goals

• Leadership creates an environment where the managers in the organisation are authentic and approachable

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Advantages of Upward Communication

Some of the advantages of upward communication are:

• Upward communication helps in workload management, workplace trust and harmony, and workplace transparency.

• It decreases the stress levels of employees since they can freely communicate with their superiors.

• It helps in communication during any crises and fosters collaboration among employees and superiors to resolve those crises together.

• It brings inclusivity to the organisation's work and a sense of purpose in the employees, where they feel they contribute to the organisation’s smooth functioning.

• Managers receive feedback and opinions from their employees that help in organisational development. Employees being encouraged to provide opinions and feedback feel valued.

• It helps strengthen manager-employee relationships.

• It keeps the managers informed about the employees’ feelings and opinions about their workplace environment, policies, and procedures.

Upward communication makes the higher authorities aware of how their employees feel about the organisation in general. It helps the organisation be prepared for any upcoming challenges.

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