Efficient internal communication is a definite competitive advantage – the better it is organized, the smoother does the workflow run. The latest study conducted by the German academy for executives in economy (‘Die Akademie für Führungskräfte’) ‘Akademie-Studie 2008′ grants an insight into the status quo of information exchange between superiors and employees on the executive floors of German companies. 2,000 managers were encouraged to evaluate their superiors’ qualities – more than 400 of them took the time to answer the academy’s questions. The results were unambiguous: when it comes to soft skills, many superiors still have some catching up to do. This criticism must not be taken lightly. After all, those interviewed associated communication competences directly with leadership ability.

In respect of comprehension and professional competence superiors predominately received good marks. Information flow was widely assessed in a positive way, too. About 60 per cent of the employees stated that they felt well or even very well informed. Superiors generally agreed with this opinion. Responses were less enthusiastic when skills like active listening, giving constructive feedback, and communicating bad news were to be assessed. Only about 50 per cent of the questioned managers assigned their superiors good marks in this field.

Companies are aware of the fact that internal communication is of major importance. Everything’s fine in the field of transmitting sober pieces of information as well. But there seems to be an unsatisfied need of getting to know strategies to initiate face-to-face dialogue. The majority of the interviewed managers were interested in further information on this topic – and have already asked their superiors to organize training seminars. For this reason, many companies rely on fostering soft skills and train their executive staff in ‘emotional intelligence’. Without any doubt a profitable investment. After all, employees who feel at ease and are motivated do a better job.

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