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Let’s Talk About It: How to Improve Communication with Employees

By Wayne D'Antoni posted 08-13-2025 08:00 AM

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Many managers and HR professionals are all too familiar with the following scenarios:

An employee has been out of touch and difficult to reach for a couple of days.

An employee with whom you have been texting about a certain problem is providing you with little or vague information.

You’re caught up in what seems like an endless email trail with a staff member that results in more confusion than resolution.

Dealing with employees who are not effective communicators can be a frustrating experience. This is particularly difficult when there is a time-sensitive matter that needs attention, requiring an effective discourse with the worker as close to the present as possible.

Many times, we’ve heard employers say they can’t get ahold of someone who’s away from the workplace unexpectedly, or is scheduled for leave but hasn’t taken all the necessary steps, or is out of touch when the leave period expires. And too many times, the method of communication is a text or an email with the employee, often as the only means to reach out to them.

It's not surprising. As a society, people seem to increasingly prefer interacting via texts and emails to the spoken word. This Forbes article explains how overreliance on such communication methods can be counterproductive in the workplace.

Re-introducing the spoken word can be a valuable strategy. Having a direct conversation with an employee is often the best way to get the most comprehensive and effective results.

Why? Emails and texts usually give partial information, sometimes only what the employee wants the employer to know, and they leave little room for direct and immediate follow-up. A conversation allows the employer to gain more insight at that moment through clarifying questions as the discussion unfolds. That prevents employees from scripting answers.

For employers concerned about not having a documented account of the interaction, we suggest the old-fashioned approach used long before text messages and emails were common: Document the conversation immediately upon its conclusion, when the employer can also include their impressions of how the dialogue went. These impressions will also record elements only observed in conversation, such as the worker’s tone, attitude, and ability or inability to answer questions clearly in the moment. It can make the difference between an employee interaction that brings a successful resolution and one that does not.

Employers Council members can learn more in our whitepapers on Corrective Feedback Discussions and Documenting Performance/Behavior. We also offer training courses designed to improve workplace communication, including the following: