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Informal Communication (Examples, Challenges, Best Practices) - Status Articles
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Formal vs. Informal
Communication (Examples,
Challenges, Best Practices)
The two primary internal communication types are formal and informal communi-
cation:
Formal communication is communication through pre-defined channels set by organiza-
tions. They are typically conveyed from top leadership to various departments that funnels
down to lower level employees. It is backed by organizational procedure, and it is neces-
sary to fulfill the goals of the organization.
Informal communication is more relational than formal. It is not backed by any pre-deter-
mined channels and can happen anywhere within the organization. The primary goal of
this messaging is to preserve and establish relationships with colleagues and superiors
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1/15/22, 9:04 PM Formal vs. Informal Communication (Examples, Challenges, Best Practices) - Status Articles
and subordinates. Since it is not defined by any channels, messaging moves a lot faster,
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but it is without any paper trail or official documentation.
Importance of These Forms of Communication Part 1
State of Modern Internal Communications Part 2
Formal and Informal Communication Challenge Part 3
Formal and Informal Communication Best Practices Part 4
PART 1
Why Are These Forms of Communication Important?
In its purest form, formal communication is created to increase efficiency within an or-
ganization.
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Pre-determined channels of communication are meant to provide a smooth and stream-
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lined method of communication that travels upward and downward. Get Started Log In
It is the way to easily communicate rules, procedures, and company policy to lower level
employees.
ProsperForms — Software for Effective Communication
A formal notification is also favorable in situations where documentation is needed to
prove or disapprove a claim or complaint. If someone violated company policy or broke a
rule against another coworker, it is easy for employees to point to formal communications
between staff and upper management.
Informal communication, as stated above, is all about relationships; if a culture of
goodwill and relationship is adequately fostered by the company, then informal dis-
cussions can create solidarity and strengthen teams. However, one of the most impor-
tant reasons for why informal communication is critical to businesses is that it allows em-
ployees to give feedback to their superiors. It facilitates the action of upward interface and
enables messaging to go both ways efficiently. When employees are given the opportunity
to comment on their experiences in the company informally, it puts the ball back in the
court of upper management to improve and meet their expectations. This action then leads
to higher employee morale.
Also, informal communication can pick up where formal discussions end. A great example
of this is conflict resolution. If employees or managers and employees can resolve their
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1/15/22, 9:04 PM Formal vs. Informal Communication (Examples, Challenges, Best Practices) - Status Articles
problems informally, then this can prevent the need for upper management to have to get
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involved and elongate the matter.
PART 2
ProsperForms — Software for Effective Communication
What Is the State of Modern Internal Communications?
Many factors are impacting the state of internal communication in today’s workplace.
Technology is changing the way people want to interact with each other, and it is creating
a disruption in the workplace in ways never before seen.
RingCentral, a provider of cloud-based communications and collaboration solutions for
businesses, listed some of their findings from a survey about modern communication
trends in the workplace.
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97 percent of their respondents believed that communication impacted tasks on a daily
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44 percent of respondents want more widespread adoption of internal communication
tools.
When asked about how they would like these tools to evolve in 2015, 17 percent
wanted better usage of these tools.
A conversation about formal and informal communication cannot happen without ac-
knowledging the impact of technology. To see how information is funneling from manage-
ment to employees and from employees to co-workers it would be helpful to gain insight
on how email, text messages, and tools like Status.net have a hand in how these mes-
sages are happening. Here are a few other statistics that business leaders should be con-
cerned about concerning formal and informal communications within the company.
An infographic and survey compiled by ClearCompany revealed that only 14 percent of
companies have employees who understand the organization’s strategies, goals, and
direction.
Another stat from that survey showed that only 5.9 percent of companies
communicate the organization’s goals every day.
In today’s world, communication is as critical as it ever was. The only problem is
that companies might not be utilizing all the tools and procedures at their disposal
to better facilitate effective communications from upper management to lower em-
ployees, and from employees to their colleagues.
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PART 3
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The Challenges of Formal and Informal Communication
Formal Communication Challenges
1 Acknowledging a New Generation
With the increase of social media and a favoring of more informal communication
methods by millennials, companies are going to have to go easy on the formal
board meeting and email memos. Younger generations prefer having multiple
ways of communicating whether it be through social media platforms, text mes-
saging, and co-working software. Business leaders are trying to find effective
ways to incorporate new mediums of communicating company vision, policy
and procedures.
2 Buy-In from Employees
Many times, it can be more comfortable for formal messaging to be accepted
by employees if it is done in a way that is more about the “why” than the
“what.” Authoritative tones can be a turn-off, so upper management has to be
sure to balance conversations about rules and procedures with how they align
with the overall goal of the company. If not, employees may not be ready to buy in
totally.
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3 Inflexibility
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As a result of the messaging coming through pre-determined channels, many
voices in upper management have to be heard before a message is sent down
the ranks. A lot of people have to agree and approve what is being sent out. This
makes it difficult for anyone to change a formal message if something needs to be
tweaked or left out.
4 Contributes to a Lack of Understanding
Mass formal communications that are not tailored to everyone’s communica-
tion style can create confusion and stress. A new procedure can be worded in a
way that it means one thing to one employee and an entirely different thing to an-
other. It is challenging for upper management to account for a general lack of
communication.
5 Slow Decision Making
Some employees and departments depend on formal messaging from upper
management to make important decisions. As mentioned above, because it
takes a lot of people to sign off on a decision or message from top management it
can take a lot longer to reach who it needs to. Therefore, formal communication
can be frustrating to managers or employees who need it. It can even cause the
demise of a product or project.
Informal Communication Challenges
1 Rumors Can Spread Rapidly
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While informal communication is excellent for creating relationships and producing
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unity among staff, those same communication flows can also present opportunities Log In
for rumors to spread. Because messaging is not pre-determined or controlled, it
makes this event even more likely. This means that other employees might be re-
ceiving incorrect information about procedures, critical changes, or policies
from colleagues or managers.
2 Lack of Control
Informal communication is impossible to control. It is not affiliated with manage-
ment-approved channels, and as a result, it does not necessarily obey the same
messaging rules as formal communication. As a result, problematic issues such as
harassment, bullying, or sensitive information sharing could be taking place. If an
employee does not alert management about these predicaments, it would be im-
possible for them to know and stop any problems.
3 An Increase in Conflict
As in any setting, as humans interact with each other, a conflict has a higher
chance of happening. It can breed competition among employees or departments
or problems between superiors and subordinates. In turn, this can decrease or halt
productivity.
4 Contradict Formal Communications
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Informal communication can directly contradict information sent from pre-de-
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fined channels. Someone may say they heard something different than the official Log In
memo sent from upper management, or a manager might confuse formal communi-
cations and provide an inaccurate explanation to an employee with a question.
Upper management can dictate when and how messaging flows from their chan-
nels, but they cannot determine how those messages are interpreted or spread to
others.
5 Lack of Secrecy
Again, a lack of control increases the chance for company secrets to travel. A
rumored promotion, coming retirement, or the advent of a new product not yet re-
leased to all parts of the company might be leaked to others who do not need to
know. This can potentially damage a new product release or breach the trust of
employees.
PART 4
ProsperForms — Software for Effective Communication
Informal and Formal Communication Best Practices
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Foster a Culture of Effective Communications
Employees respond well if they feel they can trust that upper management has their
best interest at heart. Formal communication does not start when the messages are
sent; it begins the second an employee begins their first day. Upper management
should reach out to employees in ways that do not always feel rigid and formal to
increase their trust and buy-in. This will make it easier for them to accept more
essential messages and stay away from potential rumors.
Streamlined Decision Making
Employees can become agitated if a work task depends on formal communication
channels of upper management. Leaders can decrease this frustration by better
assessing who needs to be involved in the decision-making process and utilizing an
approach to get decisions to employees faster.
Talk About the “Why” Behind the Rules
To ensure a safe environment for everyone, there should be established policies for
formal and informal communications. However, business leaders should explain why
these rules exist and why breaking them can impact the work environment of those
around them. The conversation should center on behaviors and how they should
align with the mission and vision of the company.
Check ProsperForms cloud solution for effective formal communication. It brings a
more light-hearted tone to messaging making it easily digestible, and makes it easy
for upper management to provide and receive updates regularly.
How to use ProsperForms for status updates
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1 Easily implement daily or weekly status updates for your team members by creating
a statusFOR
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YOUR questions
BUSINESS like “What did you do today?” or “How did you Get Started Log In
contribute to the team’s goals this week?”.
2 Peace of mind: No one forgets to fill in their status updates because it sends timely
reminders according to the recurrence schedule you chose.
3 Increase workplace satisfaction by improving transparency:
Each status update has a separate section for comments, which is used by team
members to clarify information, including upcoming goals, and by leaders to provide
feedback and coordinate better without micromanagement.
4 Use status updates for future reference and decrease time and efforts spent on
monthly, quarterly, and yearly reporting thanks to powerful filtering and export
features.
How to start:
Step 1: Create your free account and create a new applet by selecting a customizable
form template.
Configure who will add records by choosing the “Participants” tab.
Set the applet as “Team-wide” if you want all team members to view each other’s
records.
Alternatively, you can allow each participant to view his/her own records only and
stakeholders to view all entries.
Step 2: Users will click the “Open Submission Form” button to fill it out and submit it.
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As soon as a new record is added, participants with “View” rights will receive an
email notification and can view it in real time on the Timeline screen.
Employees can discuss records in real time — each record has its own section for live
comments.
Add an unlimited number of attachments (documents, images, photos, videos, audio
notes, files) to a record.
Export records or share them online.
Get instant access to historical data and files with powerful search and filtering
capabilities:
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The dashboard screen allows you to save time when you want to check a high-level over-
view, with quick one-click retrieval of the relevant information.
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