Communication from below: Feedback from employees as a tool for their stabilisation

Abstract

Given the current organisational changes in a turbulent global economic context, is the appropriate setting of the communication process, with an emphasis on feedback from employees to management for organisations to cope with external changes. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, communication from below is required as it is a primary issue in the context of significant organisational change and can help to shape positive perceptions of change. The main aim is to evaluate the relationships between selected organisational variables regarding the use of different forms of employee-to-management communication. A questionnaire survey of Czech organisations (n1 = 183) was conducted, and the data obtained were evaluated using statistical tests (Wald statistic) to determine whether a demonstrable relationship existed between the traits. The results showed a relationship between the application of most types of bottom-up communication and organisation size in terms of the number of employees, majority ownership, and, for selected types of communication forms, annual turnover. However, none of the communication types examined depended on the sector in which an organisation operated. The results of the qualitative research confirmed that grassroots communication was crucial in all the types of organisations examined and helped to improve organisational climate. This study contributes to theory and practice by confirming that feedback from employees is a tool for their stabilisation. The managerial implications include the finding that effective feedback settings help prevent conflicts in organisations. The study contributes significantly to the deepening of knowledge on the issue of systematic communication leading to the sustainability of organisations, which is also demonstrated by the almost zero overlap with previous studies.