Barrion Of Internal Communication: Barriers To Effective Communication

Barriers to effective communication

Most of the internal problems within a company are regarded as a repercussion of ineffective internal communication (Institute of Internal Communication, n.d.). Poor internal communication or an absence of communication can influence different areas of a company and it can lead to confusion, demotivation, irritation, insecurity and loss in productivity (Blazenaite, 2011). Differences, misunderstandings and disagreements are part of the daily life of individuals and organizations alike. In this regard, it is important to identify the main cause of ineffective communication in time in order to prevent it from developing further (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2008).

Lack of feedback

Feedback is often

Information overload results in the loss of relevant information that should reach people, no matter what communication channels are used. Consequently, information overload means no information at all (Marcus, 2011).

According to Pijpers (2010, p. 22), information overload transpires when “the volume of the information supply exceeds the limited human information processing capacity”. He also states that when a surplus of information is available, it becomes impossible to use it effectively.

Newsweaver (2014) conducted a research in which most internal communicators cited as their biggest challenge the sheer volume of communications flowing through the organization. Due to the high amount of information they receive from every conceivable angle, employees have the tendency to filter out any kind of information that they find personally irrelevant. Hence, critical communications may remain unread, unheard or unwatched by people who really need the

Personal

The attitude, motivation and satisfaction of a person, and the limitations in the information processing capacity of the individual are significant aspects in determining when information overload may happen. Other important elements that can lead to information overload are personal traits (e.g. experience, skills, ideology, age), insufficient screening of outgoing information by sender and one’s personal situation (e.g. time of the day, amount of sleep, noise) (Eppler & Mengis, 2004).

It is widely believed that information overload is the natural and inevitable condition of the human race because people’s senses, especially the visual sense, are capable of handling a considerable volume of input. Notwithstanding humans’ power to assimilate knowledge, the modern information environment introduces information in forms their senses and prior experiences cannot cope with yet (Pijpers, 2010).

Information