Communication plays a very important and vital role in civil society. Effective communication strategy is essential for the success of any project started by any Non-Governmental Organization. Poor communication inhibits an NGO's capacity to optimize performance and, as a result, puts high-performing work teams and organizations at risk.
Networking in civil society is of tremendous importance for NGOs to improve their performance and increase their impact. The exchange of knowledge and experience could be cost-effective, particularly to small NGOs and grassroots organizations. It plays an important role in spreading the message that an organization wants to deliver as well as in creating a good public image. However, some NGOs may not be able or are not willing to build good networks. Poor networking is identified as a major challenge as it duplicates efforts and creates conflicting strategies which undermine the effectiveness of NGO activities at the community level. The inability of NGOs to learn from the experience of one another will create a fragile civil society that consists of small NGOs which are unable to learn and adapt. Even though NGOs work on making a change in their communities, there is a great deal of antagonism and secrecy among NGOs.
To build better networking relations with the stakeholders, NGOs should develop a clear strategy for stakeholder engagement that can be incorporated into the organization’s objectives. It should, also, outline the objectives, expectations, and allocated resources. It is important for an NGO to know what they want from networking and why they are trying to build good networks. A clear stakeholder engagement strategy will help the organization identify the different stakeholders, prioritize them according to their importance and influence, and establish personalized communication channels with them. Finally, it is very important to keep information about stakeholders up-to-date and to build a database of contacts.
According to the marketing professor Neil Kokemuller, civil society organizations are focused on having a real impact on the world and, frequently, the focus is so narrowed on what's going on 'out there' that little attention is paid to what's going on inside the organization. The lack of focus and futility of internal communication makes it hard to reflect its seriousness and may cause a culture of distrust. Moreover, poor communication limits the closeness of relationships and employee engagement which, therefore, results in lack of organizational commitment, poor morale, and eventually, turnover. When management doesn't communicate goals and lacks direction, feedback, and positive reinforcement, or are poorly implemented, employees naturally begin to think key information is being withheld and the barrier between management and staff is greater. Employees, on the other hand, want to work in an environment where they can contribute ideas and form bonds with coworkers and colleagues.
Neil mentions top-down communication as a necessary management strategy to get all departments and leaders on the same page. According to Neil, one of the greatest unintended consequences of adopting one-way communication is the risk of low staff morale, inefficiency, and lack of productivity. Furthermore, when employees are unable to communicate their ideas or opinions, they may feel suffocated and unappreciated. An NGO with too many levels of management, for example, may have a directive misinterpreted as it is passed down from layer to layer. The information may have taken on a whole different meaning by the time it reaches front-line personnel.
In his article “The Disadvantages of One-Way Communication”, Neil states that if people are involved in the future of the organization, they can plan and work better together. Instead of only one-way performance assessments, employee evaluations should incorporate two-way feedback according to the Robert Half company. While some decisions and actions require a leader to assert a single voice, there are numerous other ways to invite people to share. This boosts their sense of belonging and worth which helps with employee retention and productivity. In addition, it is very important to build an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable and able to trust each other. One way of doing that is by occasionally reserving time for talking and doing social things together. Another effective tool is organizing office meetings when there is enough to discuss in which the work is discussed and tasks are distributed. It is very important to make an agenda beforehand and minutes or task list afterward.
As stated in CIVICUS Internal Communication Toolkit, everyone is focused on getting work done and attaining the organization's goals, thus communication and information sharing are neglected. It is communication that is directly related to the foundation of the organization: the people who provide an organization its ability to function - staff, management, and volunteers.
