Downward Communication

In any organization, communication from leadership to employees, called downward communication, sets the tone for everything from performance expectations to morale. It’s how vision, goals, instructions, and policies go from the top of the hierarchy to the people doing the day-to-day work. In this section, you’ll learn what downward communication looks like, why it matters, and the different forms it can take. We’ll also explore common pitfalls, such as information overload or distortion, as messages move through the layers of an organization. Understanding the strengths and challenges of downward communication can help you improve clarity, consistency, and credibility, whether you’re giving direction or receiving it.

Formal Communication

The word “formal” describes adherence to conventional behavioral requirements. Formal communication consists of the rules and norms established by an organization for communicative behavior. A communication rule is a standard or directive governing how communication occurs within an organization. Communication rules are explicitly stated and may be found in your organization’s policies and procedures manual. For example, your organization may have established stringent guidelines for what to do in the event of an emergency.

On the other hand, communication norms are standards or patterns of communication regarded as typical. Where communication rules are explicitly discussed within an organization, communication norms are only learned through active observation of communicative behavior within the organization. One of the most common ways to learn a communicative norm in an organization is to violate it inadvertently. For example, in the same hospital discussed above, the head of risk management had to formally communicate to the CEO every month any accidents that had occurred. However, the head of risk management would also send the CEO an e-mail as soon as she had an incident report, to keep him updated more frequently. When the head of risk management went on a two-month leave of absence, one of her subordinates took over the position. The subordinate followed the guidelines outlined in the policies and procedures manual. However, the CEO became very angry when he received his formal briefing on accidents at the end of the month, as he hadn’t been kept up to date throughout the month. In this case, the subordinate had followed the formal communication rules of the organization but had violated what had become a formal communication norm.

Understanding how formal communication functions within an organization is essential; therefore, much of the early research on organizational communication has examined formal communication. To help us further appreciate formal communication within the organization, we will discuss the three primary directions in which communication occurs: downward, upward, and horizontal/lateral.

Downward Communication

Downward communication consists of messages that start at the top of the hierarchy and are transmitted to the lowest rungs. Downward communication can be considered a form of top-down approach in organizational communication. Max Weber (1930) was the earliest thinker in the field of downward communication. Weber believed there were two ways to get employees to follow one’s directives: power and authority. Weber defined power as the ability to force people to obey regardless of their resistance, whereas authority occurs when orders are voluntarily obeyed by those receiving them. Weber argued that individuals in authority-based organizations were more likely to perceive directives as legitimate. While this process may sound simplistic, individuals in management positions often must determine how to communicate with employees effectively. Randy Hirokawa (1979) noted that there are two general types of downward communication in modern organizations:

While Hirokawa’s two-pronged approach to downward communication is pretty consistent with the type of communication that occurs in modern organizations, this type of communication was not always present.

Types of Downward Communication

While numerous typologies examine the various types of messages transmitted down a hierarchy from management, the most commonly cited was created by Daniel Katz and Robert L. Kahn (1966). Katz and Kahn’s typology breaks downward communication into five distinct types: job instructions, rationales, procedures and practices, feedback, and indoctrination.

Job Instructions

The first message that management commonly communicates to employees is job instructions or how management wants an employee to perform their job. This type of downward communication often occurs through training. Depending on the job’s difficulty, communicating with an employee about how to perform their job could take days, months, or years. Some organizations will even send employees outside the organization for more specialized training.

Job Rationales

Katz and Kahn (1966) identified the second type of message commonly communicated downward in an organization as job rationales, or introductory statements of the purpose of a specific job and how that job relates to the organization’s overarching goal. Every job should contribute to the organization’s objectives, so understanding how one’s position fits into the larger organizational scheme is crucial. Furthermore, the job rationale will illustrate how a single job relates to other jobs within the organizational hierarchy.

Procedures and Practices

The third type of messages Katz and Kahn (1966) identified as commonly communicated downward in an organization are procedures and practices. Procedures and practices are typically outlined in an employee manual or handbook when you start working within an organization. Procedures are sequences of steps to be followed in a given situation. For example, in an organization, procedures may be in place for reporting sexual harassment or for hiring new staff members. Practices are behaviors people should do habitually. For example, you may punch in and out using a time clock or be allowed to wear open-toed shoes. There are procedures and practices related to policies (courses of action taken in the organization), rules (standards or directives governing behavior), and benefits (payment and entitlements one receives with the job).

Feedback

The fourth type of message Katz and Kahn (1966) identified as commonly communicated downward in an organization is feedback. Providing input to subordinates is a crucial aspect of any supervisory role (Redding, 1972). Employees can only grow and become more proficient in their jobs if they receive feedback from those above them. This feedback should contain both positive and negative comments. Positive feedback occurs when a supervisor explains to a subordinate what they are doing well, whereas negative feedback occurs when a supervisor explains areas that need improvement to a subordinate. Furthermore, feedback should not only happen in formal review sessions, often referred to as “summative feedback.” Instead, supervisors should utilize formative or periodic feedback to help employees grow and develop within the organization.

Employee Indoctrination

The last type of downward communication discussed by Katz and Kahn (1966) is employee indoctrination. Indoctrination is instilling an employee with a partisan or ideological point of view. Specifically, organizations use indoctrination messages to help new members adopt ideological stances that align with the organization’s culture and goals. The ultimate goal of organizational indoctrination is organizational identification, or “the extent to which that person’s self-concept includes the same characteristics he or she perceives to be distinctive, central, and enduring to the organization” (Beyer, Hannah, & Milton, 2000, p. 333).

Katz and Kahn’s (1966) typology of downward communication is very useful when examining organizational communication. Often, managers may be competent at one or two types of downward communication but not as qualified in the other three. When this is the case, managers need training to become effective downward communicators. Furthermore, managers must also think of the most appropriate communication channels to send downward messages. An article in Management Report in 2004 titled “Downward Communication” listed many possibilities for communicating information downward: staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, internal newsletters, employee information sheets, bulletin boards, employee handbooks, and e-mail. While these are options for downward communication, not all are appropriate for every situation.

For example, you probably don’t want to chastise an employee’s tardiness in a company newsletter, on a bulletin board, or during a staff meeting. However, this form of downward communication could be appropriately sent during a one-on-one meeting, through employee information sheets, or via email. Ultimately, managers must be competent in communicating down the hierarchy to their subordinates. Now that we’ve looked at the types of messages sent down the hierarchy and the different mediums a manager could use to send messages down the hierarchy, let’s examine some of the problems with downward communication.

Problems with Downward Communication

Downward communication is a crucial component of any organization. However, Randy Hirokawa (1979) noted two primary problems of downward communication: accuracy and adequacy. Accuracy of information refers to how truthful a message is. There are two primary ways that the accuracy of a message can be distorted. First, some messages are based on inaccurate information. For example, a manager who hears a false rumor and then passes it on to their subordinates has passed on erroneous information. When subordinates learn the truth of the rumor, the manager’s credibility will be negatively impacted because their subordinates will perceive the manager as an untrustworthy source of information.

The second way messages can contain inaccurate information is due to multiple people in the communication chain, or serial transmission, as W. Charles Redding (1966) calls it. As we know from playing the telephone game in school, when A communicates to B, B communicates to C, and C communicates to D, the chances of the message becoming distorted with each successive person increase. Even in the case of serial transmission of information (A•B•C•D), managers who are caught communicating inaccurate information can expect to have their credibility questioned by employees. Another ramification of passing on erroneous information is that some subordinates question how connected their supervisor is to the organizational hierarchy. If my supervisor passes on inaccurate information, they may not be aware of what’s happening.

A second problem with downward communication is the adequacy of the information. Adequacy of information refers to whether or not the information being transmitted is sufficient to satisfy a requirement or need for information in the workplace. When discussing adequacy, there are two possible extremes that managers could swing to: communication underload and communication overload. Communication underload occurs when subordinates are not provided enough information to complete their jobs. Communication underload can manifest in several ways, including inadequate on-the-job training, limited feedback from supervisors, or insufficient information on organizational policies and procedures. Often, communication underload is entirely accidental and occurs as an inadvertent omission. In this case, supervisors may have too many things going on, and information is accidentally not passed on to their subordinates promptly. At other times, communication overload can occur because a supervisor must hoard information to secure their power base. Individuals often see information as power and transmitting that information to another person as a loss of control (Huseman, Lahiff, & Wells, 1974). When information hoarding occurs, subordinates may be given just enough information to avoid making their supervisor look bad, but not enough to excel at their jobs. For obvious reasons, information hoarding can be a significant problem in organizations.

The second problem associated with the adequacy of information involves communication overload, or when subordinates are provided too much information to complete their jobs. In an ideal work environment, supervisors will serve as gatekeepers of information, ensuring that adequate information is passed on to subordinates to help them excel. Unfortunately, some supervisors do not know how to function as gatekeepers, so they pass along any information they receive to their subordinates without filtering out unnecessary or irrelevant information. Eventually, subordinates can become so overwhelmed with the messages they receive that they spend much of their workday simply sifting through information, thereby decreasing their productivity (Anderson & Level, 1980). When faced with communication overload, other individuals often start ignoring all the information because it’s simpler to disregard it than to sift through it all. Communication overload is generally a product of channel capacity or an individual’s limits to receiving information (Redding, 1972). Some information is easy for an individual to process, but other information involves considerably more effort on the receiver’s part. The more technical and complex the information, the smaller an individual’s channel capacity for handling the information will be.

In addition to Randy Hirokawa’s (1979) two primary problems associated with downward communication, we believe there is a third problem: utility.

Utility refers to how useful or relevant the information is to the person receiving it. In many workplaces, employees are expected to handle a significant amount of communication, but not all of it is directly relevant to their specific job. For example, imagine a welding student working part-time in a fabrication shop receiving a long email about a change in the company’s accounting software. That update might be critical for the finance team, but it’s unrelated for someone on the shop floor and adds to the clutter in their inbox. When workers receive too many irrelevant messages, they may start tuning out important ones, such as safety reminders or shift changes.

Clear, targeted communication is essential in technical and hands-on professions. Sending messages that don’t apply to the person’s job wastes time, distracts from critical tasks, and can even lead to mistakes if important information is buried. The most effective communication is helpful, timely, and directly connected to the work.

Effective Methods for Downward Communication

Now that we’ve examined some of the problems organizations face with downward communication, let’s discuss some best practices for downward communication. First, individuals engaged in downward communication must ensure that the information they pass on to those below them is accurate and reliable. If this means spending a little extra time verifying the information, then do so. A supervisor may have to pay a couple of extra minutes verifying information, but this is a better trade-off than rebuilding one’s credibility.

Second, ensure that the information you pass along to your subordinates is adequate and can be utilized. To ensure that you avoid communication underload and overload, you should do two things: filter and ask. The first thing to ensure your subordinates are receiving adequate information is to filter out information that isn’t necessary for them. Filtering out information for one’s subordinates is not an easy task. One easy way to help filter information is to ask yourself, “Will this information help my subordinates personally or professionally?” Some information could be helpful to your subordinates personally, such as workshops on stress avoidance, time management, or conflict resolution. At the same time, other information can also benefit your subordinates professionally, such as details about job duties, career advancement opportunities, and organizational policies and procedures. In addition to attempting to filter information for your subordinates, you can always ask them if they feel they are getting enough information. Often, subordinates will be the first to tell you when they think you are under- or over-informed.

The third best practice in downward communication involves the source of the message. The source of the message has a significant impact on how people perceive its importance. For example, messages from the organization’s CEO will receive more weight than those from a mid-level manager. For this reason, essential messages should come from the top of the hierarchy and be transmitted as directly as possible to the employees to avoid serial transmission.

The fourth best practice in downward communication involves the communication channels utilized for the downward transmission of a message. By communication channels, we refer to the traditional concept of communication channels commonly understood within organizations. One needs to think about the most expedient delivery method when encoding a message for transmission through the organizational hierarchy. As previously discussed, the more individuals a message is transmitted through, the more likely it will become distorted.

The fifth best practice in downward communication involves mindfully picking the communicative medium utilized for downward communication. As discussed earlier in this chapter, Katz and Kahn’s (1966) typology of downward communication consists of five different types:

When encoding various messages related to these five types of downward communication, managers need to recognize that the same communicative medium may not be the most effective tool for every message they convey. Various kinds of communicative press can be utilized, including staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, internal newsletters, employee information sheets, bulletin boards, employee handbooks, email, and employee social networking sites. Communication through multiple media may also be necessary if information is critical.

The story about Chad also illustrates our final recommendation for best practices in downward communication, checking for understanding. The message received, not the one sent, is the one a receiver will ultimately act upon in an organization (Redding, 1972). As in the case of Chad, the lack of message reception is also a problem. It’s one thing to tell someone something, and completely different to have communicated with someone. Telling is a sender-centered communicative strategy because the sender encodes and transmits the message (Richmond, McCroskey, & McCroskey, 2005). However, the sender does not ensure the receiver receives or interprets the message correctly.

Furthermore, the meaning of a message is determined by the receiver, not by the sender (Redding, 1972).  In the case of telling, the receiver is completely taken out of the communication process, so the chance of misunderstandings and missed communication increases dramatically. For this reason, we recommend that downward communication be followed up with interaction with the individuals receiving the message to ensure that the message is being received and interpreted in a manner consistent with the sender’s original intent. Supervisors must encourage subordinates to communicate upward to ascertain message reception and interpretation.