Informal communication

Meaning

Informal communication is communication that does not follow the formal lines of the organisation. It is called the grapevine because it spreads in every direction, regardless of levels of authority. It arises from the social forces at the workplace rather than from any official action, and from employees' need to exchange views that formal channels cannot carry, as when workers in the canteen discuss a supervisor or a rumoured transfer.

Grapevine networks

The grapevine can follow different patterns: a single strand, where each person passes the message to the next; gossip, where one person tells everyone; probability, where people pass it on at random; and cluster, where each person tells only those he trusts. The cluster is the most common in organisations.

Merits

• It is faster and more flexible than formal communication, and people often learn of decisions before they are announced.
• It acts as a safety valve for employees' emotions and fills gaps left by formal channels.
• It can be useful to managers, because it carries information rapidly.

Demerits

• It is erratic and unsystematic and often carries rumours.
• The source is hard to trace, so nobody can be held responsible for distorted information.
• Rumours affect people's behaviour and can harm the work environment.

How management should use it

The grapevine cannot be abolished, so management should study it, clarify what it carries and so reduce its adverse effects. A manager can also use informal channels to pass on information and gauge subordinates' reactions, making use of its positive side. When rumours of a plant closure spread in a Pune auto-parts unit, a manager who promptly holds an open meeting with the facts stops the rumour faster than a notice on the board.