信息过载：消除噪音，实现更有效的内部沟通

Gartner Research CommunicationsLeaders’ Guide toReducing InformationOverload Communications Research Team Communications Leaders’ Guide to ReducingInformation Overload ID G00787532 - 7 min read By Analyst(s): Communications Research TeamInitiatives:Internal Communications; Communications Strategy and FunctionalLeadership; Communications Technology, Content and Channels; EmployeeCommunications Information overload is a pervasive problem that negativelyaffects both employee and business performance.Communications leaders can use this research collection tounderstand the challenges and strategies needed to reduceinformation overload. Analysis Understanding Information Overload Information overload occurs when employees feel overwhelmed, defeated and energy-depleted by information flows at work.1Although information volume and the impacts oforganizational change are partially responsible, the chief cause is information burden: thedegree to which employees struggle with duplicative, effort-intensive, inconsistent andirrelevant information (see Figure 1). Due to its pervasiveness among workers at all levelsand its negative effect on strategic alignment and intent to stay,1information overloadhas become a critical challenge for Communications leaders. Figure 1: Information Factors’ Impacts on Overload Addressing Information Overload Is Challenging Communications has not traditionally been assigned a clear mandate to help employeesmanage incoming information, which has frustrated the development of an effective,cohesive overload reduction strategy. Several factors have further complicated the task ofreducing information burden: Employees at all levels, from frontline to leadership, do not fully recognize their owncontribution to the overloaded information environment.■Democratized access to broadcast messaging platforms allows burdensomeinformation to spread unchecked.■Growing demands for transparency from employees create dilemmas forcommunicators seeking to cut down on message volume.■ Gartner, Inc. | G00787532 The proliferation of employee communication channels increases the total volumeof messages while making it more difficult for employees to know where to look forcritical information.■ How to Reduce Information Overload Communications leaders can use several strategies to effectively address the root causesof overload: Get visibility into the problem using journey mapping and channel audits.■Set accountability at the top by communicating the impact of information burdenand forming a coalition to govern your shared strategy.■Reinforce positive communication behaviors to reduce employee contributions tooverload.■Provide guidance for navigating and prioritizing channels to cut through the noisecaused by channel proliferation.■Augment strategy with productivity tools to manage attention, personalizeexperiences and aid in finding key information.■ Research Highlights Some recommended content may not be available as part of your current Gartnersubscription. Understand the Sources of and Solutions for Information Overload What is my role in reducing information overload for my organization? Streamlining and improving central communications isinsufficient for mitigating overload as it fails to address themain cause: information burden. Use this research tounderstand how to work with partners and employees toreduce the experiential burden of information overload and the extent of its business impact. ▶Reducing Information Overload (For a webinar presentation of these findings, see Best Practices forManagingInformation Overload) Why does information overload feel different now than it used to? Interviews with Communications leaders reveal that threefundamental shifts in how information flows throughorganizations are changing the nature of informationoverload. This research explores how these three shifts —channel proliferation, information insecurity and capability mismatch — will dominate internal Communications strategy for the next several yearsand identifies what communicators can do to address them. ▶Information Overload and the Future of Internal Communications How can I help employees improve their communication habits? Employees’ communications can contribute to their peers’sense of information overload. This research outlines howyou can shape norms for employee communicationpractices by reinforcing positive behaviors and sharingchannel guidance. ▶Improve Employee Communication With Behavior Reinforcement and ChannelGuidance How can technology help me address information overload? Although technology alone cannot fully addressinformation overload, three types of productivity tools canhelp reduce it. This research outlines how attentionmanagement tools, personalization platforms and findingaids can address different components of information burden. ▶Quick Answer: How Productivity Tools Reduce Information Overload How can I better understand the employee information experi