What is Grapevine Communication (Gossip) in 2022 – DataTrained

September 21, 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction To Grapevine Communication

Grapevine Communication is an informal method of communication within a company. It’s a form of unstructured communication. It operates through both external and internal channels, assisting an organization’s growth.

The grapevine gets its name from the fact that it spreads throughout the company in all directions. This holds true at all levels of authority. Situations that can activate a grapevine include bringing in new technology, promotions, takeovers, layoffs, and so on.

What Is Grapevine Communication

Grapevine is an informal corporate communication route. It gets its name from the fact that it reaches throughout the corporation in all directions, regardless of authority levels. We all know that man is a social animal. Despite the existence of official channels in an organization, when he interacts with other people in the organization, informal channels tend to arise. It is more prevalent at the lowest levels of an organization.

Grapevine communication is defined as communication that occurs in an organization without adhering to a prescribed framework. As a result, grapevine communication can be defined as an informal and unofficial means of communication within an organization. Consider the lunch meetings you have with your coworkers. During these moments, the conversation is about your work, but it is informal and forms informal or personal bonds between you and your team members. The importance of developing rapport in the workplace cannot be overstated. It leads to better interpersonal relationships, which helps organizations achieve their objectives more efficiently and effectively.

When employees feel compelled to share their opinions, they turn to the grapevine network since they are unable to do so through the traditional channels of communication. During lunch breaks in the cafeteria, subordinates usually discuss their superior’s attitude and behavior with their peers. They talk about rumors about other employees being promoted or transferred. As a result, grapevine spreads like wildfire, and tracing the source of such information might be difficult at times.

Grapevine generally develops due to various reasons. One of them is that when an organization is facing a recession, the employees sense uncertainty. Also, at times employees do not have self-confidence due to which they form unions. Sometimes the managers show preferential treatment and favor some employees giving a segregated feeling to other employees.

Importance Of Grapevine Communication

Grapevine communication is a practical way to send communications that aren’t appropriate for formal channels. This is probably something you’ve seen a lot at work. In this part, we will learn about the importance of grapevine communication. Instead of using formal channels such as emails, the manager uses the informal or grapevine method whenever information needs to be used fast.

Grapevine also speeds up the feedback loop. Grapevine communication, when used correctly, can provide useful feedback to management, which can then be used to design actions for the employees’ welfare.

Grapevine provides a lot of information, thoughts, opinions, and feelings that are inaccessible to conventional communication channels. Because those messages are considered confidential, or because the formal routes of communication are insufficient to disseminate them, or because they are gossip in character. The grapevine is unavoidable and helpful in situations when informal communication channels are required to meet human communication demands. Indeed, an astute top manager would do well to give it reliable data, as it is quite effective at attaining corporate objectives.

Types Of Grapevine Communication

Informal and fast conversations among employees of the same rank are referred to as grapevine communication. Grapevine communication can be divided into four categories based on the goal or outcome. Single strand chain, gossip chain, probability chain, and cluster chain are the four types of grapevine communication.

Single Strand Chain

When information passes through a single line of people, something happens. It is eventually delivered to the intended addressee. A informs B in the diagram below. Then B informs C. C then goes to D and informs him. This line goes on and on. After a period, most of the parties concerned have received the information.

The message is transferred from person to person until practically all of the people who are concerned have received it. It’s a straightforward and uncomplicated method of communicating with your coworkers. The greater the number of persons participating, the more filtering occurs. A single strand chain is great for swiftly and efficiently sharing information.

Gossip Chain

One individual passes on information to everyone in this type of grapevine chain. Consider a wheel to better grasp this chain. At the center is the person who is disseminating the information. People at the wheel’s rim are provided the information.

Let’s look at some real-life grapevine communication examples in a gossip chain. When Ketki, a sociology student, learned that one of her classmates, Nisha, had been awarded a scholarship to study overseas, she informed all of her friends. Gautam, a manager at a digital business, recently learned that two of his team colleagues are getting married and is now informing the rest of the company.

Probability Chain

Information is provided at random during this process. Who gets the information is determined by chance. This is how information is passed on. It’s what’s known as a “random process.”

This is a method of disseminating information at random. The receivers, too, share the same information in a seemingly random manner.

Cluster Chain

An individual passes on knowledge to a few people using this method. The knowledge is subsequently passed on to a few additional persons. This is the most popular kind of chain.

Almost every social media challenge, from the legendary Ice Bucket Challenge to the most recent #SafeHands challenge follows the cluster chain method. A person passes on information to a few people, who then pass it on to others. You’ll most likely come across these forms of grapevine communication. Organizations thrive on grapevine communication, whether it’s about crucial meetings or just your weekend plans.

Now let’s move on to grapevine communication advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages Of Grapevine Communication

1. Quick Feedback

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, which is also swift in the case of the grapevine. The rumor’s feedback reaches the person who started the rumor in no time.

2. The cohesion of the group

Gossips, which are a type of grapevine, are frequently used to draw people together and make them pleasant. Employee interaction increases as a result of gossip, which immediately improves the workability of any organization.

3. Quickly propagate

Grapevine communication has a number of advantages, one of which is that it keeps employees informed. Any news, whether good or negative, reaches everyone and allows them to react appropriately.

4. Substitute for a formal communication channel

Formal communication, as we all know, takes time since it is full of formalities.

5. Interpretation

If the system is formal, information is supplied at the management level. Staff, on the other hand, can ask for information casually. This is critical for completing tasks.

6. Recommendations are disseminated

The staff informs the elders of their wishes in this system. They talk about their problems and how to solve them. This allows employees to make recommendations to elders.

Disadvantages Of Grapevine Communication

1. Controlling is difficult.

In the informal system, there are no ground rules. Controlling the spread of knowledge becomes difficult.

2. Ignites Non-cooperation

At times, this method fosters a culture of non-cooperation and unhealthy competitiveness among employees. In open debates, they may wind up hurting each other. It’s possible that they won’t want to work together. It’s possible that the company will become inefficient.

3. The propagation of rumors at a breakneck speed

Rumors rapidly spread through the grapevine. It’s possible that the real data will change and become wrong.

4. Leads to Misunderstanding

The grapevine system’s formal chain of command is not followed by the staff. This can lead to miscommunication.

5. The information isn’t kept a secret forever.

The majority of discussions in this system are open. Things don’t remain hidden for long.

Conclusion

Grapevine communication is unavoidable in today’s world. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get it out of the office. In some ways, managers should be grateful for the grapevine’s presence; it implies that your staff trust one another and are speaking with one another. Grapevine communication, on the other hand, can quickly spiral out of control if not carefully controlled.

The best way to limit grapevine communications is to keep communication channels open and maintain transparency within the company. Managers, on the other hand, cannot afford to overlook informal communications. According to a study, employers who choose not to listen to the grapevine have 50% less reliable information than those who do.

It’s crucial to keep an eye on the numerous grapevine paths and limit negative gossip. Don’t forget, though, to foster positive grapevine communication. Employees don’t just want to read memos; they want to communicate with one another in a truly human way.

Frequently Asked Question's

1. What are elements of grapevine communication?

The elements of grapevine communication:

Huge Influence

A big number of employees in a company rely on the grapevine since they regard it as the major source of knowledge as well as a trustworthy conduit for communicating facts and happenings within the company.

Flexibility

It is more adaptable than formal channels since formal channels demand a variety of formalities, whereas grapevine does not. A grapevine can be started by gossiping, exchanging moments, or having a chat.

Speed

Speed Information travels via the grapevine at a breakneck pace. The grapevine outruns the wind.

Distortion

As information travels from point to point, terminal to terminal, or person to person, it is likely to be corrupted. For example, if Mr. X just married, this information could be skewed because Mr. X married two years ago outside of his country.

Extensive

Grapevine immediately connects the entire organization. Grapevine touches everyone in an organization, from the top to the bottom. As a result, grapevine communication is sometimes regarded as highly effective communication.

2. What is the grapevine technique?

3. How can grapevine communication be made effective?

4. What is the probability chain in grapevine communication?

5. Why is informal communication called grapevine?

6. What is the difference between Rumor and grapevine?

7. What exactly are rumor's?

8. What is the other name of grapevine communication?