Communication is often perceived to be an enemy! Is there anything that is blamed for more problems in the corporate world than communication? It is credited for production losses, missed timelines, unmet expectations, performance interruptions, low moral – the list continues. It is not possible to calculate the lost dollars attributed to communication breakdowns. Common sense dictates that anything causing so much pain, grief and wasted dollars would certainly constitute being fixed. We can image the flurry of activity and dollars thrown at any machine on the production floor that causes an interruption in the revenue stream to the extent that is attributed to communication. The machine would not be tolerated! Throwing money at machines is what we do best and it has become the popular approach to solving communication problems. We are witnessing amazing technological advances in the communication field; faster modems, Internet, video-conferencing, e-mail and cellular technology, just to mention a few. They are all designed to improve the speed and effectiveness of communication. All these advances are great. Still, there is no guarantee that throwing money and advanced technology at a problem is the solution. We must remember one very important point; humans dictate the successful use of this technology. Actually, use of this technology may serve to increase frustration if it does not improve communication to the expected level. Defining the root causes of communication problems seems to be the sacred cow that is complained about, but not addressed. If we took just a fraction of the money devoted to advancing communication technology and used it to minimize the root causes of the communication issues, it would surely be a legitimate investment. Why don't organizations fix communication problems? There are several reasons why organizations have not fixed their communication problems. These include, but are not limited to: - Learned helplessness – it is out of control and nothing can be done
- No one knows what to do
- It has always been that way
- Communication is too subjective
- People are the source of communication problems and people cannot be "fixed"
- Communication cannot be measured
- Technology can be seen, touched and used while communication is more abstract
It is time to climb out of the bottomless pit of communication problems and into the 21st Century! It is time for the rules to change. The new rules allow us to define and measure the success of the desired corporate communication culture. Part of the problem is the difficulty in defining "a communication problem." We asked hundreds of people who complained about such a problem to tell us what they meant by their complaint. The usual reaction was a blank stare; it is as if their brains turned off. Defining Communication To have more effective communication, the starting point is defining what we want to happen instead of leaving it to chance. Our research with effective communication organizations produced the following definitions: - Keep people informed
- Encourage people to express ideas
- Listen for understanding
- Be honest
Nothing earth-shattering here. We've heard those definitions before, right? We may even include additional definitions. Communication Definitions "How do you create a business environment characterized by these definitions?" To identify the answer to this question, we must simply complete the following statement, "We do a good job keeping people informed when we . . ." A 15-minute brain-storming session can yield some great ideas. Below are several ideas for each definition that emerged from brainstorming sessions with employees: Keep people informed - Conduct regularly scheduled staff meetings
- Distribute minutes of these meetings
- Review progress reports – financial, production, safety, sales, scrap, etc.
- Issue "communication bulletins" as needed
Encourage people to express ideas - Structure input into decisions that affect employees
- Constantly ask others for input
- Use open-ended questions, "What can be done to improve . . ."
- Publicly recognize the benefits derived from others' ideas
Listen for understanding - Listen without interrupting
- Repeat what was heard to demonstrate understanding
- Review facts and other presented data
Be honest - Present the facts as known
- Present documentation as appropriate
- Let people know when we cannot provide specific information
- Discuss sensitive issues
- Admit mistakes
- Present rationale for decisions
To get where we want to go, we must know where we are going and what to do to arrive at our destination. As we can see, these definitions serve as communication road maps (behavioral guidelines) to take us where we want to go. For example, as a department manager, I know that I need to present facts, provide documentation to support the facts and explain the rationale for decisions. Additionally, I need to openly admit my mistakes and discuss sensitive issues as they arise. These definitions do not ask anyone to do something impossible. To the contrary, these definitions are within our behavioral repertoire. They need only to be called into action. Quantifying Successful Communication Completing the communication road map allows us to do what others thought was impossible; measure communication. Please continue reading with an eager attitude. Many people automatically turn their minds to the "off" position when they hear words such as measurement, numbers or statistics. Two Alternatives for Quantifying Successful Communication: - Observe the actual outcome (i.e., honesty) and create a data collection form to indicate whether the person responsible for communicating followed the road map. Did the person present:
- The facts?
- Necessary documentation?
- What could be shared?
- Rationale for decisions?
We may simply record "Yes" or "No" to indicate if the road map was completed or what was observed, or we may want to be a bit fancier and use an intensity measure to include "Definitely Yes, Yes, No and Definitely Not." Those present can then tabulate their responses to provide a measurement of success. Again, there is a measurement choice. We can simply report the frequency of "Yes" and "No," or we can give each response choice a numerical value. Using numerical values can be particularly useful with an intensity measurement scale as illustrated below:
| Definitely No | -4 | | No | -2 | | Yes | +2 | | Definitely Yes | +4 | Using a numerical scale allows us to compute the average as an indicator of success. For illustrative purposes, we used a scale ranging from a negative four (-4) to a positive four (+4). We can use whatever values we desire. Generally speaking, an intensity scale is beneficial to identify communication strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, this alternative can be extremely beneficial to provide feedback regarding communication on a particular issue or during staff meetings. -
Implement a regularly scheduled procedure to measure communication. That is, the definitions can be used in an employee survey. This survey is completed at a frequency level to obtain a measurement of how well each of the communication road maps are being used in a specific department of by the entire company.
By using the definitions provided in this article, an employee survey may look something like the following, with instructions for the raters to indicate the degree they agree with each statement by circling a number ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).
| Listen for Understanding | Listened without interrupting | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | | Repeated what was heard to demonstrate understanding | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | | Reviewed the facts and other presented data | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Oh No – Another Survey! Even whispering the words "employee survey" conjures all sorts of images; the usual one being labor-intensive and collecting data that are not used. Right? Sad to say, that is one choice, but it doesn't have to be the choice. In Conclusion We can define, implement and measure communication. Communication is no longer the scapegoat or perceived as the enemy. It can be a friend. Since all other systems in the organization (production, schedules, financial reports and other technical systems) depend upon communication, it must be a friend to the organization. The degree that communication is improved is the degree that other systems are also improved. Using the tools described in this article can transform our organizations into lean, mean, communicating machines! Are You Ready To . . . - Convert your training, coaching and/or mentoring investments into skill application and behavior change?
- Know for sure that your employees are effectively applying training on the job?
- Increase accountability that your employees are receiving coaching and feedback to improve in the areas that matter most?
- Grow your company as your employees grow and change?
If you answered, "Yes" to these questions, then you are ready for an easy-to-use, proven performance support system to measure behavior change and/or skill application attributed to training, coaching and/or mentoring.
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