NINE GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY COMMUNICATION
As more companies meet stringent quality standards, what will differentiate those quality-conscious organizations in the marketplace?
Increasingly, that differentiation will be the ability to communicate those standards and what they mean to the public, and even to its own employees. Others will become aware of your efforts primarily by your communication and the consistency between action and words. Impressions make or break reputations that influence relationships. Those are formed by the communication coming from your own executives, managers and employees.
What follows are nine guidelines you can incorporate into your communication strategies to ensure efficient, effective and ultimately quality communication.
- Is it clear? Are you sure that you won't be misinterpreted? Written communications prove particularly dangerous because readers don't have the benefit of cues from voice inflection and body language. Product specifications or proposals prepared by poor translators can be breeding grounds for lawsuits. The difference between safe operations and a tragedy may hinge on a single misused or misplaced word such as "and" or "or" in user manuals.
- Is it purposefully unclear? Let's look at the reverse: Intentional obscurity causes others to doubt the quality of an organization's product or service. Additionally, obscurity raises questions about the organization's integrity.
- Is it consistent? We communicate by what we don't say as by what we do say through the policies we enforce and the ones we ignore and through what behavior we expect and reward on the job. Have you communicated what you value in your employee’s performance?
- Is it correct? People are forgiving if you tell the truth. Even in so-called "small" situations, telling the truth without denial or simplification builds long-term trust. When it comes to interpreting a crisis, put aside fears of "upsetting" the other side in favor of truth. People prefer the complete, yet tactful, truth about work that has been performed, actions taken and deadlines missed.
- Is it complete? We've latched onto the idea of collecting and measuring data about processes, products and services. Unfortunately, that information isn’t always shared with those who need to know. Limited and inaccurate facts parceled out to employees only as an afterthought demoralize workers and leads to a heavy reliance on both the international and domestic grapevines.
- Is it current? When employees have to read of organizational happenings in the daily newspapers or hear about them on the evening news, they are offended. Organizations are family and most employees want the latest news from "inside."
- Does it show compassion and concern? If word choice and tone of the employees' phone conversations, face-to-face meetings and correspondence doesn’t express concern, then misunderstanding and inefficiency are bound to be the result. What sounds "upfront" and "straightforward" in one culture may sound blunt in another. Lack of eye contact shows respect in some cultures and hints of insincerity or deception in another culture.
- Does it demonstrate competence? People flock to experts, star performers, wise decision makers and winners. People don’t intentionally invest their money in poorly performing stock, nor do they want to invest trust in people they doubt can achieve what they claim. Followers need to have faith that their leaders can perform effectively and finish the task. So how do leaders inspire confidence in their abilities while seeming modest and likable as people? They have to acknowledge accomplishments but avoid arrogance. The attitude behind the talk turns the tables.
- Is it circular? In a recent survey by Performance Research Associates in the U.S., 56 percent of the managers and 48 percent of the frontline supervisors pinpointed "inadequate communication between departments" as the number one reason for poor customer service. Keeping everyone abreast of the latest happenings presents a challenge, but circular communication is essential to establishing an efficient and effective organization. Quality communication is not too much to ask. Your associates and vendors deserve and demand it.
Source: http://www.booher.com.
