Most of the problems happen on the floor that create low productivity is misunderstanding on the assignment or direction that subordinate got from their superior. It does not mean their superior did not explain what they need their subordinate to do. Somehow, minutes of meeting, or briefing, has conducted more than enough but the situation still happen, even in the organization where the system has been established very well.
It is not about how many certification your organization has got. It is more about the behaviour, the habit of the people in your organization. Why is that? And what should we do with that?
It is not about how many certification your organization has got. It is more about the behaviour, the habit of the people in your organization. Why is that? And what should we do with that?
Effective communication is behaviour. It is the habit and by the time, it would be your organization culture. And because of that, to change it, you need to change the mindset of people in your organization.
In my 15 years experiences in operation management within small to large-scale industries, so many unnecessary mistake happen due to simple reason like, “Oh, I really do not know”, or, “I do not get the information before”, or, “I think it must be done this way”, or, “I thought my boss want me doing this”, and so on you. All happen due to lack of effectiveness in communication.
When I say, lack of communication skill, it does not mean the people in the organization can not talk or speech, they even do speech in a good way if I can say that.
To communicate is not to talk, or to speech. Sometimes, when I saw some performance, I really like the way they performed, the way they speeched, but it is not necessary I understood what has been said, what has been communicated.
To communicate is to deliver the message to the audience. The communication become effective just if your audience got your message as same as what you mean it.
Here are 4 things you need to do to have effective communication based on my experiences,
1. Make as specific as you can
Rather than tell your audience like this, “I need you to call someone responsible to this job”, you should say, “I need you to call the security in the front office”. Make it specific, do not let your audience perceive in their own way.
2. Make as simple and clear as you can
Rather than tell your audience like this, “I need you to call the security in the front office”, you should say, “please call the security in the front office to come here right now”. Tell them the important and urgency situation, meaning timeframe, so they know when and where.
3. For some tasks, you might need to direct them how to do if necessary
Before doing this, you can easily identified the need by asking simple follow up question to get their feed back on the task they asked to do. Once you realized your subordinate has no idea how to do it properly, you can give him/her direction of how to do the task properly.
4. Ask your audience to take a note on what you have communicate it with them, and do it as same to yourself
It is very simple but often ignored. For the audience is understood to ask them take a note, but why we as the person giving the task must make a note too? Yes, you need it to remind you to do follow up on the task you have delivered to your subordinate. The follow up has significantly reduce misunderstanding on the people on the floor. You have no idea if I tell you it contribute it 80% of the problems due to poor communication. Even you are not doing good with the first 3 above, you can always check either the task you need your subordinate to do has been done in the way you expect them to do. But sometimes you quite busy so you almost have no time to do follow up. That is why you need to have a note. I use post-it and put it on the wall in front of my computer, so esily to see.
Now, the next question is how to make our subordinate do those 4 things? That will be more complicated. As I have explained above, it related to the behaviour, the habit, then the culture. For instances, in my region, people will avoid to make a clear statement because the culture of the people of the region teach them to always avoid frankly conversation. And, asking a challenging question on people responsibility is not ethique even they are your subordinate.
Then, the only way to overcome the situation is training to your people to change their mindset on those issues, and that what I did. Depend on how effective the training given, but in my experiences it takes 3 months to 1 years.
The best method I use to have most effective training is doing one on one (OOO) following in-class training. You can download it in my download page or click here to get the materials.
Now you will ask, how this effective communication boost your productivity?
To improve the productivity is not only rely on effective communication. You will need to develop the standard of work, the system and most important is your people must be developed to be able to operate the system you developed to achieve the standard of work. And the communication take a very important role to your people development.
For every productivity specialist, develop standard of work and system is the technical issue, is not really easy but not a big deal. But to deal with the people is challenging, that is the tactical thing you deal with. Many method available for you in developing your people. But I can tell you, the basic things you need to do is to improve your communication as I explain above. Those 4 things are coming from my 15 years experiences in a region where the culture is on the oposite direction with the effective communication.
To see the result made due to productivity improvement I made, you can read my previous article or click here.
In my 15 years experiences in operation management within small to large-scale industries, so many unnecessary mistake happen due to simple reason like, “Oh, I really do not know”, or, “I do not get the information before”, or, “I think it must be done this way”, or, “I thought my boss want me doing this”, and so on you. All happen due to lack of effectiveness in communication.
When I say, lack of communication skill, it does not mean the people in the organization can not talk or speech, they even do speech in a good way if I can say that.
To communicate is not to talk, or to speech. Sometimes, when I saw some performance, I really like the way they performed, the way they speeched, but it is not necessary I understood what has been said, what has been communicated.
To communicate is to deliver the message to the audience. The communication become effective just if your audience got your message as same as what you mean it.
Here are 4 things you need to do to have effective communication based on my experiences,
1. Make as specific as you can
Rather than tell your audience like this, “I need you to call someone responsible to this job”, you should say, “I need you to call the security in the front office”. Make it specific, do not let your audience perceive in their own way.
2. Make as simple and clear as you can
Rather than tell your audience like this, “I need you to call the security in the front office”, you should say, “please call the security in the front office to come here right now”. Tell them the important and urgency situation, meaning timeframe, so they know when and where.
3. For some tasks, you might need to direct them how to do if necessary
Before doing this, you can easily identified the need by asking simple follow up question to get their feed back on the task they asked to do. Once you realized your subordinate has no idea how to do it properly, you can give him/her direction of how to do the task properly.
4. Ask your audience to take a note on what you have communicate it with them, and do it as same to yourself
It is very simple but often ignored. For the audience is understood to ask them take a note, but why we as the person giving the task must make a note too? Yes, you need it to remind you to do follow up on the task you have delivered to your subordinate. The follow up has significantly reduce misunderstanding on the people on the floor. You have no idea if I tell you it contribute it 80% of the problems due to poor communication. Even you are not doing good with the first 3 above, you can always check either the task you need your subordinate to do has been done in the way you expect them to do. But sometimes you quite busy so you almost have no time to do follow up. That is why you need to have a note. I use post-it and put it on the wall in front of my computer, so esily to see.
Now, the next question is how to make our subordinate do those 4 things? That will be more complicated. As I have explained above, it related to the behaviour, the habit, then the culture. For instances, in my region, people will avoid to make a clear statement because the culture of the people of the region teach them to always avoid frankly conversation. And, asking a challenging question on people responsibility is not ethique even they are your subordinate.
Then, the only way to overcome the situation is training to your people to change their mindset on those issues, and that what I did. Depend on how effective the training given, but in my experiences it takes 3 months to 1 years.
The best method I use to have most effective training is doing one on one (OOO) following in-class training. You can download it in my download page or click here to get the materials.
Now you will ask, how this effective communication boost your productivity?
To improve the productivity is not only rely on effective communication. You will need to develop the standard of work, the system and most important is your people must be developed to be able to operate the system you developed to achieve the standard of work. And the communication take a very important role to your people development.
For every productivity specialist, develop standard of work and system is the technical issue, is not really easy but not a big deal. But to deal with the people is challenging, that is the tactical thing you deal with. Many method available for you in developing your people. But I can tell you, the basic things you need to do is to improve your communication as I explain above. Those 4 things are coming from my 15 years experiences in a region where the culture is on the oposite direction with the effective communication.
To see the result made due to productivity improvement I made, you can read my previous article or click here.