communicating more effectively in your organization may 2012

Communicating more effectively in your organization

by Toronto Training and HR

May 2012

Contents

3-4 Introduction to Toronto Training and HR5-6 Definition7-8 Systems of communication9-12 Points to think about when communicating13-15 Nine stages of a message16-20 Meetings21-22 Employee voice23-24 Harmlessness25-26 Why not tell the truth?27-28 Communication mistakes made by new supervisors29-30 Minimizing gender-based communication mishaps31-39 Age-related considerations40-41 Communication after a conflict meeting or mediation42-43 Issues around emails44-45 4 Cs of intra-company communication46-48 What does organizational behaviour teach us about communication?49-50 Presentations 51-52 Conclusion and questions

Introduction

Introduction to Toronto Training and HR

• Toronto Training and HR is a specialist training and human resources consultancy headed by Timothy Holden

• 10 years in banking• 10 years in training and human resources• Freelance practitioner since 2006• The core services provided by Toronto Training and HR

are:- Training event design- Training event delivery- Reducing costs- Saving time- Improving employee engagement &

morale- Services for job seekers

Definition

Definition

What is a communication medium?

Systems of communication

Systems of communication

TWO ASPECTSDoes it work effectively?Will people use it?

Consider meetings

Consider how ideas may be generated

Points to think about when communicating

Points to think about when communicating 1 of 3

Leadership must support the change (even if they don’t necessarily agree, they shouldn’t share that with subordinates)Rationale for the change must also be communicated clearly – help make it make senseBe sure to ask for questions from those impacted and listen to what is said – dialogue with the impacted parties is very important – otherwise the employee buy in is hampered


Communicate consistent messages – and communicate them oftenUse a number of ways to communicate – speaking, writing, video, training, focus groups, bulletin boards, IntranetsCommunicate what you know, when you know it – you may not know everything up front


Be honest about what you don’t know and above all – do not make things up – you will destroy trustEncourage dialogueKeep everyone in the loop to avoid gossip and fear mongering

Nine stages of a message

Nine stages of a message 1 of 2

A MESSAGE MUST BE:SentReceivedUnderstoodBelieved or trustedBelieved to be important to the organizationFelt (more than just believed) to be relevant to the employee personallyHeld at the front of the mind and acted on continuously (corporate values and goals)

Nine stages of a message 2 of 2

A MESSAGE MUST BE:‘Stored’ then retrieved and acted on when necessary (operational information)Communicated to teams, customers and other external contacts

Meetings

Meetings 1 of 4Overt reasons for meetingsCovert reasons for meetings

Meetings 2 of 4A MEETINGS CHECKLISTWho should attend the meeting?What is the brief or terms of reference of the meeting?What should the agenda be?What about the physical location and arrangements?

Meetings 3 of 4A MEETINGS CHECKLISTHow can contributors be stimulated and controlled?Minutes or report of the meetingImplementation of proposals

Meetings 4 of 4VIRTUAL MEETINGSBuild an effective agendaChoose the right mediumAddress time zone barriersMinimize tangential discussionsReinforce shared responsibilityBalance tasks and trust

Employee voice

Employee voiceDefinitionHistory of employee involvement at workMechanisms of employee voiceUpward problem-solvingRepresentative participationBenefits for employeesBenefits for employeesSuccess factors

Harmlessness

HarmlessnessAcknowledging the truth as you see itBeing honest about your intentionsLooking at the truth from the other person’s perspectiveLooking forward to see what must happen to ensure that each person feels respected and that the outcome is most effective for the people and for the organizationRe-examining your original truth

Why not tell the truth?

Why not tell the truth?

Fear of the unknown Fear of the tough situationsLoss of power

Communication mistakes made by new

supervisors

Communication mistakes made by new supervisors

Lack of focus on the teamFailing to offer and solicit feedbackDelegating without authorizingReprimanding employees in the presence of othersSupervising everyone in the same way

Minimizing gender-based communication

mishaps

Minimizing gender-based communication mishaps

Facial expressionsBody languageSpeech patternsBehaviour

Age-related considerations

Age-related considerations 1 of 8

COMMUNICATION BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONSOutdated assumptions about seniors’ lifestyles, interests, capacitiesPhysical changes of aging Communication materials and media not suited to audience


SENSORY CHANGESVisual acuityHearing acuityAgility and mobilitySocial/emotional changes


COMMUNICATING WITH ABORIGINAL SENIORSMulti-level communications Personal contact Community support Language accessibility Minimize print use


Verbal communicationNon-verbal communication


FORMULATING THE MESSAGECommunication conceptMessage conceptCommunication conceptUsing printEffective design


WEBSITESTypefaceWriting styleOther mediaNavigation


KEY MEDIAPersonal communicationTelephoneMeetingsPrintOnlineForms


KEY MEDIASignageRadioTelevision and videoPublic address systemsPublicity and packagingAutomated communication

Communication after a conflict meeting or

mediation

Communication after a conflict meeting or

mediationPay attention to contentDistinguish tone of voiceObserve body languageWatch reactions to difficult conversationsMonitor gossip levels

Issues around emails

Issues around emails

When you’re having an email exchange with a co-worker, and he or she escalates the conversation by sneakily cc’ing a more senior colleaguePreemptive auto-responses such as “Thank you for your email. I get an overwhelming amount of email, but I care about each one of them! I will respond as soon as it’s convenient”The instant follow-up

4 Cs of intra-company communication

4Cs of intra-company communication

ClearConciseConsistentContinual

What does organizational

behaviour teach us about communication?

What does organizational behaviour teach us about

communication? 1 of 2Communicating in organizations is a two-way process-there’s both upward and downward communicationsEffective listening skills are just as important as strong writing or verbal communications skillsGroupthink (the tendency not to question or critically examine decisions made by highly cohesive teams) can be avoided at least partially through effective communications

What does organizational behaviour teach us about

communication? 2 of 2In order to communicate, organizations need to understand and deal with some of the barriers to effective communication such as “noise,” distractions, poor choice of words, cultural differences, linguistic background, status and power differentials and lack of time

Presentations

Presentations

Own the spaceDon’t hold your breathRelax your feetSoftly softlyYou’re never alone

Conclusion and questions

Conclusion and questions

SummaryVideosQuestions

communicating more effectively in your organization may 2012

Business

meetings page

systems of communication

introduction page

questions page

goals page

way page

definition page

employee voice page