Effective Communication in the Organization

As a manager communication or rather, effective communication in the organization is crucial to your obtaining the desired results. Without effective communication, employees may not understand your requests, they may perceive the information in a different context, or just be totally confused because the message you convey is ambiguous or unclear. I enjoy watching movies that convey a message for growth and one of my favorite movies is “Cool Hand Luke” starring Paul Newman as Luke who has been sentenced to prison for destroying municipal property by cutting the heads off parking meters, and Strother Martin as the no-nonsense warden simply known as “Captain.” Now, the movie is one of my favorites not because it is a prison movie and by no means do I recommend you use Captain’s tactics in your organization, but mainly because of the symbolic messages displayed throughout the picture. One of the messages in the movie deals with effective communication. In one scene, Luke makes an inappropriate comment to Captain and in turn, he responds, “What we've got here is... failure to communicate,” as can be seen in the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fuDDqU6n4o.

Communication is the transference of a message or thought from you the “sender” to your employees the “receivers” and for effective communication to take place there must be an understanding by the receiver of the message, which should result in some type of positive feedback to the sender. Be careful about using certain terms that may be unique to only a few people in the organization; do not use descriptive words in your message that could be offensive to some members of your organization which will only distort the true meaning of the message, and seek clarification from your employees that they do indeed understand the request. If they do not, then try finding a better way of helping them understand your request. Doing so will help to ensure your intended message is received and understood by everyone and the results you seek for your organization, are obtained expeditiously.

There are many reasons for a failure to communicate in the organization. One reason could be the diversity within the organization. While diversity is, definitely good for your company, if you do not take into account the backgrounds of the diverse members and try to understand how the different employees put information into context you may be sending information ineffectively. As an example, if you relayed a request to a group of culturally diverse employees and asked them not to discuss the information in the “grapevine” there is a possibility some employees may take the word grapevine literally and not figuratively and have no idea of the true meaning of your comment. Of course, the grapevine is the rumor mill, or unofficial channel of communication in the organization. Another example could be, providing vague and inconsistent instructions to employees. If the employees are unclear of the request, you may receive results totally opposite of what you want thereby placing your organization behind deadlines, which could result in the loss of a future contract. Again, as I have previously stated in earlier blogs, getting to know your employees and building the relationships with them will help in understanding how they may perceive certain types of information.

People have been communicating in organizations as long as organizations have been in existence but the organizations that stand out and achieve results are the ones with managers that practice effective communication techniques. So, if you are a manager seeking ways to enhance your communication with your employees, start with understanding their unique perspectives and the differences in how they place information into context before you send the next message and you will not have… failure to communicate. Until next time, I am Dr. Anthony Spivey; keep thinking BIG!

Managing Conflict in the Organization

Quick, when one of your workers comes to you and says “boss we have a conflict!” what is your immediate reaction? In most cases people tend to think something is wrong simply because they hear the word conflict. Well what is conflict? By definition, the online version of the American Heritage College Dictionary defines conflict as “a state of disagreement or disharmony between persons or ideas.” Yet, if as a manager, you always go into alert mode when you hear there is a conflict in the organization how long do you think you can be effective in your role? Actually, not all conflict is bad and as a manager, you should do your best to reframe the word conflict so your reaction changes as well. It is not if you will have to deal with conflict in the organization but rather, when you have to deal with conflict, you should know some methods of handling the situation. As long as you have people working in your organization, eventually there will be some type of disagreement between them, and thus, you will have to address the conflict and settle it before the organization can meet its stated goals.

There are two types of conflict managers deal with. One is substantive conflict involving a disagreement between individuals on how best they should accomplish goals and processes, and the other is emotional conflict, which involves a feeling of mistrust or anger between individuals in the organization. The former is functional conflict, which is good for the organization, and the latter is dysfunctional conflict, which is counter-productive for the organization. So how do you as a manager manage conflict? In today’s organization there is one common factor that is prevalent and that is, we now live in a globalized economy and there is much diversity in the organizations in the forms of gender, age, ethnicity, and race to name a few. With all the diversity in play, there are sure to be some differences of opinions because of the different viewpoints from individuals and they most often do not always agree.

In the situation where there appears to be a substantive type conflict, managers should exploit these opportunities of multiple alternatives and take into consideration all the suggestions presented to meet established goals. Taking in the suggestions and weighing one against the other, you just may find a recommendation that could work better and then implement the best alternative. You must make the individuals aware this is a team effort, they all have something to contribute, and helping them to understand and support the best recommendation is best for the organization as a whole.

Now in the instance of an emotional conflict, this may present more of a challenge because you are dealing with personal matters between parties. One factor that can work to your advantage is having established a good trusting relationship with your employees. This can help get to the root of the issue faster and work towards a resolve because a trusting relationship can help your employees feel more comfortable speaking with you about an issue involving a personal matter. Nevertheless, you must address the issue and be able to relay to the employees in disagreement that this type of behavior is unacceptable in the workplace. Speaking separately with each employee involved about their concerns will also help paint the picture as to what the problem is; then bringing the parties together to hear each other’s concerns can hopefully be an opening to a resolve. If not, measures that are more intensive such as HR intervention or employee assistance counseling if available in the organization may be needed. Either way emotional conflict is not healthy for the organization and will only weaken the employees’ abilities to accomplish organization goals.

Conflict for some managers is never an easy subject to deal with and ignoring conflict will only exacerbate the situation. Some form of functional conflict is necessary to keep the organization moving forward. Without some functional conflict, the organization can become stagnant and lose market share so a little healthy competition between employees is not a bad thing. Remember, keep the playing field level by respecting all employees’ contributions and you can help minimize or reduce the dysfunctional conflict and you will be surprised how much synergy you can develop between employees and move your organization to the next level. Until next time, I am Dr. Anthony Spivey; keep thinking BIG!

Customer Service from a Manager's Perspective

When was the last time you interacted with a business? I am quite sure in today’s global economy it was recent. How was the interaction between you and the customer service representative; was it engaging and pleasant, or was it similar to handling a cold wet dishtowel? Chances are if the experience was pleasing, you did not give it too much thought when you completed your transaction, as compared to an unpleasant experience that made a much more lasting impression on you. Now, take that same unpleasant experience and transfer it to your business. How does it feel? The experience your employees provide to your customers gives them an impression of your entire organization, yes including the employees whom they do not come into contact.

Making sure employees provide good customer service can say a lot for your business because customers enjoy dealing with a business that treats them with gratitude for patronizing the organization. One thing to keep in mind is your business is most likely not the only business of choice in town so people do have alternatives when deciding where to spend their money on like products and services and they are much more likely to frequent a business in the future because of a pleasing experience.

So, how do you ensure your employees are providing good customer service? Initially, when a customer enters the place of business employees should cheerfully acknowledge them. The customer should not be the first to initiate the conversation as if the employee standing before them is like a robot waiting for a command. To get employees to treat customers in a professional congenial manner, you must first treat your employees the same.

Doing so shows you care about their well-being in the organization; their opinions are considered when you make decisions because you cannot cover every angle of the business alone; and you do not see them just as a means to an end to financial gain for your business. Additionally, understanding a little of their personal side or as much as they care to share with you can create a trusting bond between you and your employees. Doing these simple things can help provide your employees a sense of belonging in the organization and they are much more willing then, to greet the customer in a cordial professional manner thereby positively affecting the bottom line. After all, what business opens its doors to intentionally go under or broke? The next time you frequent a business to purchase a product or service, mentally rate the customer service experience, and then ponder the thought; what if that was my employee and what grade would I give them? Then ask yourself based on the experience, would you come back for repeat business? The answer you receive could be quite humbling. Until next time, I am Dr. Anthony Spivey; keep thinking BIG!