IMPROVING
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Prepared
for
Ms.
Novak
Business
and Professional Communication (ENG315) Instructor
Ashford
University
400
North Bluff Blvd
Clinton,
IA 52732
Prepared
by
Chassity
Beals
February
27, 2012
Table
of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….1
Scope of the
Report……………………………………………………………………………….1
Limitations of the
Report…………………………………………………………………………1
Sources and Methods of Data
Collection…………………………………………………………1
Data
Organization………………………………………………………………………………………1
Current Communication
Strategies……………………………………………………………….2
Daily
Logs………………………………………………………………………………...2
Cash
Register Tills………………………………………………………………………...2
Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………...3
Daily
Logs………………………………………………………………………………...3
Weekly
Meetings………………………………………………………………………….4
Implement
Mission and Vision Statements…………………………………….…………4
Cash
Register Tills……………………………………………………………….....……..4
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………...5
References………………………………………………………………………………………...7
Improving
Communication Strategies
Introduction
One of the most important aspects
of owning a business is the sharing of information. How is information passed
from the company officers to the employees? Sometimes sharing information can
seem like playing an elementary school game of “telephone,” where the message
gets misconstrued the farther down the line it travels. In businesses this
should not be the case. Sharing information in
businesses should be streamlined and clear for all employees because proper
sharing of information provides employees with data that will enable them to
perform their jobs better and provides better service for customers.
Scope of the Report
This report will provide an
overview of our company’s current communication strategies as viewed from the
employee as well as the officer positions. In addition to noting current
communication strategies, a series of recommendations will be made, and
hopefully implemented in order to provide the best possible communication
techniques for our company.
Limitations of the Report
This report contains only
information pertaining to our business and how we can improve our internal
communication strategies. It does not include techniques for communicating with
our customers, the public or media outlets.
Sources and Methods of Data Collection
The researcher used scholarly
journals, websites, personal interviews and textbooks to gather information
related to the topic. This report will rely heavily on the personal interviews
to convey how our actual employees view our current communication strategies as
well as their input and recommendations for changing our current policies
regarding in-company communications and information sharing.
Data Organization
This report has two main parts:
our company’s current communication strategies and recommendations for ways to
improve our current communication and information sharing techniques.
Current
Communication Strategies
“Currently, our communication
strategies are a little disorganized and jumbled,” says Scott Beals, the
company’s owner (S. Beals, personal communication, February 15, 2012). However,
Scott assures that we are doing all that we can to improve this situation and
implement new strategies that will benefit our whole team (S. Beals, personal
communication, February 15, 2012).
Daily Logs
The company fills out daily
buying and trading logs, where employees record what items they have purchased
or traded for during their shift. This is a good start to effective
communication as it gives each subsequent shift an idea of what has happened
before they started working. It also gives them notice that there may be items
that need to be sorted, priced and put on shelves. This log is “a seemingly
tedious, but necessary part of our day,” according to Larry Burkey, the
company’s co-owner (L. Burkey, personal communication, February 17, 2012).
Larry also notes a need for improved
communications in order to make sure that all members of the team are kept “in
the loop” (L. Burkey, personal communication, February 15, 2012). This is a
sentiment dually expressed by the company’s manager, David Moore, when he
states that “communication issues are a large barrier and we need clearer
communications from the owners,” (D. Moore, personal communication, February
19, 2012).
David seems to feel that the
buying and trading logs are not as important as the interpersonal communication
that takes place between the owners and the employees. “We need to feel more
like we are part of the team, too,” David says (D. Moore, personal
communication, February 19, 2012). Even though David is part of the managerial
team, he says that there are still things that seem to be misunderstood or even
left out when communicating with the owners (D. Moore, personal communication,
February 19, 2012).
Cash Register Tills
Cash register tills are a vital
part of our information sharing. Everyone should be aware of how much money is
left in a till after an employee has counted out their till at the end of their
shift. This is a practice the company is
currently implementing. However, the company is beginning the process of
merging with another company and will need to be clear as to how this practice
should be approached in the future.
David, the company’s manager is
ultimately responsible for employees’ cash register balances. He has expressed
concerns that with the growing team, there will be confusion in how this should
be approached (D. Moore, personal communication, February 19, 2012). With this
in mind, the company should consider implementing new strategies regarding this
practice, which will be discussed in the recommendations section.
When asked if they were satisfied
with the company’s current communication strategies, all interviewed
individuals expressed sentiments that there is room for improvement in the
company’s communication techniques.
Good communication skills are
extremely important and involve creative problem solving and quick thinking
(Nitsche, 2011). With this concept of creative problem solving in mind, there
are a few recommendations for improving our communication and information
sharing policies that are worthy of review.
Recommendations
Daily Logs
The company currently utilizes daily logs for recording purchased items
and items taken on trades. Upon the suggestion of David, the company could
create a notebook for each employee to track their personal item purchases and
trading transactions (D. Moore, personal communication, February 19, 2012).
This information could benefit everyone in that the information is more
organized and easier to obtain. If each person keeps their own log, the company
would have less time wasted in searching for this information; it would be
readily available.
In order to be an effective manager, one must be an effective listener
(Roebuck, 2006). In this respect, David has listened to the suggestions and
needs of other employees, and being the manager, he has passed this on to the
owners’ for review and consideration. This is an excellent example of proper
business communication as it follows the proper chain of command, being passed
from employee to manager to upper management.
The daily logs would streamline and organize information, making it
easier to find. If an issue arose, there would be no question as to which
employee to speak to, it would be visible in their personal log that they
definitely were the employee who took in the item. This can also help in legal
matters as sometimes stolen items are purchased accidentally. This would assist
the local authorities by quickly giving them access to information that would
lead them to finding the criminal. Daily logs already contain contact
information for sellers, should this issue ever arise. This also helps weed out
those who are trying to sell stolen property. This method meets local reporting
standards and shows a willingness to cooperate with local authorities.
With it being noted that daily logs contain contact information for
customers, these logs should not be accessible by customers or other unauthorized
persons. Information such as driver’s license numbers are recorded for
customers, and should be handled with tact and respect for the privacy of the
customer. For this, a recommendation of storing the daily logs in a locked
cabinet would seem prudent.
Weekly Meetings
Currently, the company has sporadic meetings. However, with the
employee number growing, it seems very important to host meetings, at least
weekly, in order to make sure everyone is doing well. This meeting time should
also serve as a platform for employees to suggest new ideas for the company.
This is a time for all of the employees to be together with the owners. This is
a time of brainstorming and creative problem solving and should be treated as
such.
In addition to serving as a platform for the sharing of ideas, it also
serves as a means to improve company morale, if used effectively as a time of
praising employees who have done well, and it will also improve upward and
downward communication within the company.
The goal of the weekly meeting should be to discuss areas for
improvement. Everyone should be allowed equal time to present their ideas and
concerns and have them heard and addressed by management.
Implement Company Mission and Vision Statements
One way to nearly instantly improve communication within the company is
to implement a mission and vision statement. Developing these statements will
give everyone a clear idea of what the company’s standards and direction are.
Mission and vision statements are very important, foundational bits of
information that should be clearly communicated to the whole company
(Achterberg, 2001).
Currently, the company does not have this information. With the
involvement of all employees, a mission and vision statement should be
developed that encompasses the goals for the company and its employees. The
company’s goal should be to provide honest and fair appraisals and quality
products at reasonable prices.
Not only do the mission and vision statements provide direction, they
should be statements that remind employees why they chose to work for the
company. The mission statement should be just as important to the employees as
it is to customers.
Implementing vision statements can help keep employees motivated.
Motivated employees can be more passionate about the company they represent.
This can present an excellent public image. If the employees are happy and
passionate, this is contagious and spills over to customers.
Cash Register Tills
The company’s current policies and practices regarding the handling of
cash register tills are acceptable. However, all new employees need to be made
aware of the policies and properly trained so that there is no confusion.
A policy and procedure manual would be helpful for new employees,
rather than expecting them to simply “retain” a great deal of information
immediately. A small manual containing day-to-day operations and “normal”
operating procedures would be useful. In this manual, topics like counting the
cash register till at the beginning and end of each shift and completing the
buy and trade logs each day should be discussed in detail, so that all
employees understand the purpose and the procedure of each day-to-day
operation.
Summary
The company has already implemented many useful communication and
information sharing strategies, but there is always room for improvement.
Especially with the pending merge with another company, it is more important
than ever to have a uniform set of policies and procedures. This will make the
transition period easier for everyone involved. Implementing new strategies
will also create excitement and passion for the work the company does as well
as outline what is expected of employees. This will relieve some of the
disorganized and jumbled feelings regarding communications noted at the
beginning of this report.
Conclusion
Figure 1. Most
Important Change to Communication Strategy and Information Sharing (5 being
most important to individual)
The chart above shows that all interviewed feel that implementing
weekly meetings is the most important change that can be made to the company’s
current communication and information sharing strategies. The Mission and
Vision Statements do not appear to be as important to the interviewed. The
daily logs are very important to Scott as he is over the buying and trading and
he is the contact for the local authorities if there is a question regarding a
purchase. With the seriousness and importance of the accuracy of these records
in mind, it should also be important to employees to fill this log out on a
consistent and timely basis.
Cash register tills are very important to Larry and David, who will
both be overseeing the financial aspects of the business. This is another very
important part of owning and operating a successful business. The importance of
the cash register tills and the daily logs should be discussed continually at
weekly meetings to make sure that everyone understands how important they are in
the day-to-day operations of the business.
As the Mission and Vision statement is not as important, these are
recommendations that can be drafted and approved during weekly meetings as
well.
This chart also shows one other very interesting trend. All of the
interviewed felt that the weekly meeting was the most important change that can
be made. This fact shows that all of the interviewed value the input and
communication with all members of the company.
Providing employees with necessary data and information will make them
better equipped to perform their job duties and streamlining the information
sharing Cprocess will improve employee morale as well as show improvement in
employee-customer communications, thus creating a positive public image and
increased profits for the company.
References
Achterberg, M. (2001). How culture affects information sharing in an
organization. Retrieved February 7, 2012 from: http://kwork.org/white_papers/cultural.html#Vision.
Nitsche, R.. (2011). TAILORING A LEADERSHIP
STYLE TO FIT YOUR BUSINESS. Baylor Business Review, 30(1), 30-31.
Retrieved February 6, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2489317831).
Roebuck, D. (2006). Improving business communication skills (4th
edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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