How to Avoid These 2 Communication Pitfalls

By HR Resource Force In Business Process Management

Communication insights

can come from anywhere

not just the office.

For example, analyzing your family’s holiday experience may help identify business process management communication pitfalls at work. No, really. Over the holiday, my family enjoyed “The Escape Room” as a leisure activity. We were locked in a small room that looked like a mini chapel and had an hour to solve up to 12 puzzles. If we were successful, we would win the challenge and “escape.” We individually and excitedly touched the walls and pictures, looked under the pew, tried to unscramble mosaic tiles, lifted candles, and searched the room for clues.

Just like every employee on your team, each member of our family responded differently. Some searched silently, thinking quietly. Others were vocal about every clue they saw, thinking out loud. Some wanted recognition for their contributions, while others did not care. Some maintained steadfast energy in the depth of a roadblock, while others retreated to remove themselves from the confusion.

When the holidays ended and I went back to the office, I realized that this activity revealed two pitfalls most of us have in our communication – the root cause of many behaviors. We assume, and we ignore.

How to Avoid These 2 Communication Pitfalls.

ASSUMING EXPECTATIONS

Had we created an initial strategy and delegated an expectation for each player, we would have solved more puzzles. We all assumed we were after the same thing – how do we get out – but we did not organize our efforts or coordinate a plan. It was chaos. Had we task analyzed the activity further, we would have realized there were many tasks and puzzles that needed to be completed, and we could have distributed each to the person best fit for the job.

SOLUTION: DELEGATING YOUR EXPECTATIONS

• Avoid confusion. Team members that naturally retreat to avoid chaos or conflict should not be left to sit on the sidelines. They should be assigned specific goals so that destructive competition over one task does not waste time and resources.
• Avoid defensive behaviors. When a group is given a task, it is easy to sit back and blame the others for their inadequacies. Having an assigned duty promotes responsibility on one’s self and minimizes the blame game.
• Avoid silence. A team member that has been entrusted as the leader of a project should feel pride in their work and keep lines of communication open and active.
• Deliver and document. Distribute and track your employee’s tasks and goals with an agile Learning Management System (LMS) or a HCM system that remotely tracks progress in real time. Technology in the workplace helps prevent; confusion, skipping over steps, the blame game, and silence.

IGNORING

If one person had been designated time for feedback on what each team member had discovered thus far, clarity and insight would have helped us solve more puzzles. Some of us ignored a new discovery that was actually quite important. Why we ignored a particular discovery was different for every single person. Some just wanted to operate alone while others retreated to avoid potential conflict or because they underestimated the value of their contributions.

SOLUTION: CONFRONT YOUR THOUGHTS

• Avoid negative energy. When team members do not know what you are thinking, this leaves them to make assumptions. Sometimes this leads us toward destructive speculation. Clarifying goals with concrete objective terms prevents potentially subjective emotions.
• Avoid unhappiness. Providing your team with time and feedback promotes the feeling of progress and achievement. When an employee feels like you have time for them, they feel valued and motivated to accomplish even more.
• Avoid bewilderment. Employees want clear goals and directions. They want credit for what they have individually accomplished and do not want to compete to be seen, heard, or respected.
• Deliver and document. Like every other piece of workplace communication, you should be organized in the way you share and track feedback. A learning Management System (LMS) or an HCM system can make a difference on this front as well.

By: Kristen Goodell, M.Ed, Co-Owner
Kristen converts inefficient compliance management systems and siloed technology into a dynamic workflow with end to end client support. Through our implementation process we work with you to reveal areas of hidden risk and produce new best practices for your compliance management team.
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