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Increasing communicative efficiency is essential to reduce miscommunication
From sharing confidential information to not sharing essential information , the consequences of communication mishaps can be damaging to careers , organisations – and downright embarrassing .
A recent study by international telecommunications provider TollFreeForwarding revealed that 56 % of people have sent a communication to someone it wasn ’ t intended for while at work . Meanwhile , a study from the Independent Directors Council found companies with more than 100,000 employees were losing an average of $ 62 million per year due to miscommunication .
According to Stephen Hart , CEO at online price comparison business Card Switcher , bad communication can quickly snowball into a significant business problem .
He said : “ Say your customer service team isn ’ t passing on customer feedback . That ’ s going to cause problems for sales , who don ’ t know how to tweak their approach . And your business development team , who won ’ t know how to improve the business . And your marketing team , who won ’ t understand your customer base . Bad communication has a tendency to cause compound issues and spread to other business areas .”
What would you expect to happen if you encountered a serious miscommunication at work ? In the office environment , the likelihood of dismissal can vary depending on the specifics of the employment contract says attorney and adjunct law professor , Thomas J . Simeone .
“ Many employment contracts state that an employee can only be fired for ‘ good cause ,’” he explains . “ Some contracts then go on to define a good cause but others do not . So , insulting a manager , for example , could be grounds for termination if the employer desired . On the other hand , other business owners have said they wouldn ’ t expect to see staff dismissed if communications were merely an accident .”
The study revealed men to be more careless than women – more than a third have accidentally sent confidential information and more than a quarter admitted to sending insulting comments about a colleague to the wrong recipient . This applied to only 15 % of the women surveyed .
Obviously , miscommunication and missed information is inevitable but there are steps companies can take to increase their overall level of communicative efficiency . It can often be as simple as ensuring everyone is approachable during the working day .
Tracey Julien , VP of marketing at retirement planning organisation GuidedChoice , said : “ Many employees feel intimidated and even too embarrassed to ask their manager a question to clarify what is being asked of them . This is probably one of the
easiest issues to combat and yet it still occurs time and again .”
For larger businesses where communication happens across several departments , changing the primary medium for internal communication from emails to more direct platforms , such as Slack , is a great solution .
At Card Switcher , Hart suggests ‘ the daily stand-up ’ – a short meeting where participants answer three simple questions : w What did you do yesterday ? w What will you do today ? w What impediments or problems do you have ?
He explains : “ The communication and productivity benefits are immense . If someone is planning work that will disrupt someone else ’ s , you learn about it at the start of the day and can mould your day around it . Another huge benefit is that it highlights problems , issues , and impediments so someone can address them before they start causing problems .” S
12 Executive PA | Autumn Issue 2022