Simple actions often speak the loudest

Writing is one of the main ways in which we communicate in the workplace. A survey by www.Radicati.com estimated that in 2014 we will send over 190 billion emails worldwide PER DAY.  With 7.1 billion people on the Earth that is an average of 27 emails sent per person per day. Of course not everyone in the world sends emails but even if they did, 27 emails to read a day would still be pretty hefty given our already manic schedules.  This does not include the amount of endless chatter available through social networking and the Internet as a whole.

Last week I had a conversation with my friend/old colleague about the difficulties she was having in communicating with her boss. She works in the IT field and her role requires her to be very detailed focused. Luckily, she has a project management approach and so she is very capable at her job and is highly respected.

Unfortunately, the issues my friend was having were not related to her ability to perform well in her role, she was having problems with her written communication.  Due to the nature of her job, her writing style is very thorough, ensuring that everything she does is explained in detail and that no stone is left unturned. This is a wonderful quality to have and many workplaces would pay bucket loads to acquire an employee with such great attention to detail. Sadly, in our fast paced world we often do not have time for detail, most people want quick and easy information that they can act upon instantly. The result, my friend feels unheard and demotivated.

She asked my advice.

My motto is to be short and snappy; if people want more information they will ask you for it.

My 5 top tips:

• Use bullet points where possible
• Start your mail with the top 3 main points (5 if really necessary) – most people can only absorb 5 main points at any time so this will ensure your topics are memorable 
• If you want to write lengthier essays about a topic, attach them in a separate email; this gives people the choice to read in more detail if they wish
• Write for your audience – if you are writing for a senior exec who has little time to eat never mind read 500 emails a day, get to the point and fast
• Use the subject line to ask the main question you require an answer too – It will prep your audience for your mail and ensure you get the answer you need

When we are writing for others sometimes we forget that we are writing for them and not for ourselves. Keeping information tailored to your readers’ needs and not your own desires to show that you have covered all of the details is what will ensure your message is heard.

Is social media thwarting our creativity?

Social media has been on the scene for a good few years now; it is used by millions and is now a generally accepted part of our daily lives. Use of Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and Twitter for personal sharing of photographs and for keeping us connected with friends and family has completely transformed the way in which we communicate, bringing us closer to our distant loved ones than ever before: it’s caused a true revolution in relationships across the world.

Our virtual world...

More recently, individuals and businesses have been using the tools to grow their client and customer networks and to sell their products to wider audiences than they ever thought possible. I know many people will be shouting at the words on this page right about now saying “this is old news, it’s been around for years!” and I agree, that’s true, but I believe that it's only recently that the business world has really started to see the value in social media. Our proficiency in using it effectively as a business tool is very much in its infancy.

The demand for 'experts' in social media management, SEO optimisation and blog site development (to name a few), has grown exponentially over the last couple of years and as stated by @businessinsider (amongst many other publications), 2014 is set to be the year of the technology boom.

The constant stream of information we have access to is mind blowing and the rate of growth of the technological industry is phenomenal. I for one am very much riding the technological wave, but, I must admit, with a touch of trepidation.

I can’t help but wonder if the constant barrage of information is preventing us from being true individuals; from one perspective I think it is fantastic that we can now share our creativity with more people and in more places than we ever could and we have access to more information and so we can, in theory, have more rounded and better informed views of the world around us; but, is all of this unregulated and often conflicting information confusing us? Do we really understand how to manage all of this data and are we gaining anything from it?

In the paragraph above I mentioned that employers are crying out for ‘experts’ in social media related jobs; are any of us true experts in social media or many of the other technological beasts that are now so prevalent in our world?

Don't get me wrong, I’m certainly not one for standing in the way of progress, I think the availability and accessibility of the array of data we have today makes us exceptionally lucky, but I do worry that we don’t know how to handle it and that ultimately it could lead to confusion and misguided education across our schools and businesses.

Recently I’m realising the importance of stepping away from my Twitter, Facebook and Linked In accounts and asking myself: what do I think about the latest ‘trending’ topic, how do I feel about the latest news report or controversial comment from a celebrity? Taking that small step back from my constant news feeds gives me that rare opportunity to be myself, before I desperately try to digest the views, thoughts and ideas of the rest of the technologically savvy world.    

Is frequent organisational change affecting employee output? Part 2

Both managers and employees can mitigate the effects of frequent change in the workplace without spending excessively on redesigning and implementing new processes and systems or raising the recruitment budget. 

What can managers do?

Image from Avard Woolaver on Flickr

Explain the ACTUAL role

Managers need to provide awareness of the fluidity of roles by explaining the expected deliverables in 2 parts – the defined outputs required by the organisation AND the non-defined element of the role. It is not enough to tell employees that they need to be flexible and adapt to frequent changes happening around them; managers have a duty to explain the way in which the organisation works and to share the kinds of things that others get involved in as part of the fluid nature of their roles. This provides an element of structure to the less defined part and ensures employees are not left feeling ambiguous about where they should be spending their time and how this will be measured as part of their performance goals.

Managers should also provide an explanation of what to do if the systems and process are not in place to carry out such work: will employees be expected to put such systems in place? Will this then be a measured part of their role or is this classed as extra curricular activity? 

Of course, I realise that it is impossible to foresee the future and therefore there is bound to be a non predictable and fluid element to a role, the trick is to give people some sense of boundary so that they know what is considered measurable and eligible for reward and what is not. Otherwise, the workplace becomes a game of reading minds. 

Communicate with your team

Communication is a hot topic in the business world and has been for some time, mainly because more often than not, it's done badly. In my view there are a few simple rules that need to be applied to give the workplace half a chance of functioning effectively:

Provide regular feedback on progress

This should be in the form of both formal and informal feedback sessions: chat informally with your team about the things they are doing well and not so well. This can be a simple, "that comment you made in yesterday's meeting about X was fantastic, good job." This helps to ensure your employees feel valued and know that their work is contributing to the overall goals of the organisation.

In a formal manner, I believe monthly check-in meetings as well as annual and bi-annual appraisals work well, as feedback doesn't then become a surprise. Others have different views on the frequency at which feedback is needed. Whichever level of frequency feels most comfortable is up to you, but if you are doing your job effectively, employees should not be surprised by the feedback they hear in a formal appraisal process, they should be fully aware of how their performance is fairing throughout the year.

  

Involve your workforce in change as much as possible

People are much more receptive to new ways of working if they feel they have had an input in what is happening to them. Effective communication of changes before they take place is vital. 

What can employees do?

Keep others informed

Communicate with others if you have done/are going to do a specific piece of work and exactly what you have done/will do: that way people are aware of the state of systems and what needs to be done next, plus it prevents duplication of effort.

Keep records

Record what you do and the time effort you put into it: just a sentence or two about your input and the outcome that the company saw from the work. This might seem time consuming but if nothing else, it will be useful in a performance review meeting, giving you bargaining power for that desired raise or bonus.

Understand your own career path

Image from Angela Marie 
Henriette on Flickr

With frequent changes affecting the structure of roles, the opportunity for role shaping is huge. Where would you like to take your career? What do you currently love doing and what do you hate? What would you like to do more of? By considering these questions you can use the fluidity of your position to take your career in any direction that you choose. You're great at writing and research but hate the project management element of your role? Package up those bits you hate and look around for people who can do those bits for you! There won't always be an obvious person to hand this too but take time to understand the roles of people around you, see where their strengths and weaknesses are and work interdependently to shape your role and theirs. This doesn't need to be someone in your immediate team either; think more widely and who knows what solutions you may come up with.  

Of course, don't forget to keep the broader goals of the company in mind; even if you have your own objectives, you are still working forthat monthly paycheck so make sure you meet your targets.

Final Thought

Organisation's need to adapt to the ever changing environment does not have to result in confusion and uncertainty for employees, but it does demand different ways of working. With new ways of thinking about the things that once held us back, the sky is the limit.