10 WAYS TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE

1. Explain your current status:

Before you can begin to improve, you have to acknowledge where you are. Allowing employees
to see the missteps and successes that have already been encountered prepares them to better
understand expectations going forward. However, dont make this a monologue. It should be an
open discussion that allows all voices to be heard.

2. Customize your game plan:

There are a lot of safety programs out there and each one contains an excellent amount of helpful
information. That doesnt always mean its right for your workplace though. Instead of using an
out-of-the-box solution, find one that best suits your needs and tailor it to your exact
environment. When youre able to use specific references and locations, the plan will be easier to
grasp for all.

3. Explain the benefits of your plan:

Openly discuss the reasoning behind your plan and its components. Accept criticism and
feedback, allowing it to further improve your tactics. The more information you share with the
team, the more likely they are to understand it and implement it across the board.

4. Get others involved:

Not everyone will agree with your plan. So, its important to demonstrate the need for these
proposed changes. This could be through an actual demonstration in the workplace or just by
allowing other voices to be heard. Since criticism is likely, the more people you have onboard
who are willing to be vocal in their support, the better your chances of having others adopt their
thinking.

5. Repeat your message over time:

While an introductory meeting is a must, so are follow-ups that act to reinforce your message.
This especially rings true in the beginning stages of your plan, as opinions and ideas may alter
the original concept. The more you reiterate the points of your message, the more likely they are
to be remembered and implemented.

6. Tell stories:

When it comes to safety, theres an underlying emotional connection that we all share. Its
crucial to the success of your specialized program that you emphasize these points. When
accidents happen, bad things occur and rather than tiptoe around them, speak directly and push
the importance of your measures to ensure they remain top of mind. Possibilities are one thing,
but actualities are on a whole other level.
7. Reward in public:

A positive attitude will go a long way when you want others to understand and support your
plan. So, its important to openly recognize those who are taking the steps needed to make it
happen. These individuals should be openly praised and rewarded for their hard work. On the
other hand, if an employee is falling short of their committments, they should be spoken to in
private.

8. The power of positivity:

As we mentioned in the last point, a positive attitude can go a long way. This remains true
throughout the entire process of development, implementation and approval. If you begin to
harbor negative feelings about any aspect of the process, theres a chance others around you will
begin to do the same, and that can make it a lot harder to actually accomplish the goals at hand.

9. Clarify expectations:

Safety initiatives do not exist on a straight line. Often times, expectations and goals change for
one reason or another. So, its important to discuss these changes before they take place. Dont
expect others to read a poster on the wall or a note on their desk. You must remain vigilant when
it comes to your communication efforts, and even the smallest change should be addressed
before implemented.

10. Follow up with actions:

Even when team members accept your plan, they will not remain onboard unless they see action.
You cant promise your team new safety gear, only to put it on the back burner until the next
quarter. If you dont view safety as a priority, neither will your employees. The more enthusiastic
and invested you are, the more likely your team will stand by your side.
Communication and Safety

Communication and safety are interlinked and all staff have a role to play in making sure that
they work together to ensure that the care they provide is as safe as possible. This section helps
you to learn more about how communication helps you to work safely in your team.

The Safe Practice unit explores a wide range of issues about ensuring patient safety. However,
the interaction of communication and safety is explored here.

Human factors

Human factors can be defined as the 'environmental, organisational and job factors and the
human and individual characteristics which influence behaviour at work in a way which can
affect health and safety' (Evidence into Practice)

Using this definition, critically examine communication in your work setting where there are
potentially risks to patients/clients using the 3 buckets approach.
This approach will help you identify where the risks to effective communication lie and how the
team can work together to minimise these risks.

Discuss what you have identified with your mentor or your team.
Are there actions that you can put into practice? How can you do this?

Team communication

By working together the team can contribute to patient safety. The Quality Improvement
Hub highlights some basic ways that in which you can contribute to patient safety and one of
these key ways is through the team communicating effectively.

Look critically at how your team communicates amongst themselves e.g. passing on clinical
information and shift start/finish handovers. Identify where errors could happen and some minor
changes that could improve patient safety.

Are there actions you could put into practice? Discuss these with your mentor and make a
portfolio entry about what you have identified and could put into practice. Return to this entry in
3 months and review the progress you have made.

A safe journey

Plot a typical patient/client journey for your workplace and include the key information that
needs to be communicated at each stage and the team members involved.

Where are the risks to patient/client safety?

How does each member contribute individually to patient/client safety?
How do the team work together to contribute to patient/client safety?

There is a vast difference between communication and effective communication.

Why is it that some supervisors and safety people can say something once and they get
compliance? While other supervisors and safety people find they have to repeat themselves
constantly. How can it be that one group gets it immediately and another needs constant
reminding? There is a vast difference between communication and effective communication.
Communication is only as good as the choice of words or the content of those words. The more
precise and specific the choice of words and content, the more effective the communication. You
have to communicate in a way that speaks directly to what you want said. Too many words and
generic ideas only create misunderstandings and confusion. The better the choice of words, the
clearer your ideas, the more your communication becomes effective.
So lets take a look at three ways that you can improve your effectiveness in safety
communication starting today:
1One idea at a time. Safety meetings are famous for doing this all wrong. Safety meetings can
be a jumble of too many ideas, too many long presentations and too many people getting up to
speak. On wordy Powerpoint slides, meeting attendees have to discern whats important from
whats filler. The great thing is, there is no time limit on safety meetings. You are not required
for meet a minimum amount of time filling and padding that time full of stuff. The more ideas
you introduce into a meeting, the more you compete with your core message. The more speakers
who speak on different things, the more it confuses the attendee. They cant possibly remember
all of it anyway. So tighten up. Focus on the absolutely must-haves. Meet more often if you
have to. But do it for shorter periods of time. Plan your safety meetings like a 30-second timeout
in sports. Focus on the plays (tasks) you are faced with today. Shorten up the meeting and get
specific. No one ever complained that the safety meeting was too short so go for brevity and
impact instead. Figure out what one or two things that you would like to see you people doing
differently as a result of this meeting. Then, work backwards to plan and point all of your energy
at accomplishing those one or two things.
2Make it personal. Dump the blanket reminders. In other words, dont use generic terms and
talk about all of us or many employees or some people. If you have a performance issue
with one or two employees, dont drag all of the other employees into it. Address the issues with
the one or two. Don't punish everyone for the actions of a few. Don't waste their time by
dragging them into admonishment sessions disguised as gentle reminders. Dont make 30
people sit through a session that is supposed to fix one or two. Your communication isnt
personal then. And its certainly not relevant. And dont think that everyone needs a gentle
reminder now and then. No. No they dont. They need a reminder that you are proud of what
they are doing right, not what someone else is doing wrong. If youve got an employee who is
doing it right, tell them theyre doing it right. Make your communication more effective. Engage
your people at a personal level one-one-one; not as disguised reprimand sessions. People will
improve when they get feedback directly focused on them. So engage each of your people at a
personal level.
3Find a way to be positive. Yeah, this ones more difficult. Especially when you know that an
employee that youre about to communicate with has been doing something wrong. Its so much
easier to find fault with and criticize someones performance. We know that to be a fact because
so many of our own bosses find fault with us each day. No one ever likes to be dressed down or
embarrassed for the work they do. No one shows up for work each day with a smile on their face
knowing that someone is about to admonish them for their quality of work. People want to feel
proud of the work they do. Everyone has a desire to be admired in some small way. So admire
them. There has got to be something about each person on your crew who is worthy of some sort
of compliment. If not, why are they still there? It takes no talent or skill to criticize. It takes great
effort to find something positive about anothers performance. But it brings you and the
employee so much closer. When your relationship gets closer, communication becomes more
effective.

Communication: The Key to Great Safety

Youre a crew leader or even a supervisor and you really know your stuff, yet your crews arent
quite following your direction. Something is amiss, but you cant figure it out. Or maybe youre
a journeyman lineman, but your apprentice continues to not follow your direction. Its becoming
a problem for both of you that youre not sure how to fix. In both cases, maybe its due to poor
communication. We all can speak a language some of us can speak many languages but are
we really communicating? Are you being heard? Most importantly, are you being understood?
Communication and safety go hand in hand and without good communication skills, you may
actually find yourself talking at people, not really communicating. The following Tailgate
covers tips and techniques that can be used by anyone who really wants to make a difference in
how they interact with and influence their crew members.
Start with the thought that people come to work to do what is right. No one comes to the job
purposely thinking, Hey, what can I mess up today? Start with the assumption that they dont
know something you know or dont see something you see.

Create the environment to be heard. Sure, theres a time-honored tradition of giving your
apprentice corrective feedback in public and thick skin comes with the job, but some people need
privacy for difficult conversations. Knowing your audience is very important if you want to
really be heard.

Set the stage for the conversation. If you see something you want to coach around while
working, call a timeout and make the job safe. Put your crew at ease; reinforce their good work
before starting a critical conversation. If the feedback can wait until a natural break in the work,
use the break as the time to share what you observed.

Be tactful. Discuss what you observed, something like, Hey, guys, just wanted to take a minute
to let you know what I observed right now before we do it again and hurt someone. Quickly
getting the issue out in the open helps get an immediate resolution, and demonstrating care helps
put the crew at ease. One thing you want to avoid are long conversations that sound like sermons
or testimonials. Involve the crew in the discussion and ask them for solutions. Observation
conversations are teaching moments, and people learn best when they have a chance to
participate in the discussion.

Avoid abrupt, offensive and accusatory statements. Address the inappropriate behavior and
not the individual. Be respectful and understanding your intent is to create a two-lane highway
of communication, one lane for giving information and one lane for receiving information. As
the team lead, its your job to really understand why the observed behavior occurred. Asking and
listening are the only ways to get to the why.

Maintain a nonthreatening approach. Some studies say as much as 70 percent of

communication is nonverbal. Body posture, tone of voice, facial expressions and emotional tone
convey the meaning behind the words you speak.

Validate cooperation. Be sure you reinforce your crews cooperation during the coaching
session, complimenting them on the things that are going well. Make it a point to let them know
they are doing a good job and that the coaching talk is a demonstration of care, as no job is so
urgent or important that it cannot be done safely.

Ensure you listen. Patiently listen to the individual; dont interrupt. Make every attempt to
ensure you understand their perspective. Learn why the individual is doing what they are doing.

Apologize if needed. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us if for some reason you lose
your cool, acknowledge it. Apologize immediately, get it out in the open and explain why youre
emotional. Many times the emotion comes because we care, so tell your crew that. Talking about
it clears the air and allows your crews to see you as person who is genuine.
Agree where you can. Look for opportunities during the discussion to agree with the individual
or crew you are coaching, giving credit where you can. Verbalize your understanding of the
persons situation as this helps you build rapport and allows the individual to meet you in the
middle.

Encourage the crew to hold to standards. Some crew members may not know the standard,
and as we are aware, we often learn from others so our understanding of the standard may not be
correct. Reinforce that standards are proven to protect people and equipment. Make sure you
allow for discussion and dont just drive for blind compliance. Adults need to understand the
reasons behind a standard. Make sure you provide education on why the standard exists.

Advocate for the individuals or crews success. Demonstrate you care by helping resolve their
issue and concerns when raised, and keep them informed of progress.

With a little practice of these basic concepts, you can achieve great communication that will
allow crew members to learn from each other, generate a team environment and establish a
strong team dynamic that will enable your crew to work out issues as they see them. After all,
isnt the goal of safety to cover each others backs when we need it?

MANAGERS DISCUSS PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES AND

SUCCESSES
Nolan et al., (2007) mentioned that globalization has drastically altered the business environment
through the fall of national borders and the rise of multinational organizations. Through this
environment global competition has intensified, new markets have emerged and the flow of
international labour has increased (Friedman, 2006). According to Watson (2007) in the near
future, liberalisation is expected to continue along with standardisation of business language,
processes and regulations. Coupled with technological advancements associated with increasing
rapidity to market will continue to shift the basis of competitive advantage towards creative and
innovative practices (Florida, 2002).
Today, it would be difficult for any organization to achieve and sustain effectiveness without
having an efficient Human Resource Management programs and activities. Both organizations
and individual are facing with increasing rates of changing coupled with intense global and
competitive market environments which led to new challenges .According to Iversen (2000)
changes in workforce demography, technology and other environmental aspects are creating the
need for new structures and management practices, which contribute to organizational
commitment and flexibility
Lastly, as the importance of organizational effectiveness is within an international context, it is
imperative to investigate the challenges facing human resource management within a global
economy. While these challenges exist not only because of globalization, but also due to
technology and telecommunication advances, deregulation, diversity and other workforce
changes, as well as trends in the nature of work and legal issues (Dessler, 2000).
Current Challenges

The increase of independent worker and self employment

Nowadays, people tend to have more freedom in terms of whether to work or not, depending on
their particular circumstances, than ever before. In addition, more people are choosing to work
on a freelance, contract basic or to work part-time. They have more choices with regards to who
they work for, the kind of work they do and for how long they are prepared to work. With this
portfolio working also reduces a person's dependency on an individual employer and creates a
workforce more able and predisposed to shape its own careers and lifestyles. Hence, people are
able to exercise greater control over levels of discretionary effort and are willing to engage in
negotiations over what has become known as the psychological contract (Hiltrop, 1996; Castells,
2000).

Balancing Work-life
Balancing work and life assumes relevance when both husband and wife are employed. Travails
of a working housewife are more than a working husband, thus balancing it is becoming a major
challenges. So there is a need of a programme which is capable of balancing work-life and is
supposed to include a childcare at or near the workplace, job sharing, care for sick children and
employees, on-site summer camp, training supervisors to respond to work and family needs of
employees, flexible work scheduling, sick leave policies, variety of errands from dry cleaning,
dropping children at schools, making dinner reservations etc and many more like the same or
other.

Motivational Approaches
Workplace motivation is an important aspect as it influences people to do things which help to
achieve organizational goals. For instance, in order for an individual to be motivated to complete
organizational task effectively, their needs must be satisfied and met. Due to each individual may
have different needs so different motivational tools must be utilized by the organization in order
to encourage their employees to put in the needed effort thus increase productivity for the
company.
Organization survival and success are measured by the contribution from motivated employees
in such a competitive market environments and changing workplace. Basically job
characteristics, working environment and appropriate organizational reward system are the factor
of motivation. Therefore the strongest motivational factors which can influence both job
satisfaction and employee motivation are through a reward system wihch will affects the job
satisfaction by making the employee more comfortable and contented as a result of the rewards
received.

Changing Workforce Dynamics

Normally, physical relocation is required and with the increasing number of dual-career
professionals will limits individual flexibility in accepting such assignments and as a result may
hinder number of dual-career professional's. With that limitation in individual flexibility in
accepting such assignments may also hinder organizational flexibility in acquiring and
developing talent. Some demographic changes in the workforce having their own implications to
the HR managers are:
Increasing number of working mothers
a steady decline of blue-collar employees who are giving way to white-collar employees
Increasing awareness & education among workers

Changes in the external regulation of employment

The misused of power by managers in areas such as hiring and firing, promotion and payment
has been reduced by developments of legislation that give greater rights to employees and create
new responsibilities for employers. Important examples of this trend are to be found in the areas
of race, gender and age discrimination, employment protection, the treatment of pregnant women
and trade union membership. One extreme example of the influence of the law on employment
decisions can be found in the recent case in which the Swiss giant Nestle was ordered by a
French court to reopen a loss-making plant, employing 427 workers, which had been closed in
June 2005 (Evans-Pritchard, 2005). Despite sustained losses over several years, and a
commitment either to find the employees jobs in other parts of France or to offer an early
retirement package, the judge ordered the company to restart production and re-employ the
workers. This decision was described by Nestle as unbelievable and unprecedented. While such
extreme cases of legal intervention in business and employment are rare, the trend within the
European Union to limit management's freedom to take rational business decisions where these
threaten the legitimate interests of employees is increasing.

Changed Employee Expectations

Nowadays, employees demand empowerment and expect equality with the management. Krafft
and Mahtrala (2010), states that it is only through true empowerment that staff will really
contribute to the changing needs of a business, since they will then be doing things because they
understand them and for the right reasons, thinking and reflecting on the changes and their likely
impact, and above all feeling at ease with the implementation of change.

Outsourcing HR Activities
The trends towards outsourcing have been caused by several strategic and operational motives.
Outsourcing has also been used to help reduce bureaucracy and to encourage a more responsive
culture by introducing external market forces into the firm through the biding process. It is a big
challenge before the HR manager to prove that his/her department is as important as any other
functions in the organization. The relevance of HR is at stack.

The challenges and replacement of physical power and manual skills by the power of knowledge,
creativity and intellectual capital
Knowledge-based industries are becoming more important together with the rise of the number
of knowledge workers is creating a different kind of labour force, which has different
requirements and expectations of work, and different expectations of how it will be managed.
Knowledge workers can be seen to be different from other professional groups because, unlike
those who draw upon a distinctive body of knowledge and work from this, the knowledge worker
works with knowledge not only their own, but that generated and used by others, generated
through such mechanisms as 'communities of practice' and professional networks.

Employability and Continuing Education

This is a major area of challenge to most employers, especially those who employ large number
of staff. Staffs have to take retraining in order to adapt a constantly changing external
environment. It is a question of mind-set, working environment, and attitude towards self
responsibility. The future will be characterized by the following needs, amongst other;
The need to handle increasing complexity
The need for continual enhancement of the management skill sets known as Life-Long Learning
for example, the ability to adapt to changing environments, challenges and technology
The need for a positive attitude to newly emerging opportunities as managers themselves has to
become life-long learners.

Recruitment and Retention

Employee recruitment and selection is one the most vital HR functions as it is difficult to attract
highly educated people. Next, retention focuses on the goal of keep well performing staff in the
company. This depends not only on interesting work, fair compensation, and a motivating
climate and management culture, but also on transparent and achievable career paths combined
with a supportive management that provides guidance.

Challenges of new technology

With latest and advanced technology tend to reduce the number of jobs which require little skill
and at the same time increase the number of jobs that require considerable skill. This shift we
refer to as moving from touch labour to knowledge work. This will need to displace some
employees and while other requires to be retrained.

Challenges of globalization
Globalization influences a significant portion of economy and affects the free flow of trade
among countries. Besides that globalization also influences the number and kinds of jobs that are
available and requires an organization to balance a complicated set of issues related to managing
people with different cultures, geographies and legal environment.

Managing Diversity
Its value is getting more important issue because of increase in the number of young workers in
the work-force, increase in the number of women joining the work-force, increase in the
proportion of ethnic minorities in the total work-force, increase in mobility of work-force,
international careers & expatriates are becoming common, international experience as a pre-
requisite for career progression to many top-level managerial positions.
Human resources management approaches are not static due to they are not made one time and
hold good forever. As a result they will have to undergo systematic changes in order to meet the
requirements that may be happened in the future. For instance the methods that worked well in
the past or now may not necessary work well in the present as operationally effective currently
may need readjustment in order to cope with future needs. It is wise to have prior preparations by
foreseeing possible changes and what required for the future.

Future Challenges

Workplace flexibility
It is expected to be on the rise as the future workplace also known as the virtual office is
characterized by creative and flexible work arrangements. As more employees tend to work off-
site, there will be an increase in emphasis on performance and results as opposed to the number
of hours worked. Besides that, off-site employees can expect to attend fewer meetings and as a
result specified work will become much more collaborative and as a result management will
have to spend nearly all its time managing cross-functional work.

Technological Developments
While organizations are growing in term of size, complexities and automation (computerization),
it is important to examine:
How technological development affects the specification of jobs in terms of different
requirements of education skill required and organizational structure performance control. The
suggested methods for instance including selection, personnel recruitment, analysis of job,
developing compensation plans and appraisal systems.
The strategies in ensuring employee acceptance of the programme are vital through the
introduction and management of technological changes.

Changes in the Socio-Cultural expectations of the work force

These include changes in the compositions of work force in terms of their education, social
background, and roots in urban setting and exposure to larger democratic culture of our country,
all of which bring about changes in their expectations, attitudes and value-orientations which
have bearing on the approaches to Human Resources Management.

Challenge in Human Capital

Human capital is intangible and cannot be managed the way organization manage jobs,
technologies and etc. As employees own their own human capital, so if valued employees leave a
company, they will take their human capital with them, and any investment the company has
made in training and developing those people is lost.

Increasing Shortage of Labor

After the year 2010, the growth rate of workforce is projected to be declining even further. The
annual growth rate is projected to be only 0.4 percent which is the lowest in more than a century.
Therefore it is important to recognize that these statistics are very predictable based on the
knowledge of birth, immigration, retirement, and death rates. Besides that, the terrorist attack of
September 11, 2011 in the United States has caused the immigration laws to be more
aggressively administered and as a result the immigration opportunities for skilled positions have
been drastically reduced.
To conclude, managing human capital is an ongoing challenge, especially as social, political and
economic events take their toll. Strategies must continually be redefined to deliver improved
return on investment in human capital. As HR professionals work within their own
organizations, they must also cope with good and bad economies, new technology, and the social
issues global, regional and national which affect their organizations.