Review Standard Modes of Communication
Standard Modes of Communication PURPOSE To provide direction on the best practices for utilizing various communication tools to ensure efficient and professional communications. TYPES OF COMMUNICATION Name Description Mass email
Email that goes out immediately to the entire organization. This should only be used when everyone needs the information quickly.
When to Use It -
Instant message (IM) intended for quick response. This is not intended for long conversations or non workrelated information. Remember that IM’s interrupt the person receiving the message. Don’t flood people with unnecessary IM’s. Email can be directed to the right people who need the information at the right time. Do not expect an instant response to email. Use good subject lines so the recipient knows how to handle the email.
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Text
Texting used for work related information.
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Visit
Visit to another person’s work area or office. Dropping by a person’s office to chat can really impact productivity both for the person involved and the people around them. Use this approach cautiously and only when the information is important or when the person is obviously not busy. Regular meetings are designed for sharing information
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Instant Message
Email
Meetings
IT updates that impact the whole organization New Employees / Leaving Employees Process updates that impact everyone Planned / Scheduled conversations to help with workflow
When NOT to Use It -
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Detailed office communication Communication that requires a record or where the information may need to be accessed again in the future Immediate read / response is required
Planned collaboration on projects or work Social visits when the other person is clearly not busy Time critical emergency When an outside visitor is involved For workflow collaboration Status updates Team brainstorming
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Information that does NOT impact everyone Do not REPLY ALL to mass emails
If information needs to be saved or recorded If information is detailed Personal conversations Lots of personal emails Forwards of non-work related emails When instant response is required
If information needs to be saved or recorded Detailed messages “Quick” questions that don’t really require an immediate answer When the other person is in “Flag Time” >30 second 1-on-1 discussions that don’t require the rest of the team
MISUSE OF COMMUNICATIONS Communicating efficiently helps ensure that each employee can get and receive the information they need throughout the day with minimal interruptions. If someone is utilizing communication in a way that is disruptive to your day, here are a few tips for dealing with it. NOTE: These recommendations do NOT cover offensive or harassment communication. 1. Be positive – Interrupting or poor communication can be frustrating. However, most of the time, the person sending out that communication is not intending to frustrate anyone. Keep this in mind as you address the issue. 2. Engage the problem – For very minor issues, it is easy to let things go, but if communication problems persist, don’t be afraid to address it early. As long as you remain positive and constructive, engaging the problem head on should be quick and easy and prevent bigger problems later. Communication issues can quickly add up and create other problems. 3. Go directly to the source – Constructively talk to the person sending the communication and let them know that you would prefer a different form of communication or that you don’t need that information in the first place. 4. Talk to your team – Bring up the issue in a team discussion. The tone should not be accusatory, but more of “how can we improve this?” Sometimes communication issues are really miscommunications. For example, a person receiving seemingly unrelated information might not really understand that the information does impact their job. Highlighting and discussing these issues can correct these misunderstandings in a positive way. 5. Talk to your Supervisor – Some issues require a higher level of engagement to resolve than others. For example, a supervisor might be able to better define your role in the company and get you off an unrelated group list. A supervisor might also be able to coach you through handling difficult communication issues.
THE IMPACT OF INTERRUPTIONS If you are working on a task, it takes 5-15 minutes to really get into “the zone” of peak efficiency. When a person is interrupted, this ramp up time is reset. This means that even the shortest of interruptions can have a significant impact on your ability to get things done. Studies show that interruptions cost the US economy over $588 billion per year and that employees on average lose 40-60% of their most productive time per day! That equates to 3-5 hours every day! Many people think that having multiple inputs during the day is efficient multitasking. This is a myth. By multitasking, you are MUCH less effective than if you could focus your attention on one task at a time. You feel like you are busy, but you really aren’t being effective. People don’t multitask because they are good at it…they multitask because they are distracted! Interruptions also have a high impact on morale. Loss of momentum and growing frustration lowers energy and enthusiasm. Quality suffers from increased errors and, most importantly, distress increases due to lost time and quality. We have less time to accomplish our tasks and morale plummets. So how do we change our company culture? Employees and Managers need to learn, and hold each other accountable, to these six things: 1. Personalize the Cost. First, to give them the motivation they need to absorb these skills, they need to calculate the time they lose to interruptions—and not just the interruption itself but all the rest of the downward spiral. Until they realize that they are losing precious, irreplaceable time to people who interrupt them, they will not have the desire or the courage to do what comes next. 2. Time Lock for an Interruption-Free Period. Time locking means carving out a specified period of time to devote to an important task that demands the employee’s best energy and undivided attention. It means disciplining themselves to allow no interruptions other than real emergencies. It means politely explaining why they’re time locking, why it’s in the interrupters’ best interest, and letting them know how and when they will follow up, and finally making sure they are comfortable with the explanation and plan. Those skills are not intuitive, but they are learnable and valuable. 3. Focal Lock Against Yourself. We are all willing victims of the interruption culture when we create our own diversions. Certainly, the Internet has expanded the interruptive possibilities with emails, texts, and mobile phones, but long before these devices were invented, we were all capable of interrupting ourselves by daydreaming or diversions. Focal locking is gaining mastery over our own minds.
But it takes more than a decision. It requires learning techniques to undo the habits and overcome the shortcomings that have been a lifetime in the making. 4. Allocate the "Surplus" Time. Once employees have reclaimed time that used to be stolen from them by interruptions, they find themselves with the luxury of "surplus" time. In order to use the time wisely, they need to learn how to separate their obligations into the handful that are the most important contribution you can make to the company (their "critical few") and then all the rest (their "minor many"). Otherwise it is not unusual to find that employees get the allocation ratio backwards, with most of their time spent on the minor many. 5. Batch Processing. Time locking creates surplus time by preventing interruptions. Batch processing creates surplus time by letting employees efficiently dispose of repetitive or homogeneous tasks. In batch processing they learn to dispose of these tasks expeditiously, and move on to the next set. Carving out a time for batching them saves more time and energy than sprinkling them throughout the day as they come up. 6. Be Where You Are – Many “busy” people spend their time checking their email, making phone calls, and generally thinking about anything but the situation or task at hand. Allow yourself to be where you are. In other words, focus your attention on the moment so that you aren’t distracted.
RESOURCES: http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/bsx/basexcostpayes.pdf http://www.fastcompany.com/3044667/work-smart/the-hidden-costs-of-interruptions-atwork
Email that goes out immediately to the entire organization. This should only be used when everyone needs the information quickly.
When to Use It -
Instant message (IM) intended for quick response. This is not intended for long conversations or non workrelated information. Remember that IM’s interrupt the person receiving the message. Don’t flood people with unnecessary IM’s. Email can be directed to the right people who need the information at the right time. Do not expect an instant response to email. Use good subject lines so the recipient knows how to handle the email.
-
Text
Texting used for work related information.
-
Visit
Visit to another person’s work area or office. Dropping by a person’s office to chat can really impact productivity both for the person involved and the people around them. Use this approach cautiously and only when the information is important or when the person is obviously not busy. Regular meetings are designed for sharing information
-
Instant Message
Meetings
IT updates that impact the whole organization New Employees / Leaving Employees Process updates that impact everyone Planned / Scheduled conversations to help with workflow
When NOT to Use It -
-
-
-
-
Detailed office communication Communication that requires a record or where the information may need to be accessed again in the future Immediate read / response is required
Planned collaboration on projects or work Social visits when the other person is clearly not busy Time critical emergency When an outside visitor is involved For workflow collaboration Status updates Team brainstorming
-
-
-
-
-
Information that does NOT impact everyone Do not REPLY ALL to mass emails
If information needs to be saved or recorded If information is detailed Personal conversations Lots of personal emails Forwards of non-work related emails When instant response is required
If information needs to be saved or recorded Detailed messages “Quick” questions that don’t really require an immediate answer When the other person is in “Flag Time” >30 second 1-on-1 discussions that don’t require the rest of the team
MISUSE OF COMMUNICATIONS Communicating efficiently helps ensure that each employee can get and receive the information they need throughout the day with minimal interruptions. If someone is utilizing communication in a way that is disruptive to your day, here are a few tips for dealing with it. NOTE: These recommendations do NOT cover offensive or harassment communication. 1. Be positive – Interrupting or poor communication can be frustrating. However, most of the time, the person sending out that communication is not intending to frustrate anyone. Keep this in mind as you address the issue. 2. Engage the problem – For very minor issues, it is easy to let things go, but if communication problems persist, don’t be afraid to address it early. As long as you remain positive and constructive, engaging the problem head on should be quick and easy and prevent bigger problems later. Communication issues can quickly add up and create other problems. 3. Go directly to the source – Constructively talk to the person sending the communication and let them know that you would prefer a different form of communication or that you don’t need that information in the first place. 4. Talk to your team – Bring up the issue in a team discussion. The tone should not be accusatory, but more of “how can we improve this?” Sometimes communication issues are really miscommunications. For example, a person receiving seemingly unrelated information might not really understand that the information does impact their job. Highlighting and discussing these issues can correct these misunderstandings in a positive way. 5. Talk to your Supervisor – Some issues require a higher level of engagement to resolve than others. For example, a supervisor might be able to better define your role in the company and get you off an unrelated group list. A supervisor might also be able to coach you through handling difficult communication issues.
THE IMPACT OF INTERRUPTIONS If you are working on a task, it takes 5-15 minutes to really get into “the zone” of peak efficiency. When a person is interrupted, this ramp up time is reset. This means that even the shortest of interruptions can have a significant impact on your ability to get things done. Studies show that interruptions cost the US economy over $588 billion per year and that employees on average lose 40-60% of their most productive time per day! That equates to 3-5 hours every day! Many people think that having multiple inputs during the day is efficient multitasking. This is a myth. By multitasking, you are MUCH less effective than if you could focus your attention on one task at a time. You feel like you are busy, but you really aren’t being effective. People don’t multitask because they are good at it…they multitask because they are distracted! Interruptions also have a high impact on morale. Loss of momentum and growing frustration lowers energy and enthusiasm. Quality suffers from increased errors and, most importantly, distress increases due to lost time and quality. We have less time to accomplish our tasks and morale plummets. So how do we change our company culture? Employees and Managers need to learn, and hold each other accountable, to these six things: 1. Personalize the Cost. First, to give them the motivation they need to absorb these skills, they need to calculate the time they lose to interruptions—and not just the interruption itself but all the rest of the downward spiral. Until they realize that they are losing precious, irreplaceable time to people who interrupt them, they will not have the desire or the courage to do what comes next. 2. Time Lock for an Interruption-Free Period. Time locking means carving out a specified period of time to devote to an important task that demands the employee’s best energy and undivided attention. It means disciplining themselves to allow no interruptions other than real emergencies. It means politely explaining why they’re time locking, why it’s in the interrupters’ best interest, and letting them know how and when they will follow up, and finally making sure they are comfortable with the explanation and plan. Those skills are not intuitive, but they are learnable and valuable. 3. Focal Lock Against Yourself. We are all willing victims of the interruption culture when we create our own diversions. Certainly, the Internet has expanded the interruptive possibilities with emails, texts, and mobile phones, but long before these devices were invented, we were all capable of interrupting ourselves by daydreaming or diversions. Focal locking is gaining mastery over our own minds.
But it takes more than a decision. It requires learning techniques to undo the habits and overcome the shortcomings that have been a lifetime in the making. 4. Allocate the "Surplus" Time. Once employees have reclaimed time that used to be stolen from them by interruptions, they find themselves with the luxury of "surplus" time. In order to use the time wisely, they need to learn how to separate their obligations into the handful that are the most important contribution you can make to the company (their "critical few") and then all the rest (their "minor many"). Otherwise it is not unusual to find that employees get the allocation ratio backwards, with most of their time spent on the minor many. 5. Batch Processing. Time locking creates surplus time by preventing interruptions. Batch processing creates surplus time by letting employees efficiently dispose of repetitive or homogeneous tasks. In batch processing they learn to dispose of these tasks expeditiously, and move on to the next set. Carving out a time for batching them saves more time and energy than sprinkling them throughout the day as they come up. 6. Be Where You Are – Many “busy” people spend their time checking their email, making phone calls, and generally thinking about anything but the situation or task at hand. Allow yourself to be where you are. In other words, focus your attention on the moment so that you aren’t distracted.
RESOURCES: http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/bsx/basexcostpayes.pdf http://www.fastcompany.com/3044667/work-smart/the-hidden-costs-of-interruptions-atwork
