COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACEKATE McLEOD, PMP, Algonquin College
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to consider typical communication in the workplace and to highlight problem areas and approaches to rectify these. As communications is the cornerstone of business and, indeed, of relationships between various cultures, groups and even nations, it is arguably the single most important dynamic in the human context. Yes it is often largely overlooked. This composition will attempt to reinforce the writer's opinion that communication is the single most important factor in ensuring overall project management success. Various types of communication and information flows will be examined, as well as triggers for communications failure and the impact of same. Elements of communication planning and execution in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) will be referenced where appropriate; other expert knowledge and literature supporting the thesis will also be included.
This writer has had approximately thirteen years experience working in an office environment, fulfilling varied roles such as administrative assistant, marketing representative, corporate channel sales, and Information Technology (IT) project management. The writer draws on her personal experience in corporate communication (or lack thereof) to form the basis of this paper, and to place the theories into context and to offer concrete examples of communications and failures.
2.0 COMMUNICATION PLANNING
2.1 Importance of Communication Planning
As is the case with any other activity in project management, proper planning ensures that most of the unforeseen issues can be accounted for and mitigated before they happen. Planning also provides all involved with a road map of what they are to do, when they are to do it, and how it will be done. It is no different when looking at communication; in fact, it could be considered even more important as an audience often maintains a limited attention span. The old adage, You only get one chance to make a first impression certainly holds true in this context if the communication is bungled in the beginning, the messenger is going to have to work twice as hard to establish his credibility and authority in the future.
On a more basic level, communication is the underpinning of all human interaction. Were we suddenly unable to communicate between one another, we would rapidly evolve into a solitary species. Without the capability of speech, body language, listening and reading life as we now recognize it would cease to exist. The species would probably die within a few generations, as children would be poorly cared for, since knowledge of this skill cannot be taught and/or passed down. None of the technical or industrial systems that form the basis of twenty-first century life could be maintained, impacting everything from electricity distribution to grocery shopping. Diseases once rendered virtually eradicated would re-emerge, as the need for preventative treatment could no longer be communicated and executed. The dynamics of interpersonal relationships would disappear, causing the species extreme mental anguish as the natural tendency for group behaviour is no longer possible. There would be a large increase in suicide as people failed to come to grips with their suddenly lonely and reclusive lives.
The importance of interpersonal communication cannot be neglected. Unfortunately, for such a vital and essential human skill, communication is largely relegated to the back burner, in favour of more tangible skill sets. Without proper communication of messages and a complete understanding of them by the receivers, the quality of everything from private homes to nuclear power plants would be in jeopardy. On the surface, it appears that we humans are constantly in communication, which is essentially true. The problem is that we are not articulating properly, do not understand our audiences, do not understand what is being told to us, don’t listen, fail to pay attention, or we simply shut down from information overload.
Why is this important? As identified by Lientz and Rea (Lientz and Rea, 1995, 203): In general, people communicate too much. With more options and time compression, you should view messages as golden bullets, fire very few, but make them count. Your messages will get more attention. (Nearly everyone has come into contact with an individual who generally says very little, but when he does speak, commands the attention of everyone in the room; generally people follow his instruction.) Less can be more, when it comes to communication. Notwithstanding, the content and the understanding of it remain key. So it is with communication in the workplace. A software developer I know relates the importance of planning with the following story:
Say you’re building a house. You pour the foundation, frame up the first floor, install windows and doors. You go on to the second story, and everything is moving along swimmingly. Just as you are putting the roof on the house, the homeowner calls you and says, Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I wanted a basement for this house.
2.2 CREATING A COMMUNICATION PLAN
2.2.1 Determine Communication Requirements
As illustrated by the house example above, the first step in planning is figuring out what needs to be done. Areas to be addressed include:
What is the message that is to be conveyed?
What is the desired outcome of the communication?
Who is the target audience?
What level of detail is necessary?
Are there instructions that must be understood? How can you be sure that they are?
What format should the communication be in?
How frequently should the communication take place?
The PMBOK addresses these issues in section 10.1, Communications Planning. Areas covered include the communication of the project organization, stakeholder responsibilities and relationships, what areas/departments are involved in the project and at what stage(s) they will be utilized. With this information in hand, a communication plan can be structured to encompass the requirements of all stakeholders.
But what if not all of the information required is known? There will always be knowledge to which there is access and that which is either unknown or unattainable. It is vital to organize and communicate both types of information. This is especially true in a project environment, where analysis is conducted and steps are taken to mitigate potential problems and risks. No matter how good the project manager, or how experienced and knowledgeable the project team, nobody can know everything all of the time. The most obvious example of this occurred on September 11th, 2001 when terrorists attacked the United States. Despite the billions of dollars spent on defence and military intelligence, the skill, training and experience of the FBI and various immigration and law enforcement agencies, and the sheer mass of information assembled by these organizations over many years, nobody foresaw the events of that day.
September 11th is an extreme example of the failure to communicate. We now know from media reports that potential leads in the weeks and months prior to the event were not acted upon. Intelligence gathered from one organization was not shared with others, thus preventing what may have proved to be vital linkages of information that may have stopped the terrorists prior to the act. Clearly there are many valuable lessons that can be realized from this event, and we are now seeing the results of this in terms of heightened security awareness, increased immigration regulations, and numerous new precautions in the transportation industries. First and foremost this event should teach us as a society that we must share information amoungst ourselves, for the greater good.
2.2.2 Communication Impacts
When drawing up a communications plan, one must fully consider the audience that will receive the information, and what effect it will have on them. Also take into consideration those people not in the target audience, but those who are on the periphery and who will receive the information nonetheless. What about their reaction? Going back to the example of September 11th, consider if the State Department or the FBI issued warnings to their staff about possible serious terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The staff is the target audience, but the peripheral audience is comprised of the spouses, families and friends of the prime targets of the communication. Would these warnings have been believed? Would this not make some people frantic? How long would it take for the media to learn of the news? What impact would this news have had on the value of the U.S. dollar, on the International Monetary Fund, and on global commerce overall. How would the message be communicated? What actions would have to have been planned simultaneously to mitigate any damage as a result of this communication.
This ripple effect of information dissemination reminds us that the impact of communications must be considered in many ways, not just the impact to the target audience. In the workplace, communications relationships between all levels, from senior management to worker bees on the shop floor, must be carefully considered. This will be explored in greater detail in section 3, Types of Organizational Communication.
2.2.3 Communication Timing and Environment
It is important to consider the timing and location of the communication. This is actually simple common sense: you wouldn’t give someone who is having a horrible day more bad news if you could help it. Nor would you do it in a public area where others could possibly overhear the conversation. The level of detail presented will vary depending on a number of factors, including the sophistication and/or knowledge of the audience, the impact on or connection to other issues or activities currently in the forefront of the audience’s mind, and the intimacy of the location from which the communications will be delivered. For example, it is far easier to discuss a difficult topic in one’s own living room, surrounded by familiar objects that provide a high level of comfort, than it would be to hold the same conversation in a lecture hall or a theatre. In sports, this is referred to as the home field advantage. In terms of timing, the weeks just following a salary increase or the resumption of business following a labour disruption would not be the optimal time to poll employees about their feelings toward management, as true feelings could be distorted by recent events.
Managers should be aware of the effect of the communication on the recipient(s), and need to take care that communication intended to reprimand or otherwise punish someone for their behaviour should not be made public. This type of information can ideally be transferred in a closed office, or off-site altogether, where co-workers are less apt to accidentally overhear the conversation. Doing so indicates respect and consideration of the feelings of the recipient. In the two-party relationship of a superior and a subordinate both parties should be alert to the attendant psychological factors. He may delay in transmitting an order or report for awhile, or he may present it in a special way. The immediate superior or immediate subordinate is in the best position to perceive the psychological factors and to time the transmittal of a message successfully. (Redfield 1958, 39)
2.2.4 Clarity in Communications
Perhaps more than anything else, the essential ingredient in successful communications is being understood. Given that poor communications is the primary reason for failure in projects, and that lack of clarity is the primary reason that communications are not understood, we then must focus a great deal of our communication efforts in saying what we mean in a manner that is easily understood by the audience. This involves advance planning and consideration of the audience and their information needs.
One of the most annoying examples of easily misunderstood communications comes from the various numerical formats used to represent dates. For example, the following:
02/04/03
Could mean any one of the following:
April 3rd, 2002
April 2nd, 2003
February 4th, 2003
March 4th, 2002
Short of vigorously enforcing the ISO 8601 standard of yyyy/mm/dd adopted during Y2K preparations, this confusion will always remain. Viewing this in a project environment where dates are critical, it is easy to understand how milestones can be missed if the project team does not agree on a common date format at the outset of the project. Imprecise requirements are invitations to problems, and can lead to two people looking at identical information to disagree on what it means. (Frame, 1987, 132) In all areas of communication, a common understanding of the terminology and various conventions must be agreed upon at the outset of the information exchange. If one finds themselves in a meeting and terminology is used that is not understood, ask! Chances are that you were not the only one who didn’t understand, but you were the only one who was confident enough to seek clarification. Always seek to clarify when not in complete understanding - those who are not afraid to enquire when they do not have particular knowledge are actually wiser than those who pretend to understand, and subsequently become entangled because they lack specific information in order to perform some activity.
How can clarity be maintained in the workplace? There are several methods that can assist in this area:
1. Publish a list of definitions, acronyms, and specific terminology to ensure that all stakeholders have the same understanding of the terminology used on the project or in the workplace. This will provide everyone with a common reference tool and will not embarrass those too shy to ask.
2. Following a meeting or a conversation where decisions are made, or after a manager gives direction to a subordinate, the information should be followed up in writing. Preface this by saying, In order to prevent misunderstandings, I’m writing down what I believe we agreed upon at our meeting. If I’ve gotten something wrong, then contact me; otherwise, I’ll assume you agree. (Bullock, 2001, 95) This achieves two objectives:
(1) it demonstrates that you were serious, and that you expect the action to take place, and
(2) it provides you with valuable documentation should you ever be questioned on what instruction was given. This is why meeting minutes should always be recorded and circulated to all concerned. This writer has worked with people who feel that taking minutes is beneath them; coincidentally, these same people tend to be poor communicators. On the contrary, it is empowering as it means that not only do you fully understand what is required, but you’re also making sure that everyone else does, too.
3. Some people learn by effective listening, while others learn best from visual references. Provide charts, diagrams, pictures, graphs or any other visual aid that will help to communicate your ideas more effectively.
4. Clearly define the purpose of the project, report, or activity that is the reason for the communication. Understand why a particular project is being executed ? Will it make people’s lives better in some way? Will it result in a patent or profit for the executing company? The importance of the work needs to be communicated to those who will carry it out. Ask questions: what makes this different? Why is it different? Is that all?
We are often so absorbed in our issues that we fail to see the practical implications of the project. Always focus back on the client. When the CEO announces a new project and says, ?This will allow our company to provide quality service to our customers,? it really doesn?t tell us much. But if the message was, ?This application will provide our customers with three more ways to access our services, two of which can now be reached from home,? it allows you to focus on the result and reminds us that this project has a real and meaningful impact on people.
5. As noted in the PMBOK, section 10.2.2.2, create information retrieval systems that allow stakeholders and team members to have access to project information. This can take the form of paper or electronic information repositories, databases and systems allowing access to technical or requirements related documentation.
6. Avoid making the communication harder to understand than it has to be. While the communicator may have an extensive vocabulary, use simple words and relate them to concepts that most people can easily understand. Not explaining yourself clearly and concisely does more harm then good? it makes one appear superior and unapproachable. Avoid business-speak, words or phrases that may not be understood by all. For example, phrases such as right-sizing, pushing the envelope, executing our due diligence, and business process engineering sound intimidating to many. Instead, say things such as we are reducing the number of the staff in the office to match the reduction in customer orders, let’s see how far we can get with this strategy, make sure that we do all the background research and understand the implications before we move forward, and we’re changing the way the correspondence process works to make it more efficient?.
Of equal important to the clarity of the message is the quality of the content. The best communication strategies in the world will be of no assistance if the content is not accurate, timely and truthful. For this reason, we must not communicate misunderstanding. If we don’t know something, we should not communicate it as truth. If a task might take 5 days and it might take 25 days, it’s unlikely that it will take 15 days. If someone says, There’s a bomb in your office set to go off between 30 minutes and an hour from now, you won’t act on the assumption that you have 45 minutes to get out. We should base our actions on the knowledge and precision we have available. (Newbold, 1998, 102) The key here is to recognize that one must not communicate unknowns as fact. When proven wrong, as most eventually are, their credibility factor drops to zero.
3.0 TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUICAITON
3.1 Informal Communication
When we speak of informal communications, we are referring to the information exchange that takes place when colleagues go to coffee or lunch together. This is the quintessential chat by the water cooler that so often takes place in the workplace. It is human nature for people to want to know about their colleagues on a personal as well as professional level, and this can foster a strong working relationship if the parties in question find that they genuinely like each other. This is the ideal that every project manager strives for the project team that respects each other professionally, likes each other personally, and strives to make their coworkers efforts appear in the best light possible.
Informal leaders often emerge on project teams - individuals who are natural leaders and to whom other team members gravitate for advice, mentoring or companionship. The project manager must be cognoscente of these people, and plan communication accordingly. As Verma tells us, project managers must:
Establish a project culture in which informal communication helps create an atmosphere that encourages openness in communication.
Identify informal leaders and listen to them to get feedback or overall impressions on various issues and decisions. Informal leaders can help test new ideas, technical approaches, strategies, and administrative actions, the acceptance of which is crucial to project success. However, project managers should be careful so they are not seen as playing favourites. (Verma, 1996, 27)
Gossip and rumour are prevalent in information communication. This can take the form of personnel related discussions, such as: I heard that Joe Smith in Finance is getting promoted to Senior Vice President. It can also be more destructive when it deals with possible corporate plans that are not official, such as: I heard that we failed to make our fourth quarter sales objectives and that there will be a big layoff as a result. In either instance, the employer has an obligation to negate this type of communication, as it can quickly lead to apprehension and anxiety, in the case of potential job losses, or jealously and/or the impression of an old boys network when promotions are awarded.
The best way to nip gossip in the bud is through formal, planned, periodic company communications between management and staff. This can take the form of a quarterly report, a weekly newsletter, or simply a memo or e-mail to staff to explain a unique or isolated issue. It is also important that organizational charts be maintained. This is particularly important in medium to large companies, where many of the employees do not personally know each other. Maintenance of current reporting structures, roles and responsibilities saves everyone time when trying to identify who is responsible for various activities in multiple functional areas.
3.2 Formal and Executive Communication
The topic of formal communication deals primarily with status reporting, assignment of tasks, giving direction, etc., and the format in which the information is delivered. Typically, this includes the telephone, voice mail, electronic mail, an in-person visit, informal note or formal memorandum or letter. As noted in the PMBOK (section 10.2.2.1, Communication Skills), the sender is responsible for making sure the information is clear and understood, and the receiver is responsible for ensuring that they receive the information and understand it. Two skills are key here: listening and communicating effectively in writing.
The successes of various types of communication are broken down as follows:
Writing: 25% (the disadvantage is that it takes time to receive feedback);
Reading: 20% (the disadvantage is that feedback must be actively solicited);
Talking: 15% (Many people like to talk, but few pay attention to the content. Goes hand-in hand with effective listening); and
Listening: 40% (This is the most effective method of communication as it allows for early corrections of misunderstanding; immediate feedback can be solicited and provided; and the project manager can gauge how well the team understands the tasks and how they will approach them. Information communicated by listening needs to be backed up in writing. ) (Crossly 2001)
The ability to be able to communicate effectively in writing is critical in business. The writer must strive to convey, as concisely as possible, the intent, decision, direction, information dissemination or solicitation of advice, in their written correspondence. Proper punctuation and grammar must always be used, as it lends credibility to the writer. Failure to adhere to these basic tenants of communication should also raise the antenna of a project manager in much the same way as a messy desk indicates lack of organization.
We live and work in an age where technology now drives communication to a large degree. As a result, we have been presented with new tools to assist in our discussions and information sharing. These tools can be helpful when used properly, but there are pitfalls that project managers need to be aware of (Lientz & Rea 1995, 202), such as poor grammar or sentence structure, spelling and other written errors that can interfere with the intent of the communication.
First up, the telephone, and its mobile cousin, the cellular phone. The phone is an effective tool when an instant answer to a question is required, or when information has to be transmitted immediately. The odds of getting a live answer to the call is approximately 30%. The telephone can be disruptive to the person receiving the call, unless the call was planned in advance. While the telephone will remain solidly rooted on the desks of office workers for the foreseeable future, there are times when its presence is more of a liability than an asset.
Project Managers spend a great deal of their time writing various documents and updating Gantt charts and project schedules, both of which require a high level of concentration. When this concentration is broken to answer the phone, it often takes a significant length of time for the project manager to get back into the ?head space? that they were in previously. This is also true for software developers who write code following logic and rules, and when interrupted can take as long as a half an hour to get back into what they were doing.
The cellular phone also has a place in business, and that is to communicate information of an urgent nature. They should not be left on in meetings and should be used as sparingly as possible, as not only are they distracting, but when a team member interrupts a meeting or a conversation to answer the phone, the perception is that the phone call is more important than the topic at hand. Additionally, the person answering the call may miss an important point raised in the meeting.
Which leads us to voice mail, which, when used properly, is a very effective communication tool. It provides us with (we hope) a short, concise reason for the call, the name of the caller and what action they would like to see taken. The recipient has the luxury of listening to the message when it is convenient for them, they can listen to it more than once to gain a full understanding, and most voice mail systems provide a date and time stamp to tell the listener when the message was left. Many people purposely leave voice mail messages when they know that the recipient is away from their desk, so as not to have to engage in any extracurricular discussion or pleasantries that can eat up valuable time. The problem with voice mail is that it may not be current if the recipient does not retrieve it in a timely manner, or if the message left is rambling, unintelligible, or if information is left out, like the caller’s phone number.
Turning now to electronic mail, which has been a boon or detraction from the use of language and communication, depending on your point of view. E-mail is the preferred method of communication for this writer for the following reasons: it leaves a paper trail (which can provide a valuable written record of a decision or action), it allows one to think about the question or issue and to reply in a thoughtful and intelligent manner, it allows one to update a number of people at once, and it, like voice mail, usually does not encourage peripheral social discussion.
E-mail is not without problems, however. As unbelievable as it may sound, there are still people in the workplace who cannot type very well (or at all), or who have never worked on a computer and therefore either do not read e-mail, or only read it sporadically. (This is a management issue, but it still impacts day-to-day project management and communications.) There is also a strong tendency to reply in anger to an incoming message without thinking about the long-term consequences of doing so. Sensitive topics should not be covered in e-mail, as there is always a slim chance that the message may be forwarded on to an unintended recipient.
Electronic mail also makes it very easy to ?go over someone’s head? by copying their superiors and justifying it by saying that you felt management needed to know the information. It also provides a virtually effortless manner to broadcast someone’s mistake or failures to a large group of people at one time. There is also the danger of information overload stemming from people receiving too many messages in the course of the day to be able to read. This is critical as a great deal of important information is transmitted via this medium, and those who do not have time to read their e-mail may be out of the loop totally and may continue working in a direction that is not longer valid.
Because many people are not Hemming ways and thus do not always communicate effectively in writing, there is a strong chance that the tone or intent of e-mail can be misinterpreted by the recipient. This is part of the reason why emoticons were developed to convey emotional content such as sarcasm or laughter. It is easy to see why these are useful in the following example:
If someone wrote, You jerk! in an e-mail, the recipient could very easily interpret the comment as an insult.
But if that same person wrote, You jerk! :-), it makes it obvious that the writer is kidding and does not seriously mean to call the recipient a jerk. This is indicated by the sideways happy face which follows the comment; this indicates that the comment is not to be taken seriously. Once must be very careful when using such nomenclature, as it does not transcend all ethnic or cultural or understandings of the use of language.
These types of misinterpretations can also be found when project teams not physically located close enough to participate in face-to-face meetings use collaborative Web spaces or teleconferencing technology. Because you cannot actually see the people that you are communicating with, it is very easy to misinterpret their meaning. Lack of body language makes it harder to know when someone is joking, or when someone really is upset.
Videoconferencing is gaining in popularity as the costs of acquiring this technology continue to decline. This medium has its own unique challenges. It can be difficult to chair a meeting in which not everyone was physically present. It is hard to catch the eye of someone not in the room with you. Because the camera is usually focused on the entire meeting room so that all participants can be viewed, it is hard to read facial expressions and body language. Not that these types of new technology aren’t useful they definitely are. The ability to direct people from various locations to a designated Web site and have all participants view a document that can be annotated by anyone is a marvelous tool. The cost savings of tele- and videoconferencing are certainly significant. However, the best scenario remains meeting with people in the same room. It’s much more personal and prevents a great deal of miscommunication.
3.3 Hiring Effective Communicators
When recruiting staff, hiring managers tend to concentrate on skill sets and experience. The ability to communicate is often given low priority, particularly in instances where the first two criteria are met. Unless this person is going to work in a vacuum, communication needs to be given equal attention to the other obvious criteria.
Let us assume for the moment that staff are hired who do not posses the necessary skill sets to be successful in their designated role. In project management, there is a great deal of nomenclature unique to the profession. Phrases and concepts familiar to those in the profession are often not common in regular office vernacular. For example, scope creep, variance, earned value, work packages and risk mitigation are all common phrases to seasoned PM’s who understand both the underlying theory and the application of these concepts. Introduction of someone in this role who lacks this knowledge places them at a distinct disadvantage, particularly if this role requires interaction with other PM’s in an Project Management Office (PMO) setting, or with management that is conversant in this terminology. It will quickly become evident that there is a significant disconnect with this person, and this can and does lead to miscommunication which can ultimately cause a project to fail.
Personal suitability is a frequently-requested attribute in may job postings, and is critical to the success of anyone working in a project management capacity. PMs must be able to filter (sometimes negative) information coming at them from many angles: from the client, from the project team, and from senior management, to name but a few. They must remain calm and impartial when faced with multiple urgent requests. They must know how to delegate tasks and when to assume tasks previously assigned to others. PM’s must learn to listen and not to repeat everything that they hear, as they are the buffer between the client and the project team, and they do not always have nice things to say about each other.
The PM must know how to smooth ruffled feathers, remain unbiased and professional when dealing with people that they don’t particularly like, and to persistently remain optimistic not matter how bad things get. A PM should be generally well liked by his colleagues, someone who is not boastful of their knowledge, experience or education on any subject, and maintains a salient sense of humour at all times. Ultimately they must be an expert communicator: able to speak to people at all levels on their level, able to command and chair a meeting, able to write and speak effectively enough to communicate their position, and able to interpret written or spoken information presented to them.
Given the criteria, it may initially seem to be impossible to find someone with all these characteristics. This must not deter the hiring manager from their objective personal suitability is the one attribute that accounts for 50% of the success a PM will have on any given project. People who don’t possess these skills can learn them, but not necessarily on the job. Some people will never develop the level of human interface skills desired in a project manager. That’s OK, not everyone is good at this, but managers must recognize this in the interview process before placing someone who just doesn’t have it in a situation where they are bound to fail.
4.0 NON-VERBAL COMMUNICAITON METHODS AND IMPACTS
4.1 Physical Location
The location of the projects offices is important for maintaining effective communications. Bad sites or unsuitable offices can have a deleterious effect on project communications. Even allowing for modern communications technology, physical proximity can be a significant benefit for the efficiency of communications careful allocation of offices and space is necessary, particularly bearing in mind those who need to communicate together most frequently. Try to arrange the offices to encourage direct personal contract. (Dingle 1997, 86-87)
Physical proximity of project teams is essential to fostering effective and timely communications between team members. Every effort should be made to ensure that project teams in the same city are located together. Not only does this foster the team building that is so fundamental to project success, it also significantly removes barriers to communication that are inherent when relying on electronic media. The ability of a software developer to stick their head over the cubicle of a colleague to confirm a requirement, or to check a design element, can reduce turn around time by days. This is time that would otherwise be lost waiting on an answer. If the answer is not forthcoming by asking in person, it is much harder for someone to ignore the outstanding issue if the person asking is sitting in your area. It is very easy to ignore a request in your inbox if you are otherwise occupied.
Additionally, locating all personnel in a single area also makes it possible to hold impromptu meetings. In software development, this approach is often used to ensure that everyone has a common understanding of a particular business requirement, or when group discussion is required to develop a solution to an immediate roadblock. The ability to gather the team together for five or ten minutes and come away with an answer is invaluable, when one considers how long it would take to arrange a face-to-face meeting if staff are located in multiple locations, or even the barriers presented by having someone in a remote area conference in via telephone. The caller cannot see diagrams someone provides to illustrate a point, nor can they read the body language of the meeting participants. They may not be privy to discussion that took place prior to their connection with the group via telephone.
4.2 Body Language
How often have we watched actors performing in pantomime, or a comedian delivering his routine with minimal dialogue (such as Rowen Atkinson performing as Mr. Bean), and been fully aware of the emotions and problems faced simply by the body language of the performer. If you answered very often, you would be correct. Body language constitutes 55% (Verma 1996, 40) of our communication, yet many of us are seemingly unaware of its effect. In the animal world, body language is practically the only method available to interpret the feelings and needs of animals as demonstrated below:
Communication uses body language to communicate. The translation is vast and that is only with what we have learned so far during our evolution by communicating in their language. Every sign given by the horse from an ear twitch to rearing has its own interpretation depending on the content of each individual situation. Marry this to the individual personality and social status and you are beginning to read the horse. The greatest form of punishment one horse can inflict on another is to send it away. A horse isolated from the herd is vulnerable, and will long to be accepted back into the safety of the herd. The horse that has been punished will display submissive behaviour, such as dropping the head and licking and chewing. (www.company of horses.com)
Replace the word horse in the passage above with person and you start to get the idea of the importance of body language in communication. Project managers must be highly attuned to this, as it provides clues to what people are really thinking and feeling, and this may be in stark contrast to the words that are coming out of their mouth. Some signs are obvious: the person in your project meeting who is slouched in their chair, arms crossed, with a scowl on their face, is probably not your number one fan.
Facial expressions are, as indicated above, relatively easy to interpret. For example, married couples, parents and children, and workers who have spent a great deal of time in the company of their colleagues can often understand what another person is thinking by the expression on their face. Raised eyebrows can indicate uncertainness or hesitation; rolling of the eyeballs is generally accepted to mean that the person or the information they are communicating is not to be taken seriously. It can also mean, give me a break or are you serious?
Posture also lends clues to the feeling of the person standing up straight and tall conveys confidence and leadership; shying away or trying to make oneself appear very small can indicate shyness or a desire to be left out of the conversation. Stiffness or clenched hands or jaws can also indicate stress, which may be otherwise masked. These are valuable clues to be used when guiding discussions between individuals or in group settings.
Some body language is not as obvious, as Verma (Verma 1996, 42) explains: Touching can be an important communication tool or an unwanted intrusion there is a cultural difference between genders that must be respected. In most cases, it is wise to avoid touching a person of the opposite sex, except for the universally acceptable warm handshake. Verma goes on to articulate use of space, something that was referred to as critical distance by the writer’s mother. This is the invisible perimeter of space that surrounds each person, and violation of this space can be seen as hostile or aggressive. Intrusion into this space is commonly described as being in my face! Entering a person’s critical distance makes that person feel uneasy, so much so that they make unconsciously start backing away from you. If you see this is happening, step back, and apologize.
4.3 Hygiene Factors Vs. Maintenance Factors
This writer has spent the better part of the first ten years of her career as an account manager. The chief duty in this role was to obtain sales of the company’s goods or services. It was observed time and again that companies with a well-appointed reception area and nice workspaces for their employees had two things: money to spend, and respect for their employees. This writer has worked in some very nice offices, and have noticed that the atmosphere in such places tends to be more professional people dress better, they communicate more formally between themselves, and you are usually not distracted by equipment or the talking of colleagues around you. This writer has also worked in very shabby offices, which give an initial impression that the employer does not really care very much about the employees. The attitude in these types of offices tends to be less classy people often wear casual clothes and jeans to work, people speak to each other with less respect than is considered appropriate for the workplace, and it is invariably noisy.
Anyone who has been in the workforce for any length of time has probably noticed that some offices are nicer than others. As noted above, this was obvious to this writer right away, but was unable to articulate her impressions of nice vs. shabby offices, until she studied the theories of motivation in project environments. Probably the most widely known theory of motivation is that of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which exposes that humans have five levels of need, ranging from the very basic needs of food and shelter, to the self-actualized needs of independence and reaching one’s full potential. Interestingly, the need for safety and security is second on the list, preceded only by the physiological needs described above. In the workplace we can consider safety and security to include a safe working environment, fringe benefits, sound policies and practices, job security, and proper supervision.(Verma 1996, 61) This is important to a project manager because the environment that the project team works in is also a method of non-verbal communication by the company’s management. If we assume that shabby offices convey lack of respect for workers, and if we impose Maslow’s theory on this assumption, we can determine that since each step in Maslow’s theory is predicated upon on the one beneath it, workers in shabby and/or unsafe surrounding will never produce to their full potential. They will never reach the self-actualization stage because their needs in the lower levels have not been met.
Another well known psychologist, Frederick Hertzberg, created a theory that teaches that there are two types of motivational factors in the workplace: and hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors include such things as company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary. These factors must be present in order to get people to work, but merely prevent dissatisfaction as opposed to promoting satisfaction. These factors are not unlike the safety and security step in Maslow’s hierarchy, in that people will never reach their full potential unless these needs are satisfied. Again, these hygiene factors constitute non-verbal communication between the company management and the employees, showing that respect and the desire for all workers to achieve their full potential starts with providing the basic infrastructure that will allow them to do so.
If hygiene factors are either not present, or present in a substandard format, the result will be a company that has a high incidence of employee turnover. Businesses that do not see the value in providing quality hygiene factors (and their related employee achievement) also do not recognize the cost of constantly hiring and training new staff, the resulting loss of productivity, the poor morale, or the fact that the employees are aware of their indifference. These companies are not the stuff of the Fortune 500.
On the other hand, companies that value hygiene factors are much more likely to foster a working environment where Hertzberg’s motivators can flourish. These factors include opportunities for advancement, peer recognition of a job well done, personal growth and challenging work. When a company works to provide an environment that promotes these motivating factors, it is communicating to its staff that yes, we value your efforts and we want you to achieve all that you are capable of. These are the companies that typically enjoy global success.
5.0 COMMUNICATION FLOWS
5.1 Upward Communication Flow
This is an area where workers must tread lightly and plan their communications in advance. When the term management is used here, it will be assumed to refer to senior management at the Director or Vice-President level.
The fundamental objective of most communication on the job is to sell an idea. The do-this-or-else-and-never-mind-why type of order is a thing of the past in enlightened organizations: It went out with the realization that people are different from machines. People need to understand a communication in order to give their best support to it. They need to accept an idea before they will do more than simply go through the motions. (Marting 1956, 55)
The quote above makes a lot of sense: if you want people to do something, you have to explain it to them so that they can understand it. You have to communicate your vision and requirements. Now consider the irony that the quote above was published in 1956, some fourty-seven years ago. One would think that something so logical and straightforward would no longer be an issue in the twenty first century, but the fact that this paper is being written is evidence enough that society has not yet learned how to effectively communicate in the workplace.
Some of the problems encountered when preparing information for senior management are as follows:
Senior management may not have enough background information and/or understanding of the work requirement to make a decision on a particular issue. (Some managers will ask for more information before rendering a decision, and some will carry on and make a decision anyway. Decisions made without knowledge of all the factors often cause trouble down the road).
Understanding is made more difficult because of the barriers of administrative distance. Often a member of a management group will interpret a situation differently from the way it is interpreted by members of other work groups. (Redfield 1958, 33) For example, the urgency of the issue or the requirement to make a decision within a certain timeframe can be lost in the communication. This is particularly acute when information destined for senior management is passed through multiple levels, each of which vet the information according to their perspective.
Similarly, one might encounter what Frame refers to as Information Arteriosclerosis (Frame 1987, 85-86), which occurs when communication channels are so clogged that important information has a hard time making its way to its intended recipient.
The person preparing the information provides the information that will present them in the most favourable light, but which does not necessarily represent due diligence in terms of providing the most accurate and up-to-date information required. Again, decisions make on this basis are subject to future difficulties.
Upward communication flows are impeded by workers’ tendency toward reticence. Most workers believe that problems result when they express opinions to superiors. They also consider their thoughts unwanted by inaccessible and unresponsive managements. (Brody 1987, 155)
Managers who don’t think those under them know anything about how to manage? They think that only they see the big picture. It’s what do they know? They are just clerks/secretaries/worker bees syndrome.
Management may refuse to accept bad news and attempt to put a positive spin on a negative situation. This can eventually blow up in the project manager’s face, which is why is it essential that the PM document everything that s/he does in the course of the project, including any communications between, themselves, the client and senior management. Even if the exchange were verbal, the PM would be wise to make notes regarding what was said as soon as the conversation concludes.
Finally, many employees may be leery of engaging in communication with senior management, particularly when they are tasked with pinpointing problems for resolution. More than one project manager has discovered that, Critical comments about a process often lead to the unsolicited transfer of responsibility for the process.(Bullock 2001, 11). The last thing a busy PM wants or needs are extra duties on top of an already very full plate.
5.2 Downward Communication Flow
Downward communication deals chiefly with the core management functions: planning, organizing, controlling and directing the activities of the organization. For the purpose of this document, the focus is on downward communication from senior management to the ?worker bees?, that is to say, those that actually carry out the tasks that result from the core management functions listed above.
Traditional organizations emphasize downward flows at the expense of the upward. Managers spend inordinate amounts of time and effort in preparing and sending messages to subordinates. They often appear little concerned over whether the messages are received and understood, and pay a high price in waste and inefficiency. Gerald M. Goldhaber’s study of 16 organizations led him to the following conclusions concerning downward information flows.
1. Most employees do not receive a great deal of information in organizations.
2. Their information needs include: (a) more job-related information from immediate supervisors, and (b) more information concerning organizational decision making from senior managers.
3. Those closest to the employees are the best information sources. Information from top management is of lower quality than that received from other sources but lack of timeliness degrades information from all sources. (Brody 1987, 155)
No doubt most workers have wished at least once that someone from senior management could spend a day with them to witness firsthand the kinds of problems their policies cause people ?on the front line?. Senior management must be aware that their directives have impact on real people, carrying out real tasks. And they must be flexible enough to realize when they have made a mistake. In the words of one seasoned project manager, I figure most failed projects fail for one root cause: They lose touch with reality. Likewise, two-way communication is key, don’t just tell people what the vision and plans are, but listen to them when they tell you what’s really happening.? (Bullock 2001, 51)
It is easy for senior managers to dwell solitarily in their offices and create policy and directives, but unless they actually understand the impact of their actions, they are really not serving any useful purpose. A corollary to this is when decisions are made, but not communicated, to the people who need the information to perform the duties of their jobs. This can include anything from changes to corporate software standards to a new process for publishing Web content. These ideas and directives may be terrific and just what the organization has needed, but they are worthless if the people that can benefit from them are not informed of their existence.
Perhaps the best way for managers to apprise themselves of what is happening in the workplace is also one of the simplest: management by walking around. As described by Brody, this concept is:
What the name implies: senior managers getting out of their offices and spending time on the shop floor or other operational departments. The process should not involve a series of inspection yours of a militaristic sort. Visas should be unscheduled, informal, and undertaken on a leisurely basis. Those involved should pause in every department and engage workers selected at random in conversations concerning their jobs. Their ideas for improvement should be actively solicited. Their suggestions should be requested as to products or services as well as politics and procedures. Most important, there should be follow-up. Managers should note the names and ideas with whom they speak. Responses in writing are appropriate in any event. (Brody 1987, 155)
5.3 Horizontal Communication Flow
Horizontal communication refers to that which takes place between peers or between employees who are of equal placement on the organizational chart. It can serve several purposes:
Allows peers to discuss common problems and unique solutions to address them (knowledge transfer);
Allows management to confer on issues that effect multiple functional areas, the aim of which is to generate common policies and processes to be used across the information (streamlining);
Provides a sounding board for colleagues to air frustrations, work through challenges and assist one another (peer support);
Provides a forum for group decisions regarding the optimal technique in which to bring matters to the attention of senior management (positioning issues to increase the chance that the accompanying recommendations will be accepted).
The challenge in horizontal communications arises in situations where the proverbial left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Frequently employees in one functional area must liaise with their counterparts in other areas. The interaction of the task must be harmonized by management to ensure that the process is executed smoothly. There should never be an order to perform a task in a certain way while there is another order to perform it in a different way.(Redfield 1958, 34)
The larger the organization, the more tendencies there are for opposing directives to be issued within functional areas. This is simply as result of the necessary involvement of more and more people to keep the engine running and of the natural propensity for functional areas to act as a closed environment that resists lateral input. This writer’s experience has shown that the number of people to whom information needs to be communicated is inversely proportional to the length of time it will take for them to all share a common understanding of the communication. This could be because not everyone will interpret the information in the manner in which the sender indented, or because information that is sent from person A to person B may have to pass through five hands before B receives it. While it is expected that the technology currently at our disposal would make communications easier.
In today’s more complex organizations, workers are more isolated. Isolation limits mutual understanding and encourages rivalry and friction. Waste occurs while peer managers or supervisors attempt to cope with problems or conflict through channels. Horizontal communication is essential, yet channels continue to be moulded primarily by patterns of authority and workflow. (Brody 1987, 156)
The larger the organization, the worse this problem can become. It can get to the point that by the time all the necessary parties have been consulted, the original purpose of the inquiry is lost. Alternately, by the time all information from various parties has been compiled, the policy that required this input has been changed. This further reinforces the notion that extensive planning of the communication process is necessary to ensure project success.
6.0 IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ON COMMUNICATION
6.1 Matrix vs. PMO Vs. PMO
This discussion will focus primarily on the (weak) matrix and PMO organizational structures, as they are the most commonly found project environments currently in use. (Crossly, 2001)
Most project managers, if asked, would choose a PMO configuration within which to work for the following reasons:
The PMO usually operates as a separate entity (in essence, a separate functional area) within the company, which means it has its own internal hierarchy that includes a management level that monitors and controls the activities of the office;
The PM’s authority is clearly evident across the company, detailed in the project charter and supported by the firm’s senior management. Inherent in this authority is the expectation that this authority will be communicated company wide, meaning that all functional area managers are aware of it and work with the PM’s to ensure adherence to common policies and procedures;
Depending on the nature of the project, it is possible for the project to establish its own administrative support arm, i.e.: finance, purchasing, HR, etc., which may free it from the rigidity of the more formal processes that exist in the same areas in the main company;
A PMO promotes the exchange of knowledge, ideas and mentoring for junior staffers as the sole function of the area is focused on project management methodology and practice; (Kerzner 1998, 126)
The PMO (hopefully) maintains a historical archive of previous projects and actively reviews, discusses and communicates lessons learned.
These positive attributes apply to a PMO whether or not it has been created on a temporary basis to handle an extremely large or complex project, or if it is a permanent fixture in the firm managing projects of all shapes and sizes. In either case, project managers are dedicated to this one task and not trying to juggle responsibilities from their permanent home in a functional area.
