White Paper on Work Effectively With The Colleagues
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Wikipedia
Workplace communication is the process of exchanging information and ideas, both verbally and non-verbally between one person or group and another person or group within an organization. It includes e-mails, videoconferencing, text messages, notes, calls, etc. Effective communication is critical in getting the job done, as well as building a sense of trust and increasing productivity. Workers may have different cultures and backgrounds, and can be used to different norms. To strengthen employee cooperation and avoid missed deadlines or activity that could affect the company negatively, effective communication is crucial. Ineffective communication leads to communication gaps, which causes confusion, wastes time, and reduces productivity. Managers and lower-level employees must be able to interact clearly and effectively with each other through verbal communication and non-verbal communication to achieve specific business goals. Effective communication with clients also plays a vital role in the development of an organization and the success of any business. When communicating, nonverbal communication must also be taken into consideration. How a person delivers a message has a large impact.
Another important aspect in effective workplace communication is taking into consideration the different backgrounds of employees. “While diversity enriches the environment, it can also cause communication barriers.” Difficulties arise when a coworker’s cultural background leads him or her to think differently than another. It is for this reason that knowing about intercultural communication at work and learning how to treat others without offending them can bring several benefits to the company.
Different people absorb information in different ways. To make sure that the information conveyed is understood by all, the method used for communication must be simple, clear, and precise. When presenting vital information, using pictures can aid understanding. The presence of trust in an organization will also simplify the use of communication. Relationships must be established between coworkers to create a tension-free workplace. Messages should be sent and received with no alterations. To achieve healthy relationships in the workplace, behaviors such as bullying, taking credit for someone else’s work and free-riding should be avoided. These will create toxic relationships that will, in the long run, negatively impact an organization and its productivity. Preferring two-way communication is considered best for communicating. Adequate importance can be given to discussion, questions and clarifications.
The content of the information plays a major role in workplace communication. The level of detail must fit the recipient’s capacity for understanding. Too much detail may bore a person and too little detail won’t make them involved. Use of jargon is not considered good for effective workplace communication. Keeping information digestible by condensing text from large chunks of information to quick, memorable snippets will keep readers engaged. Quick posts or emails can keep communication brief and allow for more consistent engagement. Providing visuals or interactive elements can support those who are visual learners.
While formal workplace communication that is done too rarely or too often is not good for an organization, frequent informal workplace communication has its benefits. A perfect balance is required for the proper functioning of an organization. Information must be communicated as and when required rather than holding unnecessary meetings frequently. At the same time crucial information must not be withheld, instead it must be communicated early to engage employees in the objectives of the organization.
Getting the message across efficiently depends on the skills of the communicator such as presentation skills, group facilitation skills, negotiation and written communication skills. Successful communication also depends upon the capacity of the employees to understand the information. This may require providing employees with basic financial literacy such as financial statements, sales, profitability, etc.
When selecting a candidate, most employers seek those with strong speaking and writing skills. Problem solving and self-motivation are also important skills in the workplace. These allow rapidly-changing environments to become less of a challenge.
With the fast evolution of technology, companies have to stay up to date with tools that facilitate communication. Some of these include email, blogs, instant messaging, collaboration software and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. It is important to keep in mind that sending an email, a fax or a letter does not necessarily mean that communication has taken place. Only when a message has been sent, received and understood by the intended receiver, it can be said that communication has occurred.
Even though they facilitate communication, studies have shown that communication tools may distract employees from their duties. Ultimately the question is asked whether staying connected outweighs being productive. To reduce interruptions, methods such as employee training and changes in the environment can be implemented. Employees making themselves unavailable during specific times of the day or week can also help resolve this issue. This can increase concentration and as a result, productivity.
Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. This concept is seen within the greater framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individuals who work together towards a common goal. The four key characteristics of a team include a shared goal, interdependence, boundedness and stability, the ability to manage their own work and internal process, and operate in a bigger social system. Basic requirements for effective teamwork are an adequate team size. The context is important, and team sizes can vary depending upon the objective. A team must include at least 2 or more members, and most teams range in size from 2 to 100. Sports teams generally have fixed sizes based upon set rules, and work teams may change in size depending upon the phase and complexity of the objective. Teams need to be able to leverage resources to be productive (i.e. playing fields or meeting spaces, scheduled times for planning, guidance from coaches or supervisors, support from the organization, etc.), and clearly defined roles within the team in order for everyone to have a clear purpose. Teamwork is present in any context where a group of people are working together to achieve a common goal. These contexts include an industrial organization (formal work teams), athletics (sports teams), a school (classmates working on a project), and the healthcare system (operating room teams). In each of these settings, the level of teamwork and interdependence can vary from low (e.g. golf, track and field), to intermediate (e.g. baseball, football), to high (e.g. basketball, soccer), depending on the amount of communication, interaction, and collaboration present between team members. E. g. Team work coordinates the work as early as possible.
The Oxford English Dictionary records the use of “team-work” in the context of a team of draught animals as early as 1800.
Even though collaborative work among groups of individuals is very prominent today, that was not the case over half a century ago. The shift from the typical assembly line to organizational models that contained increasing amounts of teamwork first came about during World War I and World War II, in an effort for countries to unite their people. The movement towards teamwork was mostly due to the Hawthorne studies, a set of studies conducted in the 1920s and 1930s that suggested positive aspects of teamwork in an organizational setting. After organizations recognized the value of teamwork and the positive effects it had on companies, entire fields of work shifted from the typical assembly line to the contemporary High Performance Organizational Model.
There are certain characteristics that a team must have to work effectively. These characteristics are interrelated.
It is imperative that group cohesion is strong within the team. There is a positive relationship between group cohesion and performance.
Communication is another vital characteristic for effective teamwork. Members must be able to effectively communicate with each other to overcome obstacles, resolve conflict, and avoid confusion. Communication increases cohesion.
Communication is important within teams to clearly define the team’s purpose so that there is a common goal. Having a common goal will increase cohesion because all members are striving for the same objective and will help each other achieve their goals.
Commitment is another important characteristic for teams. It occurs when members are focused on achieving the team’s common goal.
Accountability is necessary to ensure milestones are reached and that all members are participating. Holding members accountable increases commitment within team relations.
Basic team dynamics include:
- Open communication to avoid conflicts.
- Effective coordination to avoid confusion and the overstepping of boundaries.
- Efficient cooperation to perform the tasks in a timely manner and produce the required results, especially in the form of workload sharing.
- High levels of interdependence to maintain high levels of trust, risk-taking, and performance.
All these teamwork conditions lead to the team turning in a finished product. A way to measure if the teamwork was effective, the organization must examine the quality of the output, the process, and the members’ experience. Specifically, the teamwork can be deemed efficient if: the output met or exceeded the organization’s standard; if the process the team chose to take helped them reach their goals; and if the members are reporting high levels of satisfaction with the team members as well as the processes which the team followed.