Fundamentals of Effective Communication in the Workplace

There are a few times where I experienced effective communication in a business environment. One time in particular, I believe everyone demonstrated communicating effectively. At work there is a lot of chaos at times because there aren’t many plans or guidelines put in place for customers regarding certain aspects of the business. My co-worker and I decided to create a few documents that can be sent to the customer in certain situations. I work for GE oil & gas and we deal with customers who may need/want to return their blower for many reasons. We created a RMA authorization return form to keep everything organized. The form was very detailed and provided all the information the customer needs as well as the important information we would need to process the return. Along with this form, we created a standard order checklist.

Alot of times we receive customer PO’s that has missing information, incorrect pricing, wrong export information or incorrect vendor information, among other things. We created a document that was meant to be distributed to all the distributors and OEM’s. The documents were sent to all the sales reps for review. Immediately we were met with issues from them. This is where the communication came in. We set-up for there to be a conference call with us and the sales rep. Once we were able to have the meeting, all questions and concerns were put on the table. Having an open dialogue is important in business and in life. With this conference call, we were able to edit some of the statements on the documents. As well as take some things off. Once that was complete, we were able to send these forms out to the customers. From that point on the effect it had on the business was an increase productivity.

There were less Po send backs to customers for corrections. That pleased the customers so much! Pleasing the customers is always the goal, they help the business grow. Most of the customers really appreciated the help that the forms provided them. Without the conference call, none of this would have been possible. It could have been easy to take the sales rep issues and ignore them. I see in business a lot that people and their ideas are ignored. It only causes tension and mistrust. We understood that none of this was personal. Everyone had a great interest in seeing the business grow. Talking things out, keeps misunderstandings to a minimum.

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Effective communication should be the goal for all businesses. “Effective communication in the workplace helps employees and managers form highly efficient teams. Employees are able to trust each other and management. Effective communication reduces unnecessary competition within departments and helps employees work together harmoniously. The result of a team that works together is high productivity, integrity and responsibility. Employees know their roles on the team and know they are valued.”

Reference
What Are the Benefits of Effective Communication in the Workplace?. (n.d.). Small Business. Retrieved August 3, 2014, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-effective-communication-workplace-20198.html