Knowing what you need to do improves performance, productivity and profitability.
There are six questions you need to ask yourself:
1) Do you understand what you are going to do.
2) Do you know how you are going to do it.
3) Do you know why you are going to do it.
4) Do you know who will be involved.
5) Do you know where this will be happening.
6) Do you know what quality improvement needs to change.
Knowing how to answer these six questions will improve the current task’s profitability, productivity, and performance.
Why is communication key?
The first foundation of communication is trust. So if we trust whom you are working with, we will be able to have a better outcome.
The second foundational piece is self-confidence. It would be best if you had the confidence in your skill and ability to set out and complete your achievement.
And the third element is self-awareness. You need to be aware enough to ask for help promptly so that you actually can achieve the goals, and if you’re not sure how to do something, ask rather than try and try again and not succeed.
So the communication model is about trust, self-confidence and self-awareness.
Communication can improve performance in many ways. One is through worker productivity.
Research shows that effective communication leads to improvement in overall company performance.
Some of the effects of poor communication include:
• increased employee turnover
• increased absenteeism
• poor customer service
• increased incidents of injuries
• decreased employee morale.
Have you ever played Chinese whispers? The first sentence starts with saying the pink cat wore a blue hat, and over a series of times when it gets back to you, it has changed that the red dog wore shoes.
You may start with the correct information; however, it’s not heard how you intended it. Studies show that we only hear 8% of what is spoken to us. The other 92% of communication is kinesthetic, tactile, visually, or our emotions.
So are you communicating as effectively as you can? There is a model known as Checking for understanding. This model works when you ask the respondent, “Can you tell me what you think I’ve said.” If you double-check that the information you have conveyed has been heard correctly, it ensures that all parties are on the same page and there is no miscommunication.
What is your communication flow in your business?
Here is an example:
We recently worked with a business to answer the six ‘do you’ questions.
We implemented their daily huddles, weekly reviews, monthly updates, quarterly action plans and annual operational plans.
We then had them review their communication model of trust, self-confidence and self-awareness.
Finally, we used the three questions of what you have achieved, what you will achieve in the future, and what you think are your roadblocks?
Using the ‘listening for understanding’ model and then consistently implementing their daily huddles, weekly reviews, monthly updates, quarterly action plans, and annual operational plans increased productivity, performance and profitability in the entire organization.