Maintain the Message

June 7, 2012 at 9:30 am (Communication Problems, Education, Effective Communication, Social Media in the workplace, Social Media/Technology)
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Properly communicating the company message is the responsibility of everyone within an organization, from the receptionist on up to the CEO.  But how do you ensure that the person answering the phones is speaking the party line?

To guarantee a consistent message tape answers to frequently asked – and crucial questions – near the main phone bank.  But don’t post and forget it!  Check it on a monthly basis and update as necessary.  In challenging economies, information often grows stale quicker than you can say audit.

Also, provide updated facts and figures on a regular basis.  Communicate any noteworthy information to the receptionist and his/her backup ASAP – sometimes their need to know is actually more immediate than middle managers who aren’t necessarily speaking with the public and customers on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

Additionally, an intranet is a great tool for spreading the word to everyone while maintaining a consistent message.  For it to work and be effective, however, someone needs to commit to keeping it updated on a regular basis.  Also, the information needs to be pertinent, otherwise employees will soon recognize it as a waste of time and will readily drop it out of their information line up.

Last but not least, don’t forget those all important water cooler conversations.  Monitor the company grapevine and if the message you hear is NOT consistent with the message you want, it may be time to make a more concerted effort to communicate with employees.  Remember, if YOU don’t provide the information, someone else will.

– Robin Fritz, Adjunct Lecturer, Division of Business, Indiana University-Columbus

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Differences Between Group Work and Team Work

August 8, 2011 at 10:49 am (Working Well with Teams)
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The following is an article written by X204 Business Communication Adjunct Lecturer Robin Fritz for Chron.com, the online business portal for the Houston Chronical:

Overview – In the business world, the words “group” and “team” seem interchangeable, but smart managers realize there are subtle – but important – differences.  Recognizing these differences early on will help small business managers to more effectively lead people to achieve their organizational goals.

What is a Group? – A group in the workplace is usually comprised of three or more people who recognize themselves as a distinct unit or department, but who actually work independent of each other to achieve their organizational goals.  For example, a small business may have a client services group, but one person may focus on local clients, one person may focus on regional clients and a third person may assist both of those individuals.  Also, groups tend to be permanent fixtures with ongoing goals or responsibilities.

What is a Team? – A team is comprised of three or more people who may come from different departments within a business, but they collaborate together over time to achieve some set purpose, goal or project.  For instance, before a small business creates a new product, it may organize a team comprised of people from all departments – engineering, finance, legal, marketing, etc. – to consider all aspects of the potential new product in order to avoid costly surprises down the road.  With a team, individuals recognize the expertise and talents of others needed to achieve the team’s goal.  Additionally, teams are often formed for temporary assignments with one specific goal, focus or outcome in mind.

Why Form Groups? – Managers recognized many years ago that two heads are better than one, thus small businesses have turned to groups or departments for many reasons.  With group work, members have a shared knowledge of the group’s objectives, but specific tasks or responsibilities are assigned to different individuals.  By separating work into groups – such as one devoted to marketing, one devoted to accounting, etc. – individuals within those groups are able to maximize their expertise on a long-term basis.

Why Form Teams? – Businesses form teams usually to tackle a specific – and usually temporary – goal or project with the intent of leveraging the collective expertise of a variety of people.  Because experts from various departments are involved, teams can avoid potential problems early on in a project.  For instance, a team of only engineers may create a new product but may not understand whether it’s affordable until someone with a finance background completes a “return on investment” or ROI analysis on its feasibility.  Having a finance member involved on the team from the beginning will help the engineers to create an affordable product in the first place, saving time and resources.  Teams can be very productive because involving people with different talents provides teams with increased opportunities to work more efficiently.

 http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-group-work-team-work-11004.html

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