Issues in Communication Framework of Data Solutions
Therefore, it can be said that communication is a critical concept and must be used efficiently. The communication audit is the process by which the strengths and weaknesses pertaining to the organization’s internal and external communication framework are identified, analysed and the recommendations are made for the concerned issues (Downs & Adrian, 2012). Communication audit aids in leadership, overall management and creation of an effective work atmosphere within the organisation (Adair, 2011). Therefore, the general purpose of the exercise is to enhance the organisation’s operational and management efficiency so as to fulfil the organisation’s overall objectives. The specific purpose of the communication audit process is to find the loopholes in the communication framework and fill in the gaps effectively.
It has been noticed that there exists a major problem in the internal communication structure of the company. The memo has been prepared to address the same and recommend the ways in which the issues can be sorted, thereby enabling the organisation Data Solutions to have an effective internal communication framework. On examination, the following three major issues have been identified in the organisation’s communication framework, which has been described in detail as follows.
Firstly, the employees do not follow the decisions of the management, the reason being the same are not effectively communicated. The top management of the company formulates the strategies and overall direction to be followed by the members (Ike, 2017). While, the decisions made at the top level do not reach to the employees in a timely and effective manner and thus, employees fail to operate in the same direction as that of the management. As the top level strategies are not clearly communicated, there has been an overall decline in the annual performance of the entity as compared to the last year, and also as per the industry norms. According to the researches conducted, it is seen that effective communication skills lead to a tangible return on investment (Lewis, 2017).
The second key issue that has been identified is that there is a communication gap between the employees and the supervisors, resulting in a lack of a common set of approaches and thinking. This has resulted in monthly targets not being achieved by the individual departments. The communication gap has also resulted in the problems of the employee retainment (Business Victoria, 2018).
The third key issue that has been identified that there is a lack of professionalism in the written communication, resulting in overall poor communication in the workplace. Emails have a significant impact at the workplace (Kokemuller, 2018). The attempts to understand such unprofessional emails leads to consumption of the time and energy. This further leads to the deterioration of the individual performances and the focus from the core issues and functions seems to be shifted.
Solutions to Communication Issues
Thus, it can be clearly seen that the lack of the proper communication at Data Solutions has severely affected the performance of the entity. In light of the above problems, an action plan has been devised by the management of the company, so as to address these problems, providing the solutions in the best possible manner. The same is being communicated to all the members of the organisation, to take note of and to apply the same in their operations. While the senior managers are suggested to apply them at the individual levels as well as the concerned departmental levels. The subordinates and juniors are suggested to implement them at the individual levels.
For the problem number one, it has been decided by the management to adopt a customised intranet for the organisation, with the facilities like the creation of the groups, common database, real-time feedback allowance and more. With the use of the intranet, employees can concentrate on their core responsibilities instead of sifting through lengthy files and documents in their systems. Therefore, the intranet would help in increasing the efficiencies of the employees (Bennett, 2014). With the group creation facility in the intranet, the decisions can be communicated in the real-time among the head office of the company at the Brisbane and the respective branch offices at Melbourne and Sydney. Thus, the senior managers are advised to create their respective department groups on the said intranet facility. Accordingly, the communications regarding the strategic directions, policies, monthly or annual targets, important announcements or any new set of actions to be followed, regarding the concerned department should be done on the said feature. The communication through the intranet would not only be quick, but it would also address a large number of the audiences at once.
For the second issue, that is the presence of the distance in terms of the communication among the employees and the supervisors, it is suggested that the team meetings must be organised with the aid of the video conferencing feature which is economic and fast too (Lorette, 2018). It is also suggested to draft the minutes of the said team meeting via the video conference facility, and the minutes drafted must be circulated after the completion of the meeting. The minutes would enable the managers and the employees to have the clarity of the important decisions taken and the issues discussed (Moustafaev, 2014). In addition, it will enable the managers to have the written record of the decisions taken for future references.
Importance of Effective Communication in Organizations
Regarding the third and the most important issue that has been identified during the communication audit, i.e. the unprofessionalism in the written communication, especially the emails; the management has taken certain strategic steps. We have decided to have a “7-day soft skills development programme” through the aid of the experts in the communication field. It is mandatory for all the members to attend the same. The top management of the company for the same has approached a group of professional English communication experts from Sydney. The said professionals will take the department wise batches and would aim to refine the verbal and the written communication skills from the scratch.
To bring the above discussion to the end, it can be said that communication is one of the most critical elements in the overall functioning and the management of the enterprise. It is the blood on which the all the management and operational activities thrive on. The lack of the proper framework of the same has cost the entity the Data Solutions, at all the levels, whether individual, departmental or the industrial levels. For it would not be possible for the entity to sustain in long run with the present communication scenario.
Therefore, the attempts have been made by the top level management of the entity to revamp the overall communication scenario of the entity. A guideline is being issued by the top-level management to be followed by all the departments at the branch offices at Melbourne and Sydney. The same would also be adopted at the Brisbane head office as well. To repeat in brief the main issues that have been identified are lack of timely announcements to the employees, lack of clear communication among the supervisors and the employees and the unprofessional written communication. The three means suggested are the application of the intranet facility for the internal communication, holding of meetings through video conferencing along with the preparation and the circulation of the minutes and the seven-day communication induction programme. It is mandatory for the members to abide by the guidelines as prescribed. The guidelines would not only benefit the employees in terms of the organisational performance but will also aid them in the overall development in the long run.
All the members are required to give their acknowledgment to the memo and contact their respective department heads for the dates of the induction programme. As mentioned earlier, the induction programme is required to be attended along with the respective teams, and therefore confirmation of the dates is necessary. In case of any query, suggestions or the feedback with regards to the issues identified and the solutions suggested, the members are suggested to contact the communication managers of the company Ms Monica Oliver at Melbourne and Mr Ross D’Silva at Sydney. The contact details may be accessed from the company directory.
References
Adair, J. (2011). Effective Communication (Revised Edition): The Most Important Management Skill of all. Oxford: Pan Books.
Bennett, E. E. (2014). How an intranet provides opportunities for learning organizational culture: Implications for virtual HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 16(3), 296-319.
Business Victoria. (2018). Communication skills for managers. Retrieved from: https://www.business.vic.gov.au/hiring-and-managing-staff/staff-management/communication-skills-in-the-workplace-for-managers
Downs, C. W., & Adrian, A. D. (2012). Assessing organizational communication: Strategic communication audits. USA: Guilford Press.
Ike, L. (2017). Strategic Management: Concepts & Practices. UK: Xlibris Corporation.
Kokemuller, N. (2018). The Impact of Email in the Workplace. Retrieved from: https://work.chron.com/impact-email-workplace-7915.html
Lewis, D. (2017). The Importance of Communication in the Workplace. Retrieved from: https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/the-importance-of-communication-in-the-workplace/
Lorette, K. (2018). Benefits of Using Web Conferencing in Business. Retrieved from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-using-conferencing-business-3093.html
Moustafaev, J. (2014). Project scope management: A practical guide to requirements for engineering, product, construction, IT and enterprise projects. New York: CRC Press. 135.
Newman, A. (2015). Business Communication: In Person, In Print, Online. (10th ed.). Cengage Learning. 4.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
