Effective Communication at Your Workplace

By Peter Lawless

The customer has gone out the door; he has just placed a large forward order for delivery next march. Can you be sure that he will get what he expects? Is your internal communication up to scratch? This article gives you some tips. Your company is only as strong as its weakest link - but it is up to you to check the strength of them all regularly!

Are you a team? Is your company an entity that operates smoothly, with everyone pulling in the same direction?

The most important thing is consistency. Does everyone understand your company vision? Who knows what the mission statement is. Do you have a computer usage policy, regarding what employees may or may not use the computer for?

Whether you are a one man band, outsourcing a lot of your services or a large company, it is vital to have procedures in place.

Let's take the small guy. He has an accountant, who does his returns. Is there a process in place to ensure that all invoices get sent out, all expenses properly accounted for, mileage and per diems claimed? Well there must be, so that the owner can effectively tell his accountant what he is doing financially in his business.

Check the following and see how you rack up;

Be consistent in what you say to all employees, across all channels of communication.

Make it easy for employees to contact you, without fear.

Respond to all contacts in a professional and timely fashion.

Track all communications, and ensure appropriate processes are in place to ensure appropriate action is undertaken in all instances.

Try not to allow fiefdoms to build up, and try to ensure that at least one other employee knows what they are doing, in case of accident, sickness or leaving.

Constantly check how you're doing and is everything working, by asking your employees for feedback.

In order to communicate consistently with people outside the company, you first must learn to communicate effectively inside your company. You may want to check if everyone understands your company's vision and mission.

Have a company cook book, which makes it easy for new employees understand your processes and procedures. For that matter it would be no harm for existing employees including yourself to read it and have it handy.

Just make sure that everyone, who will be involved with that forward order we discussed, is going to ensure that the order will be correctly shipped to your happy punter!

Your company is only as strong as its weakest link - but it is up to you to check the strength of them all regularly!

About The Author:
This article was written by Peter Lawless, founder of http://www.3r.ie/ For previous articles like this, visit 3R's Articles. Alternatively, subscribe to Success our free monthly Information Bulletin with sales and marketing articles.

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Do You Fail At Managing Meetings?

By Andrew Rondeau

Become the Manager Who is a Failure at Managing Meetings

Meetings have become an inevitable part of doing business for almost every department owner. There are meetings with clients, meetings with employees and meetings with peers or associates. Almost everyone has suffered through too many meetings that take up too much time and accomplish too little. In fact, you may find that you yourself have now become numb to the fact that your meetings aren't as good as they could be. And everywhere you look, it seems as if somebody has another idea about how to fix your meetings, and make them more focused, more productive, and – dare I say it? More fun! So what can you do about it? Relax and keep reading, because you're about to find the information that can help you maintain the status quo – a list of tips and ideas for meeting planning – the wrong way!

1. Schedule your meetings at bad times - (for example, how about setting up a "must attend" meeting late on Friday afternoon?).

2. Make sure your meetings all start late and run overtime - (and whenever possible, scheduling meetings when someone is up against a deadline, or on a tight schedule).

3. Maintain a consistent lack of focus on what topics will be covered – (don't use an agenda).

4. Ensure there is a poor level of rapport in the group – (people don't talk to each other, or they complain, or engage in other unsuitable behaviour).

5. Don't arrive at a decision - (find new ways to keep covering the same ground, or continue asking for input rather than creating a plan of action.)

6. Choose a poor location and environment for your meetings - (for example, trying to fit 15 people into a closet-sized room that doesn't have windows or a proper ventilation system.)

7. Schedule meetings to go over routine topics - (instead of sending a memo or email.)

8. Don't talk to your group, or make your meetings interactive - (talking "at" them, lecturing or going off on wild tangents.)

9. Never asking for feedback from participants, or allowing others to present ideas or get involved.

There you have it! Just follow those nine simple tips, and you're guaranteed to instil fear, loathing and boredom into even the most intrepid of meeting participants! You will be known as the manager who knows how NOT to manage meetings.

Andrew Rondeau is a leading Management & Leadership Strategist and offers Management/Leadership Mentoring and Coaching Services.

About The Author:
Andrew Rondeau is a leading Management strategist. He is the author of the ground breaking management e-Books 'Accelerate Your Management Effectiveness', 'How To Get A Standing Ovation Every Time You Publicly Present' and 'Learn The Secrets Of Time Management'. http://www.andrewrondeau.co.uk