Workplace Communicator Blog

A Towers Watson study titled Change and Communication ROI, claims that the most important goal of an effective communication program is to motivate both employees and management to act upon, and achieve, the goals set by the organisation.

Yet, most organisations fail miserably at their latest communication launches, including safety.  With only 55% of communication initiatives succeeding initially and only one in four being successful (25%) in changing behaviour long term.

Where there are communication barriers, due to people misunderstanding information, there are also productivity losses. The same study found that the cumulative cost per worker per year is $26,041 just from communication barriers alone.

Communication is an interesting thing.  No matter how many years you have been talking, writing or even managing other people, your communication abilities fluctuate. 

While it is mostly true that those with concise and clear communication skills are more likely to be promoted to leadership positions, the skills that got you there won't keep you there.

Communication skills are one of those things you have got to be consciously improving on a regular basis.  After all, we can get so lazy in our communication.  Have you ever tried to write a directive email while talking on the phone, before rushing to a meeting?  The chances are your email was unclear and confusing.

As someone who writes and communicates my thoughts freely, it was a shock to hear from one of my Fast Track your Safety Communication Results students that she has to follow a script for toolbox talks.

We all have different styles when it comes to making decisions.  When it comes to making a choice at work, how do you like to operate?

One mistake I often see safety professionals do, is that once they have created a new company safety procedure, they get all excited about it and go and tell the next colleague they see.  Usually their workmate has their mind on something else such as they're busy filling out a form or using a machine.

Recently, I was talking to Julie Honore from Safesearch, a safety professional recruitment company that specialise in finding safety staff in Asia, Australia and the Middle East.  She told me that there is a growing demand for sophisticated safety professionals that can coach, influence and engage on safety.

Over the years, I've had the honour of reading and improving stacks of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Recently, I was talking to the Managing Director of a large recruiting firm for safety professionals in the Asia Pacific region about the importance of communication skills.