Knowing what to say and how to say it matters.
When communication is a priority, it has a cascading effect. Whether it’s a company-wide email, a conversation among co-workers or the tone and cadence of a client conference, communications competence is as crucial to business success as the ability to do one’s job well.
When I do consulting projects with clients, the process begins with a communications assessment/audit during which we identify needs and opportunities.
Some of the questions we might explore together are:
- How effective is the communication within your organization?
- How much time is spent navigating misunderstandings versus pro-active practices that mitigate dissonance before it impacts the workplace?
- What are your organization’s communication strengths and weaknesses?
- Are your Millennial and GenZ team members getting the training and support they need to communicate effectively outside their digital comfort zone?
- If I were a communications genie and could grant your organization one wish, what would it be?
- If your organization could have a communications make-over what would you want to focus on and why?
- What are your documentation protocols and are they being followed?
- How do you support someone whose contribution to the bottom line is vital but their communication style is off-putting to others?
- Are your institutional communication practices supporting or deterring productivity? How do you identify which protocols are working and which aren’t?
- Is your organization’s communication maximizing customer/client trust, loyalty and retention or is there room for improvement?
- Among other important indicators of communications health.
After I’ve completed the audit/assessment, I meet with the client in-person (or zoom) and we review the results together talking through potential next steps. Then I submit a written report.