The Power of Communication Packs

on May 10, 2016

A simple, but effective tool, which improves the outcomes of any communication strategy or plan is the “communication pack”. In many people’s minds this will traditionally be associated with hours of work to produce volumes of paper. That’s certainly what may be required if your Department is launching a new initiative to the government, but is overkill in the majority of required communications for a records management campaign. Typically, records management communication campaigns attached to projects such as the rollout of new software versions, major classification changes or digital recordkeeping will have two main communication requirements. There is also a third which is currently underused and used well will have a strong influence on the outcomes. Standard Communication Requirements Reporting – to Executive, Steering Committees, and Business Units on the project progress against the project plan. Every Department has a process for this, generally using […]

Better Communication Skills – What do you mean?

on January 18, 2016

“This is the chance to ask your burning questions.” That was the invitation to the audience during Linked Training’s (almost) Australia wide Road Show in 2015. Of course that places the respondent (me) in the vulnerable position of providing a succinct answer whilst thinking on my feet. Sometimes the response is too short to be of real value. A longer opportunity to communicate is necessary to respond to the complex question. “What is the main skill you believe Records and Information Managers are most lacking in?” was such a question posed to me. My immediate response – “Communication!” In a few short minutes I extrapolated on the topic acutely aware that a full day was really required to fully explain why that was the response. The answer was too simplistic, and the response too superficial, to provide any launching point from which people could analyse […]

12 tips to improve your communication skills

on June 09, 2015

Learn more about how you can improve your verbal and written communication skills, the common problems you can encounter in doing so, and how you can boost your effectiveness. Courtesy of ChangeFactory.com.au 12 tips to improve your communication skills from Change Factory

Communication: Who’s Responsible?

on September 09, 2014

There is a common saying in reference to communication: “Communication is always the responsibility of the sender”. Is this always true? What is the responsibility of the recipient? Like many things in life the onus of responsibility is not black and white. Communication can be conveyed by many channels; face to face discussion, presentations, emails, reports, videos, etc. Some of these naturally require planning to instigate, whereas others can be utilised with very little thought or effort. Communication also may be both casual and formal. Formal communication involves planned activity and outcomes, regardless of the channel used. There is generally time to compose appropriate messages and formulate suitable responses to questions. Casual communication lacks notice, structure or planning. In the instance of formal communication; let’s say a new initiative is being announced at a team meeting, the sender is responsible for ensuring the message to […]

Uncertainty Requires Communication

on April 20, 2013

Uncertainty Requires CommunicationIn times of uncertainty and change every communication by managers is under the microscope. Misinterpretation of messages is rife, fuelled by the different experiences of each person receiving the message. Frequently managers, in an attempt to limit the speculation, limit their communications to the bare essentials or stop them all together only wishing to communicate fact. Naturally in times of uncertainty and change people are fearful. Fear makes people protect their interests. Therefore people receive communications and disseminate them with a protectionist attitude. This includes scepticism and ‘worst case scenario’ style thinking. It is no wonder that some managers feel that ‘the less said the better’. But nothing could be farther from the truth. How can we communicate to reduce the negative effects of team unrest when there is actually little news to share? The important first step is to clearly identify the […]

Communication Choices during Evolutionary Change

on May 09, 2012

Change may be the only constant, but it’s my observation that over more than a decade of leading change programmes around the world, there is little constant about change. At Change Factory, while we don’t believe in silver bullet solutions to complex change management problems, there are a few self-evident truths that we have collected, largely via observation. One of those concerns communication, and its importance in the success of any change programme. This article concerns itself with communication during evolutionary change. Evolutionary change is aimed at improving an aspect or aspects of the business (e.g. existing processes; workforce skills; organisational culture) over time, without the severe physical and/or psychological dislocation of the workforce that tends to occur during revolutionary change. Radical change—that is, change with significant scope or goals—may be effected through evolutionary change with thorough planning, but in evolutionary change, the workforce does […]