How to Prevent Miscommunication in the Workplace - HR Essay Example

The purpose of this memorandum is to address the issue of poor communication within the organization has resulted in the conflict among the employees. It will address the various actions that will be taken up to prevent the occurrence of the problem again and as well as stipulate the various actions that will be taken if any person violates the set policy.

Issues Created By the Problem

To maintain an effective working environment, a good communication process is very essential. Miscommunication has resulted in employee conflict, high employee turnover, poor quality of work and low employee morale. When the employees are not in good terms with each other or the management the quality of work the employees will tend to do will be poor .Employees will tend to leave the organization in search of a favorable working environment (Boiarsky, 2016).

Corresponding Action

Following the right communication channel: Individuals should ensure that information is communicated through the right channel to avoid distortion of the information that is the highest rank to the lowest. Feedbacks from the employees should be communicated using the right protocol so as the appropriate action can be taken to address their problems which will help reduce any form of conflict.

Having an end-of-conversation recap. The employee should ensure that they seek for clarification of information that they do not understand. The individual giving the information should as well clarify what they have said and the actions that they expect the employees to take up. Through this approach, it will prevent performing the wrong tasks or even poor quality of work.

Letting people finish their sentences. Individuals should ensure that they let other people finish their sentences. It is a rule that should be adhered to strictly and not violated to prevent the problem of miscommunication. Finishing up other people sentences during communication results in time wastage and also prevents the other person communicating everything that he/she wants to say and the manner in which they want to say it since it a way of shutting them (Raines, 2013).

People should stop playing the act of a mind reader. People should stop thinking that they know better and more regarding the information that the other person wants to give and also giving feedback before hearing the full information that is being given. Instead, individuals should ask questions regarding the information that is being given and seek further clarification to provide the communicator with an opportunity of making their communication complete and as well as provide full details.

Turning away from your computer. When communicating with another colleague one should ensure that they put their computer in sleep mode or even move away from the computer to avoid distraction and miss out on important details. When a person tries to perform two activities at the same, it results in both activities being less effective. It is unprofessional to have a person communicating while one is busy on their computer (Paris, Small, & Heyman, 2007).

Punitive Actions

Any person who violates the set policies on how to conduct themselves during communication process will have to face various disciplinary actions by the management. The appropriate disciplinary action will range from demotion from a higher rank to a lower rank in the organization or termination of the employment.

References

Boiarsky, C. R. (2016). Risk communication and miscommunication: Case studies in science, technology, engineering, government and community organizations.

Paris, J., Small, R., & Heyman, R. (2007). But I didn't mean that: How to avoid misunderstandings & hurt feelings in everyday life. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Raines, S. (2013). Conflict management for managers: Resolving workplace, client, and policy disputes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.