Hired Guys

Succeeding in business depends on the effective management of staff. With a little effort you can learn and improve these techniques. It may be an advantage to have a innate affinity for people, but there are a few skills you can learn to help the process. Relationship Development: Start by using an individual’s name. Encourage conversation; look co-workers in the eye as you’re talking. Be respectful, and do pay attention to the other person’s point of view, regardless of whether you agree with them. Paying attention to everything others have to offer is one of the most important talent management skills in your arsenal. Show an interest in what they can give to the business organization. Show integrity: Keeping your word is crucial. When your word is broken, it will destroy trust, and nobody will offer you their best efforts without trust. When you say something or give your word on something, do be sure that you can deliver or it would be better not to give your word at all. You will discover, when your people can’t depend on your word, you can be certain they will act in a similar manner.

Encourage feedback: Feedback should be a two way process. Keeping an open mind regarding other’s opinions is an important skill in effective talent management. If you can demonstrate that you are accessible and receptive, you prove that you want to hear your co-worker’s views, and they should listen to yours. Open discussion also furthers original ideas, ways of achieving the goals of the business, and develops the company dynamic. If team members can express their opinion, each employee invests in the results.

Communicating is essential: Managing employees comes down to one concept — good communication. Maintaining an open door policy, listen closely to other people, keep an open mind, and allow all of your staff an equal voice. Inspire staff not only to speak to you, but also to speak to each other. The creative process relies a great deal on the interchange of opinions, if the employees communicate well, it is simple to recognize problems promptly, allowing corrective action to be implemented to prevent any further problems.

Some time and effort is necessary, but the payoffs far outweigh the effort. Through inspiring a good team dynamic and taking heed of what your staff have to offer, you can easily achieve a successful business.

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In today’s high-speed business world, there is no time to waste on unproductive procedure or redundant tasks that drain time and energy. Yet a large amount of valued time slips through the cracks when verifying potential new hire information. Now there is a system available that can take a typically time consuming task and turn it into an fast and accurate process. Employment Verification used to take weeks or months depending on contact info provided and means of communication available to human resources. Improvements in technology have allowed for this system to be simplified resulting in the process taking less time and the new hire information to be verified efficiently. So, how simple, accurate and secure could this new process be? Very simple, accurate and secure. In fact, the following is an overview of this process and how it can help streamline your current new hire employment verification procedure.

As soon as you present the information, the previous employer should receive a fax or an email advising of your request. The prior employer should then respond to your inquiry. The previous boss also has the option to rate the employee based on particular categories such as job performance and attendance. This is nonobligatory and not required of the previous employer. Once the query has been fulfilled, you will receive an email notification. Once you receive the e-mail, you will be able to log into your online account, view the information and print it out if you need to.

For a conservative monthly fee, some online companies will let you download and perform your own background checks utilizing their software and forms. However, this still requires the use of valuable time for your Human Resources associates. Conducting employment verifications will still take time away from the managing of employee issues such as benefits, complaints, company policy preparation, and many other jobs preformed by your department. Outsourcing for the large corporation is really the only cost effective way to deal with the many applicants they will have to deal with. At reasonable rates, there is no reason even the tiniest company needs to do this menial task for themselves.

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Efficient people management is very important for business success. People management may be acquired and learned. It can be an advantage to have a innate affinity for getting along with people, all the same you can do many things to facilitate the process. Relationship Development: Begin by memorizing an individual’s name. Encourage conversation; look co-workers in the eye during a conversation. Show respect, and be sure to pay attention to what the other person says, regardless of whether you agree with them. The development of listening skills is one of the best things you can do to improve your people management skills. Be sure to show an interest in what they can give to the business organization. Keep your word: Don’t give promises you will not fulfill. When you don’t keep your promises, the fragile bond of trust is wrecked, and if they do not trust you your staff will not perform at their best. Each time you make a statement or make a promise, you are squandering your time if you don’t keep your promises. You’ll discover, if you can’t be counted upon, your team can’t be relied on to be there when you actually need them. Feedback is important: Feedback should be a interactive process. Maintaining an open mind with regard to other people’s ideas is an important skill in managing staff. If you can establish accessibility and openness, you show that you appreciate other’s views, your opinions will be valued in the same fashion. Encouraging discussion also opens doors to innovative ways of thinking, ways of achieving the mission of the team, and develops the team. By allowing the team a voice, the project becomes important to every member. Communicating is fundamental: Good communication is fundamental to dealing with employees skilfully. Be accessible, practice good listening techniques, remember to welcome all sorts of feedback, and allow all your team members to express themselves. Encourage staff not only to speak to you, but also with each other. The sharing of thoughts is imperative in the creative process, if the team communicate well, it becomes easy to spot issues before they present problems, permitting corrective action to be implemented to prevent any further problems. This can take some work, yet the payoff is worth it. By encouraging a good team dynamic and by listening to your team’s ideas, a flourishing business can be yours.

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Advertising may tell a person what to buy, but public relations makes them want to buy it. If a job in the exciting world of public relations is your career goal, there are a number of ways to get your foot in the door for that first entry-level job.

Be sure you are an excellent communicator because the public relations world revolves around communication, be it written press releases and media pitch letters to persuasive phone calls and enticing social media sound bites. Since most public relations agencies specializes in a particular business category, discover what your passion is before applying for a job with that agency to see that it’s a good fit. It could be foodservice, celebrities, technology, medicine, music or finance, but having passion for a particular subject matter is necessary to be an oustanding publicist.

Be willing to do freelance projects or internships in public relations in order to gain experience. A summer internship at a public relations agency or non-profit organization can lead to a full-time job offer.

Decide whether you want to work in-house at a corporate office, at a non-profit organization or at a public relations agency, whether small boutique or big-name firm.

See if your metropolitan area has a professional public relations society or association that offers networking resources including job banks and places to advertise what kind of PR jobs you are seeking. Ask friends or collegues if they know anyone already working in the public relations field and ask for a few minutes of their time to pick their brain about ways to gain an entry into the PR workforce.

Be persistent and creative. Cold calling of agencies in your area to find out about employment opportunities proves to a prospective employer that you know how to market yourself. Public relations isn’t a job for the faint of heart, but your persistence will eventually pay off in a first job offer.

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Leaders are faced with unlocking the potential in the people that they lead and motivating the individual is a key part of this process. Motivation is not something that is done to an individual as they already posses it. What a leader does, to benefit the whole team, is to release, or unlock, it. Here are seven ways leaders unlock potential in people.

1. Leaders share their vision and values. Vision is what the team aspires to. Some visions may not ever be reachable, yet by their very existence they inspire, excite and motivate people to turn them into a reality. Where the vision comes from, however, is less important than whether team members fully share the vision. Where does vision come from? Essentially it comes from what you value or care strongly about. Values, then, are the foundation of the vision. Normally you would have only a few values. Each person can usually identify and describe them in their own words. They are not necessarily the same as mission statements, slogans or taglines written on walls or bulletin boards. As a leader, it is important that you regularly restate the team values and display them by your own actions. Leaders should also ask team members to keep producing examples of how they are turning values into reality.

2. Leaders value people. People will work very hard for a leader because they feel you value them as a person. You do this by treating each person with respect and by persisting in demanding that this is how team members treat one another as well.

3. Leaders Give Recognition. Research has shown that organizations seldom give enough recognition to their people. All too often people feel that they are taken for granted and that there is insufficient feedback about their efforts. Recognition does not always have to be in the form of a promotion or pay raise. Your team needs clear signs of appreciation and this can easily and simply be done by saying “thank you,” a small gift, public praise, a party, etc.

4. Leaders are Creative. Creativity is one of the most powerful means a leader has of unlocking your team’s full potential and infusing them with new energy. You can foster creativity by being open to new possibilities, new connections, new methods and surprising solutions. To use everyone in the team to their maximum potential, they need to be stretched as human beings. This does not mean setting impossible goals as much as it does expecting the most of each person on the team. To expect the most, you need to know each persons talents. You can learn about members of the team through formal assessment procedures, asking the person, asking others, trial and error in the workplace and so forth. The range of your team’s talent will likely astound you. Have fun uncovering the team’s talents.

5. Leaders Inspire Special Effort. Interestingly, people will do extraordinary work for some leaders and not for others. This happens when people see their own interests linked with the leader and he/she wants to achieve. When you call for team effort, remember that people respond to facts and emotion. Both are essential. Facts will start the process of convincing your team that heroic effort is needed. Make sure you prepare the facts carefully since they must stand up to the team’s scrutiny. Emotion is another vital ingredient. You need to appeal to people’s feeling, not just their logical, rational, parts. Facts alone will seldom tap a team’s hidden energy and commitment. Watch for signs in the team to indicate that people are making special effort and immediately reinforce this by offering approval and recognition.

6. Leaders Do It Their Way. Leaders need to develop a method and adopt a style that suits them. Then, when you need a special effort from the team, this is the moment to show them your real leadership style. Inspiring people is not as easy as it sounds. It starts with you, sharing with them what inspires you. If are committed to what you want, people will respond to your inspiration, energy and vision. If you really believe in your vision, and exude energy and passion about it, the team will also share in that effort with you and feel your passion. Conversely, negativity will also breed negative thoughts from your team. Remember that each team member will internally respond with a “what’s in it for me?” approach. Discover what each person on the team wants and you will have the key to unlocking their potential and sustaining that special effort you need.

Your qualities as a leader will attract people to consider making the heroic effort you want or need. They may be drawn to your passion, your humanity, energy, integrity or commitment. They may admire and fear your determination to make something happen, but it is the human qualities you share that will gain their respect and commitment.

Publishing Rights: You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author’s information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted. Copyright 2005, Michele Webb. All Rights Reserved.

The author owns her own website and is a member of a number of organizations for women Netpreneurs and business owners and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada USA with her two dogs. You can contact Michele at mailto:news@ebooksnstuff.com or visit her website at: http://www.ebooksnstuff.com

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The vast majority of Contract Cleaning Companies are small ‘one-man band’ outfits that provide basic cleaning to a limited number of clients within a relatively restricted area. This is fine unless you want to make real money and continue growing and expanding. If you restrict yourself to a small locality and operate alone then you have a limited number of potential customers. If you want to be out the front of the competition and challenging the big players in the cleaning business then you must be prepared to widen your horizons.

Much of your competition will be these small cleaning companies who because they have limited overheads will be able to undercut you. However by careful marketing you can put yourself ahead of these and get yourself recognised before them. How to market yourself successfully has been covered in previous articles. Having beaten off the competition by your carefully planned marketing strategy you will still restrict your growth potential if you do not widen your area of coverage.

A planned well managed expansion is difficult to achieve within the cleaning business. Once you start to advertise your services outside of your immediate area you have no idea what the response will be and the golden rule is to never turn down work because that potential customer will never ever return to you if you do turn them away. Consequently you must accept most of the work that comes in and worry about how you might manage it once you have got it.

In the initial period of expansion out of your area there will obviously be a great deal of travelling and extra work and you will imagine that there are just not enough hours in the day to cope with all the work you have taken on. If you are determined to achieve then you will and once you have a few contracts established in another locality you can always employ others to look after them. It is only that initial hurdle that you must overcome. Having done it in one or two places you can then continue to expand as far as your vision will take you. This is the one big problem with franchising because as a franchisee you cannot expand outside of your designated area so you will always be restricted. Think big, act big and you will make big things happen. Think small, be restrictive and small things will happen and you will never escape from this ’smallness’.

David Andrew Smith runs and operates a successful commercial cleaning services company that operates throughout the UK.

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Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence has become a very important activity in the business arena irrespective of the domain due to the fact that managers need to analyze comprehensively in order to face the challenges.

Data sourcing, data analysing, extracting the correct information for a given criteria, assessing the risks and finally supporting the decision making process are the main components of BI.

In a business perspective, core stakeholders need to be well aware of all the above stages and be crystal clear on expectations. The person, who is being assigned with the role of Business Analyst (BA) for the BI initiative either from the BI solution providers’ side or the company itself, needs to take the full responsibility on assuring that all the above steps are correctly being carried out, in a way that it would ultimately give the business the expected leverage. The management, who will be the users of the BI solution, and the business stakeholders, need to communicate with the BA correctly and elaborately on their expectations and help him throughout the process.

Data sourcing is an initial yet crucial step that would have a direct impact on the system where extracting information from multiple sources of data has to be carried out. The data may be on text documents such as memos, reports, email messages, and it may be on the formats such as photographs, images, sounds, and they can be on more computer oriented sources like databases, formatted tables, web pages and URL lists. The key to data sourcing is to obtain the information in electronic form. Therefore, typically scanners, digital cameras, database queries, web searches, computer file access etc, would play significant roles. In a business perspective, emphasis should be placed on the identification of the correct relevant data sources, the granularity of the data to be extracted, possibility of data being extracted from identified sources and the confirmation that only correct and accurate data is extracted and passed on to the data analysis stage of the BI process.
Business oriented stake holders guided by the BA need to put in lot of thought during the analyzing stage as well, which is the second phase. Synthesizing useful knowledge from collections of data should be done in an analytical way using the in-depth business knowledge whilst estimating current trends, integrating and summarizing disparate information, validating models of understanding, and predicting missing information or future trends. This process of data analysis is also called data mining or knowledge discovery. Probability theory, statistical analysis methods, operational research and artificial intelligence are the tools to be used within this stage. It is not expected that business oriented stake holders (including the BA) are experts of all the above theoretical concepts and application methodologies, but they need to be able to guide the relevant resources in order to achieve the ultimate expectations of BI, which they know best.

Identifying relevant criteria, conditions and parameters of report generation is solely based on business requirements, which need to be well communicated by the users and correctly captured by the BA. Ultimately, correct decision support will be facilitated through the BI initiative and it aims to provide warnings on important events, such as takeovers, market changes, and poor staff performance, so that preventative steps could be taken. It seeks to help analyze and make better business decisions, to improve sales or customer satisfaction or staff morale. It presents the information that manager’s need, as and when they need it.

In a business sense, BI should go several steps forward bypassing the mere conventional reporting, which should explain “what has happened?” through baseline metrics. The value addition will be higher if it can produce descriptive metrics, which will explain “why has it happened?” and the value added to the business will be much higher if predictive metrics could be provided to explain “what will happen?” Therefore, when providing a BI solution, it is important to think in these additional value adding lines.

Data warehousing

In the context of BI, data warehousing (DW) is also a critical resource to be implemented to maximize the effectiveness of the BI process. BI and DW are two terminologies that go in line. It has come to a level where a true BI system is ineffective without a powerful DW, in order to understand the reality behind this statement, it’s important to have an insight in to what DW really is.

A data warehouse is one large data store for the business in concern which has integrated, time variant, non volatile collection of data in support of management’s decision making process. It will mainly have transactional data which would facilitate effective querying, analyzing and report generation, which in turn would give the management the required level of information for the decision making.

The reasons to have BI together with DW

At this point, it should be made clear why a BI tool is more effective with a powerful DW. To query, analyze and generate worthy reports, the systems should have information available. Importantly, transactional information such as sales data, human resources data etc. are available normally in different applications of the enterprise, which would obviously be physically held in different databases. Therefore, data is not at one particular place, hence making it very difficult to generate intelligent information. The level of reports expected today, are not merely independent for each department, but managers today want to analyze data and relationships across the enterprise so that their BI process is effective. Therefore, having data coming from all the sources to one location in the form of a data warehouse is crucial for the success of the BI initiative. In a business viewpoint, this message should be passed and sold to the managements of enterprises so that they understand the value of the investment. Once invested, its gains could be achieved over several years, in turn marking a high ROI.

Investment costs for a DW in the short term may look quite high, but it’s important to re-iterate that the gains are much higher and it will span over many years to come. It also reduces future development cost since with the DW any requested report or view could be easily facilitated. However, it is important to find the right business sponsor for the project. He or she needs to communicate regularly with executives to ensure that they understand the value of what’s being built. Business sponsors need to be decisive, take an enterprise-wide perspective and have the authority to enforce their decisions.

Process

Implementation of a DW itself overlaps with some phases of the above explained BI process and it’s important to note that in a process standpoint, DW falls in to the first few phases of the entire BI initiative. Gaining highly valuable information out of DW is the latter part of the BI process. This can be done in many ways. DW can be used as the data repository of application servers that run decision support systems, management Information Systems, Expert systems etc., through them, intelligent information could be achieved. But one of the latest strategies is to build cubes out of the DW and allow users to analyze data in multiple dimensions, and also provide with powerful analytical supporting such as drill down information in to granular levels. Cube is a concept that is different to the traditional relational 2-dimensional tabular view, and it has multiple dimensions, allowing a manager to analyze data based on multiple factors, and not just two factors. On the other hand, it allows the user to select whatever the dimension he wish to choose for analyzing purposes and not be limited by one fixed view of data, which is called as slice & dice in DW terminology.

BI for a serious enterprise is not just a phase of a computerization process, but it is one of the major strategies behind the entire organizational drivers. Therefore management should sit down and build up a BI strategy for the company and identify the information they require in each business direction within the enterprise. Given this, BA needs to analyze the organizational data sources in order to build up the most effective DW which would help the strategized BI process.

High level Ideas on Implementation

At the heart of the data warehousing process is the extract, transform, and load (ETL) process. Implementation of this merely is a technical concern but it’s a business concern to make sure it is designed in such a way that it ultimately helps to satisfy the business requirements. This process is responsible for connecting to and extracting data from one or more transactional systems (source systems), transforming it according to the business rules defined through the business objectives, and loading it into the all important data model. It is at this point where data quality should be gained. Of the many responsibilities of the data warehouse, the ETL process represents a significant portion of all the moving parts of the warehousing process.

Creation of a powerful DW depends on the correctness of data modeling, which is the responsibility of the database architect of the project, but BA needs to play a pivotal role providing him with correct data sources, data requirements and most importantly business dimensions. Business Dimensional modeling is a special method used for DW projects and this normally should be carried out by the BA and from there onwards technical experts should take up the work. Dimensions are perspectives specific to a business that could be used for analysis purposes. As an example, for a sales database, the dimensions could include Product, Time, Store, etc. Obviously these dimensions differ from one business to another and hence for each DW initiative those dimensions should be correctly identified and that could be very well done by a person who has experience in the DW domain and understands the business as well, making it apparent that DW BA is the person responsible.

Each of the identified dimensions would be turned in to a dimension table at the implementation phase, and the objective of the above explained ETL process is to fill up these dimension tables, which in turn will be taken to the level of the DW after performing some more database activities based on a strong underlying data model. Implementation details are not important for a business stakeholder but being aware of high level process to this level is important so that they are also on the same pitch as that of the developers and can confirm that developers are actually doing what they are supposed to do and would ultimately deliver what they are supposed to deliver.

Security is also vital in this regard, since this entire effort deals with highly sensitive information and identification of access right to specific people to specific information should be correctly identified and captured at the requirements analysis stage.

Advantages

There are so many advantages of BI system. More presentation of analytics directly to the customer or supply chain partner will be possible. Customer scores, customer campaigns and new product bundles can all be produced from analytic structures resulting in high customer retention and creation of unique products. More collaboration within information can be achieved from effective BI. Rather than middle managers getting great reports and making their own areas look good, information will be conveyed into other functions and rapidly shared to create collaborative decisions increasing the efficiency and accuracy. The return on human capital will be greatly increased.

Managers at all levels will save their time on data analysis, and hence saving money for the enterprise, as the time of managers is equal to money in a financial perspective. Since powerful BI would enable monitoring internal processes of the enterprises more closely and allow making them more efficient, the overall success of the organization would automatically grow. All these would help to derive a high ROI on BI together with a strong DW. It is a common experience to notice very high ROI figures on such implementations, and it is also important to note that there are many non-measurable gains whilst we consider most of the measurable gains for the ROI calculation. However, at a stage where it is intended to take the management buy-in for the BI initiative, it’s important to convert all the non measurable gains in to monitory values as much as possible, for example, saving of managers time can be converted in to a monitory value using his compensation.

The author has knowledge in both Business and IT. Started career as a Software Engineer and moved to work in the business analysis area of a premier US based software company.

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A new terminology is sweeping the globe at the moment and it is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Other terms that you may find yourself reading about are Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Criteria. The highly admirable (and long overdue) principle that lies behind these acronyms is ‘corporate speak’ for a subject that lies close to my heart - that of authenticity.

Leading companies across the globe are discovering something that the metaphysician has known all along. If you incorporate transparency, responsibility and ethicality into the core values of a business practice, profits will automatically follow.

CSR is set to change the face of business practice and the ramifications will be global. I also mean that in the literal sense, as the main conscious catalyst for this emerging revolution is the realisation that our planet cannot sustain our technological and industrial advancements in its present form. Climate change, dwindling energy reserves and waste management are all issues that have to be urgently addressed.

On the personal level people are increasingly turning away from companies offering genetically modified comestibles, synthetic products and nutritionally deficient foods in favour of healthier options. This may be due to a subconscious awareness of a lack of authenticity in corporate culture. Obesity is just one major issue that has highlighted the yawning gap between the capitalist societies and the conditions endured in the third world countries Companies such as McDonalds, Coca Cola and PepsiCo are rapidly having to embrace CSR as ethical consumerism takes hold.

Ultimately, the phenomenon of globalisation can only effect positive change by bridging the gap between cultures and connecting us digitally and spiritually to our fellow man.

A new world order is slowly being birthed. One which is based on social awareness and responsibility and which focuses on the collective. Those companies which do not recognise the importance of CSR will simply not survive. The new strap line for 2006 and indeed the entire ‘noughties’ is going to be ‘Good Business Is Big Business’. Companies that act in an open and responsible way with their consumers, suppliers and employees will foster loyalty, greater productivity and turnover. By taking the ‘whole’ (holistic practice) into account, businesses can gain trust and a solid reputation, whilst positively impacting social and environmental conditions.

The reason I can write about CSR with some authority is due to the prescience that planetary configurations can provide. My work as a futurologist aims to highlight the indivisibility between the celestial and terrestrial. CSR is the first wave of change associated with the move of Pluto into the sign of Capricorn at the start of 2008. Capricorn is associated with business, companies and the governance within them. As Pluto transits through the sign, a passage of approximately 10 years, we will witness the transformation of business practice as we know it today.

Hierarchical structures will gradually disappear making way for much greater personal responsibility and accountability of the individual. The health and well-being of all whom a product impacts; supplier, employee, consumer and planet will be of the utmost importance. In fact the new acronym to emerge during the transit could well be PPA - Personal and Professional Authenticity. Companies won’t profit by simple compliance with CSR. The directors will need to be personally convinced of its merits and embed it into the heart of their company culture. Additionally, employees won’t suddenly love a job just because the company ethos has changed, but they can take responsibility for ensuring they love what they do.

The reason you are reading this now is due to the -120 - phase of the Jupiter/Uranus cycle - a cycle long associated with political change and rebellion against the status quo.This cycle is when innovative activities come to conscious awareness, especially those involved with moving the collective forward in some way.

No change is implemented without tension and opposition and it is undoubtedly a fairly utopian idea that all businesses can or will suddenly integrate social, environmental and economic ideals. However, once the concept starts gathering pace globally over the next few years the CSR (or PPA) agenda will become part of public consciousness. Once that shift occurs consumers will be looking to spend their money on products which deliver not only value for money, but ones which have been produced by companies seen to be delivering authentic and ethical values. CSR originated in the 1990’s by 2008 it will quite literally have made a world of difference.

Kathryn Cassidy hosts a blog concerned with the impact of planetary cycles on terrestrial events. By studying the effect of previous cycles one is given access to future trends. Kathryn considers that over the next ten years it will become commonplace for large corporations to employ futurists who study planetary periodicity for use in product development. Kathryn has a special interest in Branding and Strategic Planning using these methods.

http://collaboratingwithfate.blogspot.com

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Organizations communicate in two directions: internally to staff and externally to clients, customers, shareholders, stakeholders, the media. Faulty internal communications can lead to mistakes, discouraged and unhappy staff, employees leaving the company. Poor external communications can jeopardize image and sales. It really is that simple. Any overall management strategy needs a communications plan or the whole operation might fail.

A communications audit analyzes an organization’s practices to reveal how effective they arethroughout a whole company or in specified parts of the organization. It can pinpoint problem areas such as frequent misunderstandings, information blocks, information lacks, information duplication, misrepresentation. An audit could be part of a periodic health check but it is especially helpful at a time of change: a merger or acquisition, launch of a new product or service, entry into new markets, for example.

The exact nature of the audit will depend on the type of organization and its particular needs and problems. But it will certainly aim to identify target audiences: the external audience will have different needs from an internal one. It will need to identify the key messages that need to be communicated and the channels that exist for conveying them. It will look not only at the communications that the organization makes but also how it receives them.

But what might be going wrong, with external communications, say? Let me give an example here. My husband is a shareholder in a building company. Every year it produces a glossy Annual Report that it sends to shareholders. The report is extremely detailed and full of lavish photographs. It clearly costs a lot to produce and distribute. This makes my husband very angry. He doesn’t want to read the full report and resents the money that is wasted on producing and sending a document that goes straight in the bin. What he would like is a leaflet summarizing the salient points about the company’s performance and changes. Does the company realize that some shareholders feel this way? It is important to bear in mind that most shareholders are not able to attend shareholder meetings and may not know how to make their views known. This company has a two-way problem. The communications it sends out are wrong for some shareholders but it has not thought about a way of creating a channel for the shareholders to give their feedback. It is thus breaking a fundamental rule of effective communications: you must have feedback.

Or take an internal issue. The HR department of a company gives out a detailed instruction manual to new employees. Yet many of the newly hired people seem completely lost during their first weeks. Why might this be? Well, in the first place, the employees are mostly involved in manual work. They are not used to reading chunks of written material. Most of the manuals lie unopened in their lockers. A buddy scheme of some kind would probably be a much better way of easing the new people through the first weeks.

Another example comes from a small company in which everybody was under pressure to meet deadlines. The director of the company made a habit of telephoning staff for briefings at lunchtime because he knew they ‘weren’t busy’ then. But that was the point. They were having lunch. The amount of resentment he caused by this policy of disturbing people during the precious few minutes they had to relax was enormous.

Communicating is a complex process with potential pitfalls at each stage. Is the message clear? Is the medium for transmitting it appropriate? Has the recipient actually received it? If so, has it been understood? Has it had the desired effect? Does the recipient have a channel for feedback? Can the recipient understand how to provide the feedback? The old metaphor of the Chinese whisper holds true. You thought you said one thing but when you check you find that a totally different message was actually received.

The audit is a systematic approach that forces an organization to look at what it is really doing as opposed to what it believes it is doing. The audit will look at the people who send and receive messages; the means of communicatingwhich extend beyond the obvious use of the telephone, meetings, conferences, e-mail etc. to encompass dress code, office layouts, desk-tidy policiesin order to build up a comprehensive picture of what is happening. Every aspect of communication provides another piece of the jigsaw and, once this is complete, you have the basis for an evaluation.

The evaluation report will consider attitudes towards the communications (do people look forward to meetings or consider them a waste of time?); it will look at the needs of different groups (the most appropriate way to deliver training, for example) and it will provide evidence of any problems that need to be addressed.

However, it is important to evaluate the audit within a relevant framework. For this reason, key people will have to clarify the purpose for the organization’s existence, its cultural values and its identity. For example, the communications strategy for a budget airline will be very different from one which targets business executives. The two companies will have different purposes, values and identities. They will know exactly who uses their service and why. They will also understand the key frustrations of their customers and must ensure they can use communications to deal with those frustrations effectively.

The audit is thus a valuable tool for enhancing internal motivation, loyalty and efficiency and for beefing up market position. It can be handled internally but there are also benefits from using an external consultant. Employees might feel inhibited about expressing their real view to another company member, whereas an outsider, who guarantees their anonymity, will be less of a threat.

Brenda Townsend Hall is a writer and trainer in the fields of communications and cross-cultural awareness. She is an associate member of the ITAP International Alliance: http://www.itapintl.com/

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