With communication playing such a huge role in employee efficiency, it’s essential to make sure each contact is effective. Fasbender says, “If you’re trying to deliver information that the recipient can’t process, you’re both wasting time. My wife shared a communications strategy she’s put to work in the classroom as a high school chemistry teacher that greatly improved my communications with my staff. Everyone processes information most effectively by one of three methods. They may be auditory, hearing what is told to them and remembering it. They may be visual, needing to see a picture or information in writing to process and remember it. Or, they may be kinesthetic, learning either by taking their own notes on information told to them or by observing an example and then performing the task themselves. Once you determine which method works best for each individual, you can tailor your communication with them to that method.”
With multiple communication venues readily available, it’s easy to work this strategy into a management program. Fasbender says, “Use in-person meetings, cell phones or two-way radios with the auditory communicators. Post a dry erase board in your office or main maintenance facility to list daily tasks for your visual communicators. Carry your digital camera to take photos of that perfect field layout or a procedure being performed properly to show the visual folks the results you want to achieve. Those photos help the kinesthetic communicators, too. You just need to give them the opportunity to perform the tasks themselves. Equip them with a notepad or PDA, so they can take notes during verbal communication.”
