Effective Communication in the Business: Problems and Solutions

This memo discusses the problems in the communication system of Data Solutions and provides solutions to overcome them. The problems include lack of understanding of appropriate means of communication, limited internal organizational network, and ineffective inter-organizational meetings. The solutions include communication training, open-door policy, formal feedback mechanism, and setting ground rules for meetings. Compliance to these solutions will lead to better personal and professional relationships, employee retention, productive office culture, and increase in revenue generation.

Memorandum
To: All the current employees of Data Solutions
From: Director of Data Solutions
Date:
Subject: Effective Communication in the Business
Objectives and background
a) Communication audit process- Like any other audit communication audit is
also an organised process to identify the condition of internal and external
communication system in a company. During the process the data was
collected from the employees and other stakeholders of Data Solutions
through questionnaires, surveys, interviews, etc. All the data was then
evaluated to find key insights and patterns regarding the communication flow
in the company. The findings were interpreted to draw conclusions.
b) Specific purpose- The communication audit was done to the quality of
information exchanged, means of delivery, audiences who received the
messages and the response of the audience.
c) General purpose- The general purpose of the communication audit was to
identify the strengths and weaknesses in the communication system of the
Data solutions.

Problems
a. Problem one— Employees lack an understanding of selecting the appropriate
means of communication (traditional or digital) as per the context and the
audience. When employees are not using the suitable means to communicate
among the team or to employers, it can affect the content of the message to be
delivered negatively. The excellent idea if not delivered if not delivered via the
suitable means can be perceived as good idea by the audience. Like when a
message requires pictorial representation and it is only communicated verbally, it
cannot be received the way it was meant to be while delivering.
b. Problem two— The internal organizational communication network is limited and
partial as it was reviewed that some groups were left out. When the internal
communication network is limited and all the relevant people are not involved it
signifies that the objective of team formation is lost. A team is built to use
individual strengths of different team members to reach a common goal. It leads to
confusion, doubts and uncertainties. The employees who are left out may become
stressed and under confident about their performance. The lack of communication
breeds unnecessary speculations which further leads to professional rivalry,
resentment and conflicts. It also affects the performance by resulting into
duplication of tasks, missing deadlines and ultimately affects the employee
turnover.
c. Problem three— Inter-organisational meetings are ineffective. The inter-
organisational meetings which are ineffective fail to meet the objectives of the
meetings. It results into wastage of working hours and loss of money spent on
conducting those meetings. The meetings also create gaps between different
executives of the employees and ultimately hampering the collaboration they are

into. This might result in the decline in influx of the future projects and a loss
potential revenue.
Action steps to solve the problems
a. Problem one- Communication training should be provided to the employees
with not only the aim of developing communication skills but also to teach
about the usage of appropriate means of communication. The managers should
focus on using the suitable means so the employees can also learn from them.
Like if a task needs development of an interpersonal relationship, the
employee should prefer face-to-face communication. It should be instructed
that first-time instruction, mentoring, counselling, important delegation,
conflict resolution, and conveying bad news should be done personally.
b. Problem two- The barriers that some of the employees might be facing while
communication can be removed by adopting and practicing an open door
policy. Mangers should ensure that there is clarity of roles and responsibilities
among the employees. It encourages communication, builds trusts and reflects
transparency. Also a formal feedback mechanism should be set up. Cloud
based mass communication system can also be implemented to ensure that
none of the employees are left out. The organisation should work on building a
culture which should make the employees feel rewarded for effective
communication.
c. Problem three- There are some known causes that leads to an unproductive
meeting. Some of the causes identified are lack of preparation prior to the
meeting, wrong members selected for the meeting, unsuitable behaviour of the

participants and over-ambitious objectives of the meetings. The organisation
should ensure that these underlying causes are removed from their
communication system. Apart from that certain ground rules can be set before
the meeting that every participant will have to follow through the entire
meeting to encourage a productive meeting. The participants should be given
honest opinion so that they can use to be more objective about their role in
meeting effectiveness.
Closing
a. Synopsis- In the communication audit it was found that the external
communication processes of the company are effective and cost-effective. But
certain internal communication flaws were found in the company. There was a
lack of usage of appropriate means of communication, limited internal
organisational network leaving certain groups of employees out and the inter-
organisational meetings were ineffective. Solutions for each of the problems are
mentioned in the memo. Employees, managers and employers should also works
towards adopting and implementing the solutions provided for the identified
flaws.
b. Benefit of compliance to the employee and/or organisation- By practicing these
solutions in daily operations the employees will feel less stressed and have a better
understanding of their job. The employees will have job satisfaction working in an
environment with good communication system. There will also be decrease in the
number of conflicts. It will also lead to better personal and professional
relationships with the colleagues as well as the managers. Compliance to these
solutions will give everyone clarity of their roles and responsibilities. The

organisations will also benefit from the compliance as it will lead to employee
retention, productive office culture and increase in revenue generation. It will help
in building a team with team spirit, managing diversity in the workforce, crisis
handling,
c. Assistance- for any further enquiry and assistance I am here to answer to your
questions and clear your doubts. Please feel free to contact me.
Contact details: