Communication Matrix

Communicating messages should be done clear and concisely. In many situations people do not take the time to think about the message being communicated and how it will be received based upon the method of communication. Although may of us reply to email and answer the phone and do not give it a thought as to how the receiver may read our non verbal communication, we still tend to adhere to what we are comfortable with.

As a manager I have had to deliver messages that were not very pleasant. I have had to close an office once and downsized another. I was not provided any direction in how to do this; I just knew I had to do it with as much professionalism and empathy as I could. Unfortunately, I knew about the office closure 6 months before I was allowed to say a word to any of my employees. This was very difficult and I tried not to give any nonverbal messages; however, I know I did. When one of my employees came to me and said that she and her husband just bought a house because she finally has a stable job, I tried to not change my expression and be happy for her. This was very unpleasant for me, as I knew that if she lost this job they would probably lose the house.

When I was allowed to break the news of the office closure, I brought everyone together for a luncheon in the conference room, I chose a Wednesday, in order to be available for a couple days after the news to help my employees cope. I sent out an email and posted it in the mail room and lunch room that the luncheon/meeting would take place on a date with a specific time. After the luncheon was over, I stood up and faced 34 people as a group and started to talk about the company and the direction it was going. I told them of the facility closures and other small details that I was allowed to disclose. I could sense they were feeling this was not going to be a good meeting. I then explained that due to the closures of the facilities they would be moving the regional office to Ohio, and for many of them I knew moving would not be an option. I explained that the company would pay them all a 3 month severance, including a payout of their vacation and sick time. They were all shocked and may were crying and angry. This was the hardest thing for me to do because I had been with them for 6 years and we were a very tight team, we helped each other and we did not have the "clicks" most offices do. It was a long 6 months, but we supported each other and I worked with everyone to allow them time to job hunt and go on job interviews. I provided letters of reference and helped each one develop a resume. By the time the last day came and the office was closing everyone had a new job and was going to start or already started within the week. I even had 4 people move to Ohio with me to start the new office. I was sad to close the office, but I was happy that I could provide the communication and feedback to my employees to move on.

I never realized how many different styles of communication were used in that one situation. As managers many situations require communication of one form or another, although we have many choices on the means of communication, overall I prefer to use face to face communication as much as possible no matter how unpleasant the topic might be. I feel the feedback is faster and the miscommunication is less.

We communicate on a daily basis in different situations and forums using different types of technology. The key is to use the correct form of communication for the forum and message to be communicated to ensure no miscommunication exists.