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Managing Communication in the Office

Written by: Michael D. Diercks

Article Overview: Are you overwhelmed with all the communication demands in your office? Do you feel like you have too many tools that were suppose to make communication easier yet it seems to be harder than ever? Increase your productivity by understanding your communication needs and leveraging equipment to meet those needs.

Managing Communication in the Office

Managing Communication in the Office
Telephones, faxes, and e-mail can be master timesavers or tyrannical time wasters. The determining factor is your ability to manage your attitudes, behaviors, and actions. It is amazing how people who calmly handle a production crisis, preside over an important meeting, or skillfully deal with irate customers are easily distracted at the insistent, but impersonal ring of a telephone, the sound of a fax arriving, or a signal that a new e-mail or voice mail has arrived. Some sort of compulsive conditioning seems to say that every ring of the telephone, every fax, and every email and voice mail get immediate attention no matter how important the activity of the moment.
Management of the telephone and other communications equipment begins with management of yourself. When you set priorities and identify what is most important, you are then able to set up a workable system that meets both your requirements and the requirements of those with whom you need to communicate.
The worker assigned to answering incoming calls should be trained to handle calls in the most efficient manner to protect the time of the whole staff from unnecessary interruptions. Screening calls to find out who is calling and something of the nature of the business allows each call to be referred to the right person. Of course, the nature of your organization and your own particular position in the organization determine the type of screening needed. Be sure that you adequately instruct the person who answers incoming calls about the right way to handle calls for you.
When a call is accepted for you, the caller’s name should be relayed to you. When you know who is calling, you are ready to give immediate attention to that person’s need. Because any momentary confusion over recognizing a voice is avoided, you can answer the call with an appropriate attitude and sense of attention. When you know that the caller is a valued client, you are not likely to answer in a half-abstracted tone that clearly implies, “I resent being interrupted.” Hearing the caller’s name subconsciously stimulates an appropriate reaction.
Make certain that office personnel know how to handle the telephone effectively. From time to time, observe their telephone techniques to be sure they are projecting in telephone contacts the image you want your organization to have. Make telephone training available. If your organization is large and several people are charged with telephone duties, it might be worthwhile to have one person in the organization responsible for training all personnel in basic telephone techniques. Even if such training is provided, you must accept responsibility for specific training of the people who directly handle your calls.
You can save time in using the telephone if your assistant can place certain calls for you. This saves you the time that would be spent waiting while your calls go through a switchboard and an assistant before reaching the person with whom you wish to speak. You may have a few calls that you want to place directly. If so, keep a list of these frequently called numbers close at hand, either in an easily accessible desk drawer, a rotary file, or your planning system.
When making any call, it helps to remember that during the business day your prime goal is to conduct business. Although people are social beings and some amount of social interaction must surround all contacts between people, this can be kept to a minimum without damaging business relationships. If you have several items to cover, start your call by saying, “I have three items I need to discuss with you.” You can be pleasant and still be businesslike. Show concern for others by saying, “I know you’re busy; so I’ll get right to the point.” Most people are both relieved and grateful to forego the small talk.
The finest techniques of communicating with others are even more effective with proper equipment. The different types of equipment and options available today are as varied as the needs of people – for example, cellular phones, cordless phones, pagers, conference calls, voice mail, answering machines, speaker phones, interoffice intercom systems, speed dialing, call forwarding, and, of course, email.
Explore the vast array of possibilities of equipment to enhance your effectiveness and increase your productivity. Remember that you manage the equipment; the equipment is not supposed to manage you. When you understand your needs and use the correct equipment to meet those needs, your productivity is bolstered to new and higher levels.

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Article Tags: attitude, attitudes, communications equipment, confusion, e mail, email, faxes, incoming calls, irate customers, nature of the business, office telephones, priorities, time wasters, timesavers, unnecessary interruptions, voice mail, workable system



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