As new communication platforms enter the market the lines between what is acceptable are becoming blurred. (Phone, Email, SMS, Messenger, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Zoom, Teams, Skype etc).
As younger people join the work force and find positions of authority the rules as we think we know it, become blurred also.
How do we deal with this in business?
Consider the 7 Cs of communication in business
Clarity – Keep it simple
Conciseness – Keep to the point.
Concreteness – Keep to fact or say so if you are making assumptions.
Correctness – Be accurate and error free, be professional.
Coherence – Ensure points are logically connected.
Completeness – Include all necessary information.
Courtesy – Respect other’s time, be honest
Some of the communication requirements to consider
• Conversational – Building relationship, maintaining momentum.
• Official Channels – Professional engagement, approvals, sign-offs, decisions.
• Detail that requires a paper trail – Cost and expectation setting, progress.
• Relationship – Face to face vs email vs video conference.
• Urgency – Important changes/updates, late or no show for a meeting.
Tips for modern business communication
• Be open minded to change – There are some great new tools hitting the market.
• Be empathetic – Consider not everyone has the same experience or training as you may have had.
• People are busy – They might not put the same importance on the same things as you do.
Set the rules of engagement from the start
• Include your expectations for acceptable communication types in your ‘Terms of Trade’ or ‘Engagement letter’, or in an upfront email prior to onboarding a new customer.
• For example:
We share our following policy for Communication Guidelines to ensure we can offer you the best possible service and attention. We’re always looking to improve so please let us know if you would prefer any of this to be different:
o Conversational – Committee pre-amble, general advice. If you choose to use the phone for instruction, please follow up via an Official channel. Instant messaging channels are not monitored on a regular basis. Please keep any decisions, approvals or messages requiring a response to an Official channel, see below.
o Official Channels – Professional engagement, sign-offs, decisions – to be shared via email only please. The reason for this is an email can be unread for future action, prioritisation, calendared and filed.
o Detail that requires a paper trail – Email only.
o Relationship – Face to face is our preference. However, if required video conference via Teams or Zoom is preferred.
o Urgency – For important changes/updates that are time sensitive please phone and follow up with an email. If you are unexpectedly running within 10 minutes late a text would be appreciated. If you will be later or you need to cancel at short notice please phone until you reach someone. We will do the same.
Once you have set the ground rules from the start, if this wavers it will be polite to give a clear reminder to get things back on track. Such as in a phone call or message, eg: ‘Thanks for your message, please send this in an email so I can action it with my team’.