Three Communication Roadblocks that Might Lead to Ineffective Communication

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According to Robbins (2001), communication in organizations is an act for sharing information, ideas, instructions, resolve conflicts, collaborate on projects, and many more. Therefore, it serves four crucial functions that are: control, motivation, emotional expression, and information (Robbins, 2001, p. 206) these will influence the decision-making process inside the organization itself.

Communication problems could be one of the various reasons that burden the growth of companies all over the world. Clint Johnson (2021) stated that there are three roadblocks that might lead to ineffective communication:

1. Expectations and perceptions — For example, an old school manager who doesn’t want to hear their subordinates’ opinions because he believes that his subordinates are not skilled enough.
2. Selectivity — For example, a regular employee who doesn’t pay attention to the supervisor he hates even though that supervisor addresses an important problem going on in the company.
3. Distractions — For example, ringing phones, scheduled meetings, and unfinished works contribute to hurried and misunderstood communication.

By having these roadblocks in mind, now let’s pay attention to what managers can do to ensure their information is effective.

1. Ensure the employees receive their messages — Martic (2020) pointed out that managers need to connect and build a strong relationship with the employees by communicating with them in real-time and make sure the information reaches the right people at the right time. The managers also should pay attention to the situation. They should make sure that they can deliver the right message to the right people in the right time and the right place. This can be one solution to avoid the distraction roadblock.
2. Make sure the employees understand/comprehend the context and priority of each message — Managers need to avert ambiguous communication with their employees so that the information context will be easier to be understood by their employees (Martic, 2020). Another best practice that might help the manager in ensuring the employees understand the context of their message is to create a paper trail (Mercier, 2018). For example, they can take notes during the meeting and write the “To-do” list that they expect from the employees, then explain it clearly and concisely.
3. Make sure the employees know what to do or what actions to take once the message is received — Managers should adopt two-way conversation and encourage the employees to speak up so that the employee won’t hesitate to ask if they don’t know what to do once the message is received. This way, managers can build a good, friendly relationship with the employees and the employee might avoid the selectivity roadblock.
   Another structural way to improve content communication is to invest in role clarity (Mercier, 2018). The manager can improve the role of clarity by explaining to each employee what is expected of them using measurable metrics. See the below message:
   “Hello Joe, we need $10,000 more to hit our goal this month. I want you to get one more deal before 6 PM at the end of this week.”
   In this message, the manager makes sure his employee (Joe) knows his expectation. By doing this, the manager can avoid misunderstandings that might happen if the message is not clear enough. This action could prevent the expectations and perception roadblocks in the communication process.

Conclusion

Managers should understand the roadblocks that might lead to the ineffective communication. By understand that humans have different beliefs and perceptions. Sometimes humans tend to pick information based on their favoritism/bias (selectivity). Therefore, managers should deliver the right message, to the right people, in the right time and place to avoid distraction.

Managers can ensure their information is effective by connecting and building strong relationships with their employees, create a paper trail to avoid ambiguous communication, and explain what is their expectation after the employee receive their message in a clear message using measurable metrics.

References

Robbins, S. P. (2001). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Prentice-Hall.

Johnson, C. (2021). Communication in organizations. Reference For Business — Encyclopedia of Small Business, Business Biographies, Business Plans, and Encyclopedia of American Industries. https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Clo-Con/Communication-in-Organizations.html

Martic, K. (2020, January 21). 14 manager communication best practices you shouldn’t ignore. The Employee Communications and Advocacy Blog. https://blog.smarp.com/14-manager-communication-best-practices-you-shouldnt-ignore

Mercier, D. (2018, July 17). 7 simple ways managers can improve team communication. Medium. https://medium.com/pathlight/7-simple-ways-managers-can-improve-team-communication-cf37b34ad785

Note:
This article is written based on University of The People Organizational Behavior (BUS 5113) written assignment by Fristy Tania in September 2021