Communication Assessment - Final Paper
As a final project in one of my classes, I conducted a Communications Problem Assessment.
I identified an internal communication error, collected data, interviewed stakeholders, and made a recommendation to resolve the issue.
I received a 98% on the paper from my professor.
We were instructed to utilize theories from our assigned readings within the paper.
The full paper itself cannot be shared as it contains some sensitive information but my final recommendation can be found below:
Final Recommendation:
In order to create a recommendation, I met with enablement many times and read various resources. In order to better organize and streamline the onboarding process, we needed a leverage point (Meadows, 2010), a disruptor that will cause major change. I recommend that the enablement team and myself should conduct an audit, and write in one central location (ie: a Google Sheet) what each piece of information is, that is available internally. Meaning, having a column for internal Wiki posts and the title/purpose of each one, then moving onto Community Forum posts and their FAQs used most by employees, Help Docs, and Academy Courses. Once all this information is written down, we can see if anything is a duplicate and should be deleted/combined. Next, the team and I can see if any of this content needs to be updated to match the current version of the software (screenshots to reflect current UI/ new product names) - especially, for the new email editor enablement training I am working on. As Edgar H. Schein said, “Because of the increasing rate of change in the environment, organizations face an increasing need for rapid learning” (Schein, 2003), this is why it is beneficial to update content to match the version of software we are on.
Finally, we can create a PDF that clearly labels where everything is located. The PDF can have a column labeled ‘Wiki’ and each of the FAQ tutorials that are within the wiki, can be stated in alphabetical order under the Wiki column. This could even be hyperlinked since it will be an online PDF. A column for each one of the resource types can be added (ie: Help Docs, Academy, Slack Rooms to visit, etc). Users can also Command F search within the PDF to locate the resources on their question. This PDF will be added into the enablement internal training so new employees have access, but can also be shared to existing employees as well. This PDF can be thought of as a ‘Resources Cheat Sheet’. This cheat sheet can be shared to our global offices, so information can be relayed easily internationally. Jakob Lauring wrote, “there is a need for developing theories that link the micro-level interaction patterns of the workplace to intercultural communication” (Lauring, J. 2011, July).
Sharing this cheat sheet with our global offices can be an interaction pattern within the workplace that facilitates intercultural communication. I believe using these recommended steps will result in closing the information gap that is caused by a communication problem. Communicating where information is stored and spreading this information will result in more efficient work across all global offices.