Improve Workplace Communication - Leaders Letters March 2011

Leaders Letters A Leadership Resource

Edition 16, March 2011

Improve Workplace Communication

Maintaining Credibility – Exemplify honestly, authenticity, and integrity.

Excerpts from Human Resource Guide, Susan Hatfield

Get to know your employee’s communication style – Everyone has a preferred communication style. Identify what style is most effective for employees.

T

he Department of Community Services,

Seniors, and Labour is committed to improving communications within the Department. Communication is one of the most difficult issues in all organizations.

Learn how to accomplish and improve workplace communication effectively and efficiently, while maintaining positive workplace relationship.

Communicate clearly and frequently with employees – Clear communication includes actively listening to employees.

Use multiple channels of communication - Examples include speaking, writing, email, phones, intranets, meetings, presentations, bulletin boards, video, and newsletters.

Schedule regular team meetings – Team communication sets the tone and enables the overall success of the team.

Communication with Colour – Insights Discovery www.insights.com Insights Discovery is a preference-based system with its foundations in the work of Carl Jung. Using colour as a common language for self-understanding, effective interaction and organisational growth, Insights Discovery represents the unique thread running through our entire portfolio.

As its entry point, the Insights Discovery learning system identifies four colourenergies – Cool Blue, Earth Green, Sunshine Yellow and Fiery Red – and presents these on a wheel called the Insights Discovery Wheel.

Each of us use these colour energies to varying degrees, though it is our unique ordering of the energies that will shape our personal style, and it will be our preference for one colour energy that will indicate our

The Leaders Letter supports Goal #4 of the Strategic Plan "Improved human resource practices and management"

dominant or preferred style of thinking, working and communicating. On a good day, the energies are characterized as:

it harder for them to read. These guidelines show easy solutions to better format your communication products.

RED – Competitive, demanding, determined, strong-willed, and purposeful.

01: Contrast Use high contrast colours for text and background. Good examples are black or dark blue text on a white or yellow background, or white/yellow text on a black/dark blue background.

BLUE – Cautious, precise, deliberate, questioning, and formal.

GREEN – Caring, encouraging, sharing, patient, and relaxed.

YELLOW – Sociable, dynamic, demonstrative, enthusiastic, and persuasive.

Tips for Communicating with Color Energies RED – Be direct and to the point, focus on results and the objective. Be confident and assertive.

BLUE – Be well prepared and thorough, put information in writing, give time to consider all the details.

GREEN - Be patient, supportive, ask for feedback.

YELLOW – Be stimulating, open, and flexible.

An Insights Discovery Personal Profile is a 20 page representation of an individual which provides an excellent framework to improve his or her effectiveness. The cost is $110.

Luanne Gallant, HR Manager, Corporate and Finance Division is a trained facilitator in Insights Discovery. If you are interested in Luanne attending a team meeting to learn more about Insights Discovery, please call 368-5529.

Clear Print Accessibility Guidelines Provided by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind Employees should remember when writing and designing communication products, that readers could have accessibility issues that can make

02: Type Colour Printed material is most readable in black and white. If using coloured text, restrict it to things like titles, headlines or highlighted material

Size

03: Point Bigger is better. Keep your text large, preferably between 12 and 18 points, depending on the font (point size varies between fonts). Consider your audience when choosing point size.

04: Leading Leading is the space between lines of text and should be at least 25 to 30 per cent of the point size. This lets readers move more easily to the next line of text. Heavier typefaces will require slightly more leading.

05: Font Family & Font Style Avoid complicated or decorative fonts.

Choose standard fonts with easily recognizable upper and lower-case characters. Arial and Verdana are good choices.

06: Font Heaviness Opt for fonts with medium heaviness and avoid light type with thin strokes.

When emphasizing a word or passage, use a bold or heavy font. Italics or upper-case letters are not recommended.

07: Letter S p a c i n g Don’t crowd your text: keep a wide space between letters. Choose a mono-spaced font rather than one that is proportionally spaced.

The Leaders Letter supports Goal #4 of the Strategic Plan "Improved human resource practices and management"

08: Margins & Columns Separate text into columns to make it easier to read, as it requires less eye movement and less peripheral vision. Use wide binding margins or spiral bindings if possible. Flat pages work best for vision aids such as magnifiers.

09: Paper Finish Use a matte or non-glossy finish to cut down on glare. Reduce distractions by not using watermarks or complicated background designs.

10: Clean Design & Simplicity Use distinctive colours, sizes and shapes on the covers of materials to make them easier to tell apart.

GUIDELINES FOR GENDER-INCLUSIVE COMMUNICATION Excerpts from the Government of PEI, May 1999 guideline publication It is recommended that the use of the singular pronouns, “he, him, his, she, her, hers” be avoided except when referring to a specific person. The following examples illustrate a more inclusive approach: Repeat the Noun Example: You provide an environment where all the child’s physical needs are met and where his health and safety are not endangered. Change to: You provide an environment where the entire child’s physical needs are met and where the child’s health and safety are not endangered.

Use Plural Pronouns

Example: Each inspector should ensure his staff is aware of the cost. Change to: Inspectors should ensure their staff are aware of the cost.

Use a Neutral Noun, Title or Other Description for the Pronoun Example: He will check the doors each night.

Change to: The security officer will check the doors each night.

Reword the Sentence Example: The intake worker may become aware of other concerns of the applicant as he conducts the intake appointment. Change to: The intake worker may become aware of other concerns of the applicant as the intake appointment proceeds.

Use “He or She,” “His or Her” as Appropriate Example: A person in need is defined generally as someone who is unable to provide adequately for himself or his family on the basis of a test that relates his liabilities to his assets. Change to: Persons in need are defined generally as those who are unable to provide adequately for themselves or their families on the basis of a test that relates their liabilities to their assets. A person in need is defined as someone who is unable to provide or adequately for himself or herself, and his or her family on the basis of a test that relates his or her liabilities to his or her assets.

Leaders Letters are produced by the Corporate and Finance Division. They are distributed to members of the Senior Leaders Group and posted to the CSSL public shared drive. For information contact 620-3409.

The Leaders Letter supports Goal #4 of the Strategic Plan "Improved human resource practices and management"