Organizational Communication Analysis: Training and Development - Essay Example

Organizational Communication Analysis: Training and Development Paper Communication is one of the most important things in the success of a company, organization or even just a project. Aside from leadership skills, communication is the key to achieving goals especially in projects and companies which involve a lot of minds working on it. Effective communication is said to focus on the needs of the receiver of the message. The meaning is ultimately created in the mind and heart of the listener (Beebe et. al.). The importance of messages being understood between two individuals working on the same project is essential for its success. Both must understand each other so that ideas do not get mixed up leading to misunderstanding and disaster. With this in mind comes the conclusion that work place communication comes as a challenge for everyone. With regard to communication training, the trainer’s job is to help people see how we make sense out of what we experience and develop strategies and skills that accurately and clearly express thoughts, ideas, and emotions to others. So, by focusing on the needs of the trainee, the trainer can create a training lesson that achieves the objectives of a particular training (Beebe et. al.). There are a number of barriers to effective communication faced by many organizations today. To name a few of those barriers are the following: physical barriers, language, emotions, lack of subject knowledge and stress (Pillai). Physical barriers would affect organizations with large working areas such as companies with a number of departments or a company with a lot of branches situated miles apart. Other factors would include the environment and background noise. As for the language, inability to converse in the same language, thought or idea may lead to misunderstandings. It is important that the sender and receiver of the message are both on the same page so to speak. One’s emotions are also a factor in achieving effective communication since your feelings may affect your understanding on the messages being conveyed to you. For example, if one is feeling a little on the low side or is experiencing anger, he/she will have trouble concentrating on listening to the message being conveyed which could lead to misunderstanding. Some thought or ideas may have been left out resulting to poor communication. The same goes with stress explanation goes for stress as well. One could no concentrate well on a train of thought if he or she is mentally or physically stressed out. Then, there is the lack of subject knowledge. This comes very important especially with organizations because in order for plans to work, everyone in the loop must know what they are doing and what needs to be done. If someone in the loop does not know what he is doing, it may lead to the disaster of a certain project of the said organization. With these factors presented, communication training and development comes as a challenge to organizations and companies to achieve success and greater developments. When we say communication training and development, we are talking about two different entities to consider. First is training which involves the skilled trainers and the trainees. The second consideration is development which would therefore be synonymous to growth and improvement brought about by communication training. This would reflect the outcome or results from the training sessions. In developing a training plan, first, we need to assess objectives and goals. What is needed? What do we want to accomplish? Let us take for example the Riordan Manufacturing. Because they are experiencing a rise in their budgets due to the travels created by their much needed trainings, they need to develop a Distance Learning Solution. This would help a lot in reducing their budget if they can deduce an effective training program where there is no need to add on the budget expensive traveling expense for training programs. The main objective that the company should be working on is to provide effective training through teleconferencing to lessen budget costs. Training through teleconferencing would greatly reduce their budget especially with the travel expenses. The main concern here now would be how to organize the program and who would be the better trainer. In organizing the training program, the team should have specifics on the following: Availability, access and presentation of the program Efficacy of the trainer Positive feedback after training The training program is to be created as a new system or program in each working station. It should be made so as to make available for everyone. Availability of the program also reflects the time that the program is available for use and not just accessibility. The team in charge of the training should disseminate information regarding the training program. This can be done through memos, emails, company videos in coffee areas, private training sessions, etc. Access and presentation of the training should be easy and understandable by all so as not to create confusion. Presentation of the program may vary. The team can choose the best trainer and have him/her record several training sessions, complete with the necessary visuals. Each work station then can have this recorded training session which employees can watch and access at certain times each day. The company can also create interactive training thru e-mail or chat with chosen facilitators/trainers. A group of effective trainers can be pooled and training sessions can be scheduled with them. This kind of training can provide convenience especially for employees with hectic schedules due to deadlines and such. They can choose to undergo training on a time when they have their minds set for the training and not just because they need to do it. Write ups can also be provided for the workers to go thru at the end of the day. This could be done because training is not complete without hard copies of the materials. There can be some employees who learn effectively through reading through the materials as well as just listening to facilitators. Training sessions should not be too long so that it would not become too dragging therefore becoming boring and uninteresting. It can also be done in several sessions so that it would not be too long. As for the trainers, this should be given great importance because training, even with the right materials, is no good without an effective trainer. He may have superb knowledge on a particular subject that needs to be conveyed, yet what good would it be if he does not have the skill to explain it? This leads us to asking ourselves, how to choose the trainer? An effective trainer is said to have good people skills. Aside from knowing the subject matter, the trainer must have the ability for effective communication. “A skilled communicator is one who is able to effectively and appropriately deliver a presentation, listen empathetically, manage conflict, facilitate a meeting, or conduct a performance appraisal interview” (Beebe et. al.). He must be skilled in capturing his listeners’ attention and convey messages clearly. He must choose his words carefully so as not to create confusion and be misunderstood by his listeners. A good trainer must have good motivational skills and must always convey interest in his listeners. He must be able to convey emphasis on the more important things on the subject matter at hand. A good trainer must also know how to handle his trainees. He is someone who knows how to adapt to situations and the attitudes of his trainees. In looking for a trainer, one should also consider appearance. Aside from specific skills and abilities, a good and effective trainer must be presentable. He must be well-groomed and dressed so as to project professionalism and, therefore, demand or require respect from his trainees. Of course we would not want someone looking like he just came from the gym to be training us, would we? Now that the training plan has been set up and the trainers chosen, all we need to assess would be how effective this plan is after several training sessions. But how will we know? This is where surveys can come in to the picture. Also, grading employee performances can also help the team assess how well the trainees are learning from this new program. As sessions are on progress, trainers and trainees alike would somehow notice some flaws or insufficiencies in the program. It is a good idea for suggestion sheets to be passed around so as to improve the current program. This will help the team make the necessary changes for the development of the training program. As more comments and suggestions are created, so is the development of a better training program leading a more efficient and successful organization. Reference: Beebe, S.A., Mottet, T.P. and Roach K.D. Training and Development: Enhancing Communication and Leadership Skills. Allyn and Bacon. 2004. Courtney, J., Cole, G., & Reynolds, B. (2003). How the CDC is Meeting the Training Demands of Emergency Risk Communication. Journal of Health Communication, 8128. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database. Laux, Kimberly A. ehow.com/ about_4570357_barriers-effective-communication.html Pillai, Maya. Buzzle.com/articles/barriers-to-effective-communication.html Suzanne Bates.  (2007, March). Getting ROI on Your Investment In Communication Training. Agency Sales, 37(3), 37-39.  Retrieved March 14, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1233098731). Read More