Clear Communication Builds Success in Business and at Work

My stakeholder communications career (press, community, constituents and employees) was the bridge to my HR career; and for a number of years, while those skills and experiences continue to be instrumental in my work to this day, I minimized their value because they paid less than my subsequent HR jobs did.

However, the ability to effectively understand and subsequently communicate complex business concepts so that my grandmother would understand (I read Powerful by Patty McCord today – excellent / highly recommended read) was and is critical to success with all stakeholders / customers, internally and externally. Examples include but are not limited to:

• When recruiting chemical engineer candidates, asking them to explain their understanding of the silicone manufacturing process; and when the candidate could not, I explained it for them. One candidate’s memorable remark “I never expected an HR person to understand chemical manufacturing – I thought you were just going to tell me about the health benefits.”
• Explaining to an out-of-state OSHA investigator in mechanical detail how a temporary employee deliberately injured themselves in the gears of a conveyor system, apparently for some sort of financial gain (and how it was physically impossible to have accidentally injured themselves), which resulted in a greatly-reduced / de minimus fine for not preventing employees from deliberately injuring themselves.
• And perhaps the greatest compliment as both a member of the HR team and the Operations team: when I was identified as a potential replacement as a distribution center General Manager in the company’s succession plan.

An estimated 80% of the work I do is about optimizing the understanding and subsequent clear and honest communication of complex business concepts and needs between leaders and their teams, which in turn supports great customer service.

How do you use clear and honest communication to regularly and consistently convey complex business concepts and knowledge, in business and at work?