By Jim Hartigan
May 3, 2011
COMM 101
Greetings, readers. Today, we are exploring the second of three
components to building Team Member Engagement at your hotel –
Communication. As a 50 year old “Baby
Boomer” I’ve been a student for many years of the “art of
communication”, and
the impact it has at work as well as at home in our daily lives.
As a team member, as a manager, and as a
business owner, I have come to appreciate the importance of effective
communication. Building relationships,
accomplishing tasks, learning new concepts, conveying one’s wants,
needs, and
desires all require effectively transferring information from one human
to
another. For this discussion, I’m going
to refer to verbal and non-verbal
communication as well as
feedback loops. Let’s begin…
Verbal Communication
“Don’t you kids ever use
those phones to talk to each
other?” That’s the question I ask my children as they
sit with their opposable thumbs clicking away texting on their mobile
devices. To which they correct me by
telling me, “they aren’t phones, Dad, they are mobile devices.”
Sending text messages to each other as they
sit across the room!?!?! You can
understand my disgust, because verbal communication, it seems, is on the
verge of becoming a lost art. They seem to think
it’s easier to email,
text, or instant message than it is to talk.
I don’t know about that, but when it comes to employee engagement, the
convenient option isn’t always the best one. You see, my
generation has always felt that
direct, open, verbal communication is a critical component to building
trusting
relationships. It’s a human need, and it
doesn’t diminish based upon your age or status within an
organization. Our organization believes in verbal
communication so strongly that we have an optional all-team
update call every week. While the call is
optional, we know
that the members of our team value it because roughly 90% of the
team dials in
every week. You may think that
Orgwide is staffed by a bunch of old school baby-boomers, but the truth
is most
of our team falls into the “Mid-20 to 30-something” range. To me,
it is strong evidence that there
is something to the human desire to hear and to be heard.
Non-verbal Communication
They tell me the Orgwide
offices are quite virtual. I don’t know
about that, I use very real gas driving in every morning. It is
true that we have team members who live
in South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Oregon, and California.
Because so much of what we do here is enabled
by technology, sometimes, it’s very easy for me
to forget the
importance of non-verbal communication, such as gestures and body
language,
appearance, eye contact, and facial expressions. Suffice
it to say, that is not the
case when I’m working with clients or others live and in person.
I am reminded that to “keep a smile in my
voice” is easier when I’m actually smiling.
If I want my kids to make eye contact when they speak, I must model
that
behavior when I speak to them. Even at
the ripe old age of (nearly) 50, I am reminded of the adage my father
used to
use – “It’s not what you say that matters as much as it’s how you say
it.”
Undoubtedly, I have said the right things in the wrong way a
time or two in my life – which in a professional
context – an eye roll, a
huff, and a moan - is not exactly the best way to inspire your team!
Feedback Loops
There has been much written
about the younger generation’s need for feedback. “The most
watched” generation, this group has
been connected to others and given feedback from infant play dates to
soccer,
ballet, karate, gymnastics, youth baseball, to fill in the blank for
you
specific after school activity here. But
I think the need for feedback isn’t generational…but rather human in
nature….it
is human nature to establish feedback
loops! In your hotel, this entails
what I refer to as LLA – Listen, Learn, and Act. As managers, we
need to LISTEN to our teams. We don’t stop with listening, but
then must
LEARN from what we hear. From this
learning, the feedback only becomes a true “loop” when we ACT and
things
change. In this way, our teams become
involved in the decision making of the organization and are connected
to and invested
in the organization. We’ll talk about
how shared decision making leads to PARTICIPATION later, but suffice it
to say;
if there isn’t some sort of regular
dialogue between employees and managers, I think it’s nearly possible
for an
employee to feel fully engaged.
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CMFTPOAM
Greetings. For all you, like, totally old people out
there, the abbreviated title above stands for “Communications Musings
from the
Perspective of a Millennial.” You see,
when you live in a world where communication is restricted to 142
characters
like I do, brevity supersedes all (including clarity and grammatical
correctness). I’m 30—a millennial by
definition—and I have a few thoughts on communication as it relates to
team
member engagement that I’d like to share with you. I think it’s
also important to note that I’m
not only writing from the perspective of a youngin’ (relatively
speaking), but
also from the perspective of a team member rather than a leader or
manager. I’m just a peon; a cog in the machine, if you
will, and, personally speaking, I can’t think of anything that has a
greater
bearing on my engagement level than communication. For this
discussion, I’m going to refer to
verbal and non-verbal communication
as well as feedback loops.
Here goes …
Verbal Communication
“You mean people used to
actually … talk into these
things?” That’s a question I asked my Great Grandpappy
Taylor when he showed me a dusty old rotary phone lying amongst his
collection
of now-useless artifacts from the 20th century. You can
understand my shock, of course,
because verbal
communication, it seems, is on the verge of becoming a lost art.
These days, it’s just so much easier to
email, text/instant message, or summon
one’s carrier pigeon.
When
it comes to employee engagement, however, the convenient option
isn’t always the best one. While
I am a sensitive, girly-man type, I don’t think I’m alone in craving a
sense of
connection with my managers and my co-workers.
That connection becomes weaker the longer I go without verbal
communication. I’m fortunate enough to
work in an organization that has an optional all-team
update call every
week. Interestingly enough, while
the call is optional,
I’d venture to say that roughly 90% of the team
dials in
every week. So, either we’re all touchy-feely, delicate
little flowers at Orgwide, or there is something to
the human desire to
hear and to be heard (rather than to text and to be texted).
Non-verbal
Communication
If I wanted to drive to the
Orgwide main office every morning, then I would have a 2,270 mile
commute (one
way). If I wanted to peak over my
cubicle wall to chat with my nearest
co-workers, I would have to scream pretty loud for them to hear me …
about 960
miles away. All of that is to say that I
work on a team which is very geographically dispersed. So, it’s very easy for me
to forget the
importance of non-verbal communication, such as gestures and body
language,
appearance, eye contact, and facial expressions. However,
in those instances when I’m not
isolated out here in Oregon—when I actually do
have physical contact with my managers and co-workers live and in
person—I am
reminded of the powerful messages that I send (and receive)
non-verbally. I first learned of this phenomenon when I was
12. My dear old Dad charged me with
cutting the grass. Yard work in the
sweltering Memphis summer heat was right above “barfing uncontrollably”
on my
list of super-awesome activities. Still,
I said, “yes sir.” But the way I said
it, complete with an eye roll, a sigh, and maybe even a foot stomp,
sent an
entirely different message than what I actually said. It’s not
hard to picture a similar scenario in a
professional context - An eye roll, a huff, and a moan—is not
exactly the best way to inspire your team!
Feedback Loops
So much has been said about
society (folks my age in particular) and our selfish need for
information
on-demand—instant gratification as it is often called. References to
social
media are inexorably linked to this discussion. People these days seem
to want
everyone to know what they have to say. But why? I think the primary
reason we
so desperately want to share our thoughts and feelings with the world
is
because we desperately want the world to respond back … to establish a feedback loops!
If it wasn’t feedback we were craving, we’d all have super cute secret
diaries that we keep on our bedside table, hidden under my collection
of sports
magazines and … wait … I didn’t mean my
collection of sports magazines. I meant … your … err … the royal we …
ummm … I
… never mind. My point is that I think
our addiction to social media sites is due, in part, to our craving for
feedback. It’s just another way to feel connected to the world. And I
think
that desire for feedback is just as strong in your hotel. If there isn’t some sort of regular
dialogue between employees and
managers, I think it’s nearly possible for an employee to feel fully
engaged.
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Conclusion
While we may have arrived
at our conclusions in very different ways, it’s clear that
communication is
something that managers and employees as well as the young and
not-quite-as-young both require in order to be fully engaged. So, we
both
encourage you, leader or team member, young or old, to hone your
communication
skills! Until next time, remember to take care of your customers, take
care of
each other, and take care of yourself!
About the
Author:
Jim Hartigan, Chief Business
Development Officer and Partner joined OrgWide Services, a
Training/e-Learning,
Communications, Surveys and Consulting firm in April 2010 after nearly
30 years
experience in the hospitality industry, including the last 18 as a
senior
executive with Hilton Worldwide.
Jim’s last position was that of Senior Vice President
– Global Brand
Services where he provided strategic leadership and business
development and support to the $22B enterprise of 10 brands and more
than 3,400 hotels in 80 countries around the world. His team was
responsible for ensuring excellence in system product quality, customer
satisfaction, market research, brand management, media planning, and
sustainability.
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