Communication Skills
What is it?
Communication is a core business skill for procurement practitioners. Business communication is the process of sharing information between people within and outside a company and enables employees and management to interact in order to achieve organisational goals. Its purpose is to improve organisational practices and reduce errors.
The communication process refers to a series of actions or steps taken in order to successfully communicate. It involves several components such as the sender of the communication, the actual message being sent, the type of communication, and the receiver of the message. There are also likely to be barriers which may impact on the effectiveness of the communication.
Communication starts with the sender, who is the initiator of the message. After generating an idea, the sender translates this into a series of verbal and non-verbal actions that will communicate the message to the intended receiver. The sender should be confident, personable and patient, while the message should be clear and concise.
There are three main types of communication.
|
VERBAL |
This occurs when we engage in speaking with others. It can be face-to-face, over the telephone, via Zoom, etc. It is not just about the words, it is also about their quality and how we string them together to create an overarching message, as well as the intonation (pitch, tone, cadence, etc.) used while speaking.
|
|
NON-VERBAL |
When communicating face-to-face, while the words are important, they cannot be separated from non-verbal communication. What we do while we speak often says more than the actual words. Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, posture, eye contact, hand movements, proximity, personal appearance, and touch. You should ensure that your non-verbal cues are compatible with the intended message. |
|
WRITTEN |
Whether it is an email, a report, a contract, etc. all forms of written communication have the same goal: to disseminate information in a clear and concise manner. Poor writing skills often lead to confusion and embarrassment, and even potential legal jeopardy. One important thing to remember about written communication, especially in the digital age, is that the message lives on. |
A message generated by the receiver in response to the sender’s original message is known as feedback. Feedback is necessary to ensure that the message has been received and understood. It helps a sender evaluate the effectiveness of the message so that subsequent messages may be adapted accordingly. Feedback also confirms whether there has been any change in the behaviour of the individual or the organisation as a result of the communication.
Some of the principal communication barriers are: noise (interruptions, physical distractions); physical (geographical considerations, time and space); mental attitude (perceptions, stereotyping, prejudice, personal beliefs, status, relationship between communicators, culture, emotionality); poor feedback; poor listening skills; selection of inappropriate medium or language used; body language (non-verbal communication). These will all impact on the effectiveness of the communication.
Communication barriers can be overcome by:
|
USE OF LANGUAGE |
It is important to consider the audience you are communicating with and use language that can be easily understood. |
|
ACTIVE LISTENING |
This is one of the most important aspects of communication because if we cannot listen to the other person, we cannot effectively engage with them. Active listening consists of: building rapport; signalling attentiveness and interest; signalling empathy; engaging actively in the process; being alert to perceptual bias; giving, encouraging and clarifying feedback; paying attention to non-verbal cues. |
|
ENCOURAGING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK |
This will further the abilities of the speaker or refine the content of the message, thus strengthening the interpersonal relationship and enhancing future communications. |
What does it look like?
How does it work in practice?
Communication skills are “more important than ever” in procurement, according to leadership and influence expert Chris Helder.[1] “People buy from people,” he said. “It is critical to build relationships with decisions that will impact the future of the organisation.” He added: “If things go wrong, which they often will, you have a relationship in which you work together to come up with the best solution.”
Helder said that the key to communicating was to prepare thoroughly before any meeting. “Before heading in, identify the type of personality that will also be in the meeting,” he said. “Set your outcome and be prepared to adapt and present in a way that they want to be presented to.” His top tip was to ensure clarity of objectives. “He or she that shoots at nothing, generally hits it,” he said. “Be clear about what you want.”
A study of workplace communication in Ghana[2] found that employees wanted to change from over-centralised communication systems to more horizontal interpersonal communications. Findings also showed the importance of effective and interpersonal communication in relation to employees' attitude to work. Additionally, results showed that aspects of national culture, structures and systems, and management practices influence the pattern of communication in organisations. Organisations will only thrive if both managers and employees work collectively as a team and understand each other through effective communication.
A study of healthcare in South Africa[3] found that participants appreciated that good inter-professional communication is essential and pockets of good practice were identified. However, a number of barriers to communication were identified. Hierarchy was the most important barrier, with those at the top of the hierarchy seen to communicate inadequately, while those at the bottom were not always included in communication and did not appear to be communicating actively with those at the top. They often saw their role as one of following orders, without scope to engage, offer opinions or ask questions.
Continuity was also found to be a barrier, with gaps in communication and instances where professionals were not informed of all the necessary facts, resulting in delays. When information was not passed on effectively, patient care was sometimes compromised. There were also problems with professionals being too busy to communicate and friction between teams, leading to aggressive behaviour directed towards other professionals.
A study of healthcare training in South Africa[4] found that communication was not recognised as a core competence. In some cases, communication was seen as a natural ability that did not need to be taught explicitly. Others expected students to learn communication experientially by observation as they progressed through the programme. Educators valued profession-specific knowledge over competency in communication, and in two programmes indicated that it was possible for clinicians to graduate ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ with poor communication skills.
Inter-professional communication was perceived to be inadequate, both in the educational environment and in practice. There was evidence of poor oral and written communication, as well as a lack of respect between professionals. A common framework was suggested to overcome the gap in communication skills.
Educators agreed that greater focus on communication teaching would emphasise its role in clinical competence. Health professionals would be best qualified to teach communication within their own programmes, integrated with content teaching, which is consistent with international trends. Staff development and collaboration with communication experts were suggested to achieve this.
However, it was also suggested that the subject of communication should be introduced early in training, coupled with an explanation of expected exit-level learning outcomes. Treating communication as a core competency of healthcare training is the overall aim.
Procurement managers often deal with a wide range of different stakeholders. Each of these will require a different approach in relation to communication. It is therefore useful to develop a communication plan. This can be linked to a stakeholder analysis exercise which will indicate who each stakeholder is, their level of power and interest, the communication method to be used, the frequency of communication, and the key message to be promoted.
An example template is shown below:
|
STAKEHOLDER |
POWER |
INTEREST |
METHOD |
FREQUENCY |
KEY MESSAGE |
|
CPO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pharmacist |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stores |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finance |
|
|
|
|
|
[2] Abugre, James; Current and desired employee communication patterns in Sub Saharan Africa: empirical evidence on four Ghanaian organizations, Journal of African Business, Vol14, Iss1, pp33-46, 2013
[3] Etheredge,Penn & Watermeyer; Inter-professional communication in organ transplantation in Gauteng Province, South Africa; South Africa Medical Journal, July 2017, Vol. 107, No. 7
[4] https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.7196/AJHPE.2019.v11i4.1098
More like this
Motivation and Performance
What is it? There are a number of theories of motivation. General needs theories such as Maslow and Alderfer indicate that people have ...
Management and Leadership
What is it? The traditional definition of management is the planning, organising, staffing, coordinating and controlling of resources ...
Procurement Skills and Behaviours
What is it? Skills are the abilities that are required to perform a given job successfully. Healthcare procurement requires a range of ...
Problem Solving and Decision Making
What is it? A key skill for procurement practitioners is problem-solving, which is the process of finding solutions to difficult or ...