Distributing Important Information in an Effective and Timely Manner

Many written reports neglect to provide the important information that good managers and technical people have a knack for asking about. For example, it is important to include detailed technical information that will affect critical performance features of products or services the company is producing as part of a project. It is even more important to document any changes in technical specifications that might affect product performance. For example, if the Fiber-Optic Undersea Telecommunications program included a project to purchase and provide special diving gear, and the supplier who provided the oxygen tanks enhanced the tanks so divers could stay under water longer, it would be very important to let other people know about this new capability. The information should not be buried in an attachment with the supplier s new product brochure. People also have a tendency to not want to report bad news. If the oxygen tank vendor was behind on production, the person in charge of the project to purchase the tanks might wait until the last minute to report this critical information. Oral communication via meetings and informal talks helps bring important information positive or negative out into the open. Oral communication also helps build stronger relationships among project personnel and project stakeholders. People make or break projects, and people like to interact with each other to get a true feeling for how a project is going. Many people cite research that says in a face-to-face interaction, 58 percent of communication is through body language, 35 percent through how the words are said, and a mere 7 percent through the content or words that are spoken. The author of this information (see Silent Messages by Albert Mehrabian5) was careful to note that these percentages were specific findings for a specific set of variables. Even if the actual percentages are different in verbal project communications today, it is safe to say that it is important to pay attention to more than just the actual words someone is saying. A person s tone of voice and body language say a lot about how they really feel. Since information technology projects often require a lot of coordination, it is a good idea to have short, frequent meetings. For example, some information technology project managers require all project personnel to attend a stand-up meeting every week or even every morning, depending on the project needs. Stand-up meetings have no chairs, and the lack of chairs forces people to focus on what they really need to communicate. If people can’t meet face to face, they are often in constant communications via cell phones, e-mail, instant messaging, or other technologies. To encourage face-to-face, informal communications, some companies have instituted policies that workers cannot use e-mail between certain hours of the business day or even entire days of the week. For example, in the summer of 2004, Jeremy Burton, then vice president of marketing at a large Silicon Valley company, decreed that in his department, Fridays would be e-mail-free. The 240 people in his department had to use the phone or meet face-to-face with people, and violators who did use e-mail were fined.6 Some companies are also taking advantage of social networking software to increase informal communications. In 2008, Jeremy Burton, now CEO of Serena Software, instituted Facebook Friday. I told all the employees it s OK on a Friday for everybody to goof off and spend an hour or two on Facebook. . . . I said Go nuts! I dare you to participate, and I bet you will find out something new about somebody in the company that you never knew before. Burton wanted his people to get to know each other better, but he also wanted them to keep up with ever-changing technology so they could continue to develop useful software products. The subversive message was Guys, the world is a different place and if we re going to stay relevant we re going to have to wake up, Burton said.