In business communication is key if you want anything to happen. Obvious; yet it can be fraught with dangers, especially if you are a new recruitment manager, managing a team of recruiters for the first time.
How, when and what you are communicating makes a huge difference to the medium you are using. I am sure all of us, at one time or another, have pressed ‘reply all’ when we really shouldn’t have!
There is a great (though not for him) story about a certain CEO who sent a rather aggressive email to his management team. Commenting on their lack of ability in certain aspects of their role and their obvious lack of commitment as, no one arrived before 7am in the morning and the car park was empty by 7 pm. You know what is coming next? The said email then ended up on a news website and within three days the share price had plummeted by over 20%.
Now I am not saying that having a conversation about commitment is wrong at all. In fact it can be a bone of contention in many recruitment companies and needs to be addressed; however not by email.
So what channels are available and which should you use? Well it depends on the message.
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Different channels can convey different levels of information.
1. Face to face and in person
In an ideal world face to face communication works it’s magic by giving all concerned the ability to deliver multiple information ‘cues’ both verbal and nonverbal to each other. In other words; nods, gestures, intonations, gestures and facial expressions. If in doubt just look at Albert Mehrabian’s work on the power of body language. His research uncovered the fact that 93% of the impact of our communication comes through our body language and voice and only 7% through words.
If you want to deliver a message to the organisation that is key to the business do it face to face. If you are carrying out any type of performance review at all. It must be face to face and in private. Give your team the respect they deserve and they will reward you for it.
2. Phone calls
The next best medium to use (though not if you are giving important feedback) is the phone. The telephone is a great way to communicate and discuss what is going on in the business. It is also a great motivational tool to keep in touch with your team and hand out some positive strokes. Call me old fashioned and… think about where and when you communicate with your mobile phone. Just because everyone else you see is doing it doesn’t mean you have to! Imparting important information while you are running to get the 7.30 train from Euston is not ideal. Think about how your communication is received at the other end.
3. Text messaging
We all love to text don’t we?! And it does have its place. Great for an immediate response or a quick motivational; ‘go for it’ communication piece. That is it though. No feedback or moans about candidates your team or clients. In case you didn’t realise it texts, like emails can end up in the strangest of places.
4. Email
Often called the ‘lowest form’ of communication and for good reason. If you have ever received an email where you were not sure what people meant you will know what I mean! The challenge is emails are so one dimensional; writing on electronic paper. No physical connection, no voice and no expression. Add into that the fact that certain personality styles communicate the briefest of instructions in half a dozen words; while others write war and peace and I am sure you will agree that it is fraught with challenges!
Great to follow up on meetings with action points then everyone has a copy. Great to let people know when things are going well. No so good when it has anything to do with feedback of any kind.
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“How Fit Your Recruitment Business Is For Growth…
If this article has made you cringe a couple of times don’t worry. We have all made errors. The good news is that now it is in your awareness again which means you can do something about it.
I hope you found this article useful.
If you want to learn how to set up your business, so that it stops under-performance once and for all, then join my free webinar: The 5 Secrets Our Clients Use to Build 7 & 8 Figure Recruitment Businesses
‘Til next time,
