FM and the language of busines
This final article of three from the Centre for Facilities Management Development asks, is FM speaking in a way that can be understood by all? Mel Bull explains why it’s good to talk but it’s even better to listen as well.
by Mel Bull
How many of you believe your FM department communicates well simply because you post mass emails or newsletters to staff? Communication isn’t ‘real’ if it is entirely one-way. Just because we tell somebody something, doesn’t mean they understand the message. Valuable communication has to be two-way.
Good communicators not only relay messages, they possess the means to listen and understand as well. With two-way feedback we can check for understanding and understand the recipient’s needs in relation to how we communicate with them.
Think about the following list of people:
- Colleagues and staff in your FM department
- Senior management
- Your customers and the wider organisation
Now stop reading this for a few minutes while you consider how you communicate with each of them
What did you discover? Is your communication really two-way? Do you use channels that are relevant to the message you are trying to convey? For example, if it is an awareness message it may be appropriate to send an ‘all staff’ email, put a poster on a board, or something on the intranet.
However, if the information will have an impact on how the organisation delivers its business (a power outage), or needs to convey a change to working practices (an office move), would this approach be as effective?
Getting the message out
Do you mirror the communication style and language of your business, and its overall culture? Do you use the same formats, language, pitch and tone, or approach?
Most FM departments won’t have the luxury of someone specifically responsible for internal communications. But everyone in the team is responsible for internal communication. After all, they each represent FM to the wider organisation. Operational frontline staff are the perfect avenue for two-way communication with the customer. They provide valuable feedback but storytelling as well — they get the message out there.
In the first in this series of articles, Ian Ellison asked if all members of your FM team were “ambassadors” for your department. Were they equipped with the skills to enable them to do so? Did they have the right attitude and behaviour?
Think about the FM ‘language’. The technical information you talk in may not be understood outside your department. An engineering department might want to know all about fan coil units and runaround pumps. A call centre manager probably just wants to know that the heating is being upgraded for their staff. In other words you need to think about how FM speaks to people in terms that contain meaning and relevance.
Raising the profile of FM
Have you or your staff ever found yourselves saying, “people just don’t understand what we do” or “don’t they realise how important we are to the business”? Do you and your FM department feel misunderstood? Well, whose fault is it? Do you blame outwards, or look inwards for ways to make a difference? What could you do differently?
Raising FM’s profile in an economic downturn has never been more important. Is the FM in your organisation a business unit valued for its strategic importance, tactical agility and operational excellence? Or is it a cost centre to be challenged and cut?
How often is FM in the spotlight when things go wrong? Yet when things go right, or a project is delivered effectively, do we celebrate and communicate this fact? FM needs to stop focusing inwards and fire fighting and start emulating good communications practice. It must begin to change its ‘Cinderella’ outlook and realise it has an invitation to the ball.
When your business gains a new client, or hits targets, it shouts it from the rooftops to staff and the wider business community. When does FM ever say, “we did something well”, “we delivered a project on time to budget” or “we have met all our service level agreements”?
Not very often. But why? Is it because you don’t have anyone responsible for promoting FM internally or is it because you don’t know how?
How can you change this? Perhaps you can make someone responsible as an additional role, ask the team to become improved ambassadors, or engage with the internal communications team in the wider organisation. Perhaps by engaging with the experts you can teach your FM team to talk the language of their business.
Communicating the change
A recent MBA in FM dissertation study found that communication had a huge impact on how people reacted to a change in working practices. The FM department were responsible for delivering the change. Those that had been involved in a two-way process of communication were far happier with the change than those that had received an email telling them what was going to happen.
The biggest message that came via this study was that “a one-size approach definitely does not fit all”, and that in times of change people want to be able to feed back or ask questions. Therefore this needs to be accounted for in the communication strategy. The study highlighted some interesting quotes from staff:
“The whole communication process was poor. There should have been consultation about its implementation. Instead it was a ‘tell’ session and the needs of the business were not listened to or taken on board.”
“The initial communication left more questions than answers, and the answers when they arrived were not consistent; many of the answers provided directly contradicted previous information disseminated.”
Some of the other comments also included the need to communicate the reason behind the change. It is no good explaining what will happen without the “why”, as a further quote from a staff member reiterated:
“A clear plan of what was happening, why it was happening and when it would happen would have been a start!”
As Bill Quirke (2000) discusses in his book Making the Connections, it is best to choose your medium based on the type of communication required. For instance:
- Use a ‘rich’ medium (such as face to face, or the telephone) where there is a higher risk for misunderstanding
- Use a ‘lean’ medium (such as email or a poster on noticeboards) where there is little risk for misunderstanding or the change is minimal
Conclusions
When communicating to the wider organisation, especially with controversial, emotive topics such as change and FM issues, think about your audience. Match the message to the audience, and remember, one size might not fit all. Don’t forget to communicate the reason behind your change: people are far more likely to understand if the communication is clear, presented in their language and enables them to feel involved in the process.
Communication can be a powerful tool. It not only has the ability to raise the profile of the FM department but it can create a culture of open communication and meaningful change through the language that your business and customers use and the behaviours they demonstrate. As a famous advertisement once said, “It’s good to talk”!
About the author
Mel Bull is a senior lecturer in FM at the Centre for Facilities Management Development (CFMD), a part of the Sheffield Business School
