Struggling with Employee Written Communication? Seeking Practical Advice for Improvement

Hello, I am the HR of a medium-scale automation company mainly engaged in turnkey and various other types of automation solution projects. We have a workforce of around 35 people.

Issue of Written Communication

Last day, my director asked me to address the issue of written communication in the organization, for which I require all of your advice. Please note that we do not have any unskilled employees; all of them are B. Tech/Dip. (Elect) or at least B. Com graduates. However, when it comes to drafting any formal communication in writing, they seem to struggle. The writing is often grammatically incorrect, and the intention is unclear. Even though the employees are proficient in English, there is a significant problem in their written communication. Additionally, their egos make it challenging to provide feedback on their writing quality.

The director prefers not to involve any third parties at this stage, meaning we cannot engage external trainers or facilitators due to financial, structural, and functional constraints. Time loss would also be a significant factor.

I would, therefore, appreciate your valuable suggestions on how to address this situation effectively. Your help in resolving this matter is greatly needed.

Awaiting your responses.

Best Regards,
Aditi

Dear Aditi,

Alas, this post has come from a member from Kolkata—a city that has given the best of the best journalists to the country.

Addressing Organizational Culture in Communication

Your problem is with the culture of the organization. Initially, you or your Director did not imbibe the culture of proper English. Now, you are reaping the risks and rewards of it.

Solutions to Improve Written Communication

As a solution, I can suggest controlling this problem right at the recruitment stage itself. Start by taking tests on written communication skills. Do not recruit candidates who fail in this test.

The second solution is to create various templates. Find out on what topics most of the communication takes place. Make standard templates on those subjects. Employees have to just fill in the blanks.

The third solution is to create a protocol of communication. Define how staff should interact with one another, how juniors should interact with seniors, and how company employees should interact with outside agencies, consultants, advisers, etc.

Challenges of Avoiding External Training

You have written that "The director does not want any third-party interaction at this stage; that is, we cannot go for any external trainers or facilitators at this point in time considering the financial, as well as structural and functional constraints. The loss of time will also be a huge factor."

Now, my take is that your Director is looking at this challenge only from the cost point of view. However, have you measured the cost of poor communication? Have you measured the cost of lost time because of sending wrong messages? Have you measured the cost of the brand image that took a beating because of poor written communication?

Your employees are the brand ambassadors of the company. Whatever they do or do not do promotes the brand image of the company. A well-drafted letter also promotes the brand image of the company. Your future business will depend on the brand pull that your company will have.

The Role of External Trainers

By the way, you cannot eradicate the menace of poor English overnight. Your post also needs corrections. However, without knowledge of the formal rules of written communication, how will you understand where you need correction? This is where the role of external trainers comes in. If it were possible to learn everything on one's own, then the world would have been a far different and happier place to live! But then that is not the case.

Your post also exposes the limitations of downloads from Google or the limitations of web resources. You can download ample material from Google, but it does not get converted into skills.

Your Director will understand the importance of hiring an external consultant when he realizes how he lost big business because of a poorly drafted letter. But then, will it not amount to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted?

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

As I understand from your post, both English language skills as well as organizing the thought process form part of the problem.

To Improve English Language Skills

I strongly suggest that one must be encouraged and motivated to read extensively, speak in English as often as possible, and, of course, attempt to write in English too. Insist that people speak in English and that they try to make more friends who speak in English. Allay their fear of being embarrassed or hurt if they are occasionally smirked at or criticized because of their incorrect use of the English language. On the contrary, point out that they can learn more when they are corrected and they note down their progress.

When reading, ask them to look up the meaning of new words. Suggest that they can improve their vocabulary by finding synonyms of words and using them. Encourage them to have a dictionary as well as a thesaurus and use both extensively. Tell them not to be shy to find people who have a good command of English and to seek their help when they want clarifications or help.

Since there are too many egos at play, especially with seniors, you could possibly have to Find Innovative Ways of Implementing the Suggestions Given Here. Perhaps you can have in-house sessions on Effective Communications in English (masquerading as employee engagement sessions) in which you share some of the suggestions from here. For example, have a JAM (Just A Minute) session. This will drive attention to their pronunciation, diction, intonation, grammar, etc. OR have a fun game of What is the Good Word or a video episode of the serial Mind Your Language (please be careful of the copyright issues) or have a Crossword session or a Game of Chinese Whispers, etc.

The Next Problem of Writing Must Be Tackled Differently

In this context, it is important to understand that some people are naturally gifted with the ability to write and express well, just as some others can articulate and speak well while others have an extraordinary gift of sketching and painting or are stronger in Maths and Science.

Does this mean that there is no hope for people who don't have a natural flair for languages or are relatively weak in communication skills? With diligence and practice, every individual can improve. However, it is essential that individuals understand their own style, adapt new techniques, and work hard. To organize thoughts, read up on the Tony Buzan Style of Mind Mapping, which is a well-known technique. If possible, attend a workshop on that style. Then maybe you can introduce that to the employees. However, I have neither attended such a program nor met anyone who has undergone such a workshop, so you have to check out the effectiveness and suitability of the same for you.

You can also introduce them to the Classic 7 C's of Effective Communication. I am sharing a link on the same sourced from Citehr for your ready reference.

https://www.citehr.com/428034-7-cs-communication.html

To assist you further, I am sharing another 2 links. One on Writing Circulars and Memos and the other on Effective Letter Writing, both of which I have again sourced from Citehr and in which I have shared my thoughts, which may add to what I have stated above.

https://www.citehr.com/420661-ways-f...s-notices.html

https://www.citehr.com/429819-effect...ml#post1945184

I have developed My Own Style and the key is to begin with a Simple Starting Point, which could be In the Form of a Subject Line (as you would do in a letter) so that the crux of the writing is clear first. This would give one the fulcrum around which to outline/enumerate the points. With this fulcrum in place, make a list of collaborating, competing, supporting, and dysfunctional ideas. Each of these could possibly be the sub-fulcrum of each paragraph or set of paragraphs. They can also act as sub-ideas and subtitles. Now add meat to the skeleton using sentences peppered with action words, adjectives, and the right tone.

To have an idea of my style of writing, do visit my Inspirational and Motivational Blogs listed below:

www.actspot.wordpress.com - Over 1,28,000 views and 785 followers

www.poweract.blogspot.com - Over 39,000 views and 205 followers

Hope the ideas expressed will give you a good starting point to prepare your employees to improve their English writing skills.

Regards and Best Wishes

The two long emails posted above detail the various options that you can choose from. In addition to that, you can do plenty of other things. In your internal mail or on your notice board, give a one-point learning every day. It can be a good phrase, quote, or a famous speech. If you have an IT engineer, please ensure that spell check is made compulsory before someone sends an email. If mistakes occur despite the above, the concerned person will be held accountable. Conduct training programs after thorough preparation. Make sure your own draft is perfect. Please review the text that you have posted. You will notice some minor mistakes. Wishing you good luck in your endeavor.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan
Navi Mumbai

What Dinesh V Divekar and V. Raghunathan have suggested is necessary. It's a common problem in Kolkata where people have the mindset to speak in Bengali. Schools, colleges, private and public organizations all communicate in Bengali.

Every individual has some negative aspects, and you need to acknowledge and leverage them as strengths. Show them the monetary value; employees will receive cash rewards for maintaining good written communication. Email etiquette is available through a search on citehr. Encourage them to read it.

Your director needs to take the risk of an additional 2k to 5k per month. Considering the mentality of employees in Kolkata, this suggestion should work out.

Regards,
Pulak Das

Thanks to all of you for your valuable feedback. I understand that I need to work on my communication skills too. Really, thanks a lot, it was very helpful.

Regards,
Aditi