Improving Safety Communication Skills

8/6/2019 Improving Safety Communication Skills

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IMPROVING SAFETY

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Becoming an empathic communicator



WH AT IS COMMUNICATION?

´ Communication is the process of generation,

transmission, or reception of messages to

oneself or another entity, through a proper

channels



KEY TO MAKE COMMUNICATION

SUCCESSFUL IN ORGANIZATION

´ Choosing the right communication channel i.e

face to face, emails, telephone, conferencecalls, etc.

´ Having the same interest and perspective

´

Reducing the communication noise



COMMUNICATION NOISE

In any communication model, noise is interference with the decoding of messages sent over a channel by an encoder. There are many examples of noise:

´ Environmental Noise;

´ Physiological-Impairment Noise:;

´ Semantic Noise: Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words.For example, the word "weed" can be interpreted as an undesirable plant inyour yard, or as a euphemism for marijuana.

´ Syntactical Noise: Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, suchas abrupt changes in verb tense during a sentence.

´ Organizational Noise: Poorly structured communication can prevent the

receiver from accurate interpretation. For example, unclear and badly stateddirections can make the receiver even more lost.

´ Cultural Noise:

´ Psychological Noise:



´ In Safety, the effective communication is the

cornerstone of a healthy organizational safety

culture.

´ One of the most effective ways to improve a

safety culture and prevent injuries is to

optimize safety-related communication

throughout an organization

´



Unfortunately, poor communication patterns is

the most challenging obstacle to overcome

since it·s shaped by cultural variability,

personality traits, environmental condition and

many other factors.



THE CAUSE OF POOR COMMUNICATION:

´ Lack of information or knowledge

´ Not clearly explaining goals and priorities

´ Not listening

´ Failing to ask question when something is not clear

´ Preconceived ideas/close mindedness

´ Jumping to conclusions

´ Not understanding other·s needs

´ Losing patience and allowing discussions to become heated

´ Time pressure´ Failure to explore all options

´ Poor communication patterns.



COMMUNICATION PATTERNS

CATEGORIES

1. Dominant style;

´ Characterized by overbearing and inconsiderate

verbal behavior

´ Common style of thinking:

Í am never wrong, my opinions supersedes yours,people who disagree with me either disloyal ormisinformedµ.



THE BEH AVIORAL TENDENCIES:

´ Publicly criticizes others

´ Blames others when problem arise

´ Tends to acts bossy and negative

´ Frequently bullies others´ Uses verbally aggressive and threatening language

´ Fails to show appreciation for other·s accomplishments

´ Frequently interrupts others and finishes others

sentences

´ Dismisses new ideas without hearing the rational first.



THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS:

´Provoking fear, counter control, andalienation

´

Fostering resistance, defiance,sabotaging, striking back, forming alliance, lying and covering-up behaviors

´Damaging corporate culture and morale

´Hindering optimal organizationalperformance



2. PASSIVE COMMUNICATION STYLE

Characterized by meek, indirect verbal behavior.

Common beliefs ´Don·t express your true

feelingµ, ´don·t disagree with othersµ, Óthersopinions are more important than mineµ





3 .PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE

COMMUNICATION STYLE´ is also ineffective and is characterized by

sarcastic, gossipy behavior

Common beliefs: ´When you have an issue with

someone, go behind their backs to deal with it,µ

´get back at others if they cross you ,µ ´ build

coalition against others instead of dealing with

people directly and honestlyµ



THE BEH AVIOR TENDENCIES

´ Appears to agree with others when they really don·t

´ Express concerns about an individual to other peopleinstead of that individual himself

´ Makes sarcastic remarks and takes subtle digs at others´ May send harsh message via email and copy others on those

emails

´ Holds grudges and values ´getting even.µ

´ Sabotage people behind their backs.

´ Withhold assistance to others.

´ May give others ´the silent treatment.µ

´ Criticizes after the fact.



NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THIS

COMMUNICATION STYLE:

´ Increased fraction, favoritism, and back-

stabbing

´ Increased gossip

´ Low interpersonal trust

´ Diminished job performance

´ Increased uncertainty and job dissatisfactionleading to low morale on the job and at home.



4. EMPATHIC COMMUNICATION STYLE

´ The Empathic communication style is

characterized by compassionate, concerned, and

considerate verbal behavior.

´ Common beliefs include:

´Personal opinions and the opinions of others are

important,µ ´The process of coming to a decision

(not just the decision itself) is important,µ and´Getting input from others boosts morale and

generally leads to better decision making.µ



BEH AVIORAL TENDENCIES:

´ Communicates using choices instead of demands.

´

Tends to be proactive, assertive, and action-oriented.

´ Tends to be realistic in expectations.

´ Communicates in a direct, honest manner. (e.g., Í really appreciatethe way you·re setting a good example for safety in our area.µ)

´ Works to achieve goals without compromising others.



THE POSITIVE EFFECTS TH AT THE

EMPATHIC COMMUNICATOR H AS ON

OTHERS INCLUDE

´ Increased motivation to achieve and ´go beyond the callof dutyµ for the organization.

´ Improved sense of appreciation and respect.

´ Increased levels of trust, respect, honesty, andopenness.

´ Enhanced organizational culture, morale, andperformance



STRATEGIES TO BECOME

EMPATHIC COMMUNICATORS

Empathic communicators are assertive,

confident, and action-oriented and they express

opinions directly and honestly. This allows

others to ´know where they standµ with the

person. Empathic communicators also show

respect for others· opinions, listen carefully to

others, and thank others for their input.



THIS SENSITIVITY TO OTHERS¶

FEELINGS/CONCERNS IS ALSO

DEMONSTRATED BY:´ Soliciting opinions and ideas from others when making decisions.

´ Choosing not to ignore or verbally attack others with different opinions.

´ Inviting others to join conversations, especially in meetings.

´ Reaching out to people being excluded from conversation (e.g., when an idea isdropped without acknowledgement, bring the idea up again to discuss and reachclosure.)

´ Confronting problems as soon as they occur and addressing the person directly

instead of talking to others about the issue.

´ Empathic communicators also build trust by appropriately disclosing informationabout themselves, asking how others are doing, and spending more time visiting with others informally.



PROVIDING EMPATHIC COMMUNICATION

THROUGH OTHER CH ANNELS -EMAILS

´ Keep the language constructive and focused on problem solving.

´ Try to be as concise and direct as possible.

´ Watch for spelling errors which might detract from the message being sent.

´ Avoiding bombarding people with an excessive number of emails at a given time(especially in companies with slow servers).

´ Make sure the right people (and not the wrong people) are seeing the emails theysend.

´ Ensure that sensitive matters are handled in person (not via email).

´ Respond to emails as quickly as possible.



ON THE TELEPHONE, EMPATHIC

COMMUNICATORS

´ Answer the phone with a warm, professional greeting.

´ Demonstrate patience and avoid interrupting others.

´ Paraphrase long comments to ensure that both parties are on the samepage.

´ Use people·s names during conference calls to engage them in thediscussion.

´ Leave direct, succinct voice messages.

´ Respond to voice mail quickly.



PROVIDING AND RECEIVING SAFETY

FEEDBACK IN AN EMPATHIC MANNER

´ Empathic communicators are especially effective when it comes toaddressing safety issues and concerns..

´ Providing corrective feedback for safety can threaten employee self-esteem.

´

When observing others performing at-risk behaviors, Empathiccommunicators typically remain friendly, positive, and respectful.

´ They also acknowledge others· skills and experience withoutsounding patronizing, keep the focus on behaviors (i.e., not making itpersonal), give the feedback one-on-one to avoid embarrassment,

and ask questions to facilitate discussion.

´ Finally, Empathic communicators are equally good at receiving corrective feedback for safety..



CONCLUSION

´ Organizational safety culture is largely determinedby the effectiveness of safety communication.

´ By overcoming maladaptive communication styles

(i.e., Dominant, Passive, and Passive-Aggressivestyles), individuals can incorporate Empathiccommunication skills to be more effectivelyprovide and receive feedback.

´ This should lead to improved safety performance,better morale, and enhanced organizationalculture.



Thank you

Improving Safety Communication Skills

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