Many people who are in Web Design, Programming, Data Entry, or other outsourcing professions are just not good at interacting. The boss of these people might tell you that they were not hired for their social skills. You can say that again. But, the problem is: to work with someone, you need to be able to communicate with them. If they just can’t function, or refuse to communicate, it is very difficult.
I have dealt with enough people, so I can guess the quality of someone’s work purely by how they communicate. I’m generally not that far off. Guessing if they will be responsible doing their work is another hurdle that I have not yet learned go gauge, simply because nobody I’ve hired for technical work has ever been responsible. I have no profile of a winner to base future analysis on.
The message that I keep sending managers and workers is that if you want to do well in your business, don’t be lobsided in your abilities. If you are good at Data Entry, but lousy at communicating, learn to communicate too. Hire a teacher to teach your workers how to communicate better. Teach people how to answer a phone. Believe it or not, answering a phone professionally is too difficult even for 99% of call centers in India. That is part of the reason the business is all going South — or East to the Philippines! Indians just don’t take business etiquette seriously, an India will remain a 3rd rate country until this attitude changes.
Elements of communication
(1) Answering the phone
Announce who you are in a clear tone of voice. Don’t make people guess. Don’t ask them a question to evade answering the question that they asked. Be helpful and clear in your communication when answering the phone.
(2) Answer questions clearly
Don’t just put people on hold without their consent only to get hung up on. Indians do this all day long and that is why most American companies don’t want anything to do with anyone in India. If someone asks you a question, try to answer it.
(3) Transferring
When transferring a call, make sure there is someone on the forwarded line who can talk. Nobody likes to be put on hold only to be disconnected as I mentioned in point two. Make sure that they get to talk to someone even if you have to try ten times.
(4) Being there
If you have a company where there is never anyone to talk to, it is time to hire some new people. Sure, nobody is around 100% of the time. But, if you have to call eight times just to reach someone who is intelligent, something is wrong.
(5) Giving feedback
Do you get back to people on your own, or do you wait for them to harass you to figure out what is going on. Good communication involves taking the initiative to initiate correspondence on your own initiative and getting back to people fast. Don’t keep people waiting or guessing.
(6) Discussing issues
Are you able to discuss complicated issues in an honest and helpful way? Some people can’t think clearly, evade, or just bull-shit their way through issues. Nobody respectable will accept this type of communication. Handle complicated issues in an intelligent way. Spend time thinking through the problems so that you can give good answers.
These are the main points regarding communication that many people need help with. Even those of us who are above average in communication sometimes omit critical information in our communications. Just try to be the best at what you do. On the other hand, if you are good at communication, but bad at doing your job, then learn to do your job!