Communication in the context of applying Six Sigma is critical. We must communicate with our key stakeholders and our team members. We need to share our vision for the project, and we need to listen and hear what they say about it, too. Are they understanding and interpreting what we’re saying correctly? We need to provide training, conduct reviews, share results, report progress, and certainly celebrate success. Everyone must be informed. Communicating effectively can certainly be a challenge. And we need to ensure team members are getting the right information at the right time. A lack of clarity is a prime cause of frustration and ineffectiveness for many organizations. Stakeholders are individuals who differ in many ways. Professional experience, organizational status, risk tolerance and personalities. Understanding stakeholder needs is key to effectively communicating your message. One-way communication is appropriate when no immediate response is required and the communication isn’t particularly urgent, confidential, or sensitive. It’s also ideal when you don’t require confirmation that the message was received. Examples may include e-mail, memos, announcements, progress reports, voicemail and status updates.
One-way communication may be a bit impersonal, but it can be appropriate in some situations. Two-way communications are a little different. This type of communication uses a bidirectional channel of communication. It is real time, interactive, and allows for immediate feedback. In two-way communication, each party takes turn sending and receiving information. Telephone contact is one way of doing that, or perhaps using tools like text messaging or voice over IP. Interactive communication is appropriate when an immediate response is required, when the information is sensitive or possibly likely to be misinterpreted. It’s also beneficial for brainstorming, feedback and collaboration. Top-down communications are very important when we want to drive influence through the organization. Informed employees are empowered. They understand the strategic objectives of the organization and how their role fits into the bigger picture. Performance feedback is often delivered in a top-down manner. Bottom-up communications are also very important. This type of communication is helpful to inform managers of what’s going on and bring them in touch with the front line of the organization. Bottom-up communication can provide progress on performance, reveal the nature of problems, and promote suggestions for improvement. Organizations need to encourage this type of communication and make sure employees understand that their feedback and perspective is welcome.
By doing that, we can empower employees to be part of continuous improvement within the organization. It’s important to collaborate. We need to promote this notion in today’s customer-focused organizations. To serve our customer needs, we must quickly get the right knowledge and information into the hands of the people who need it to do their work. Furthermore, inside the organization people must be willing and able to communicate across departmental and functional boundaries, and listen to each other’s needs. We can’t forget that our colleagues are our internal customers. Collaborative organizational designs emphasize lateral communication in the form of cross-departmental committees, teams, and task forces. In summary, communication can make or break the success of your organization. A Six Sigma team must ensure that stakeholders and team members receive the information they need when they need it.