Cindy Martin, CHRP
HR Director
Peak Group of Companies

With over 20 years of generalist experience, Cindy has focused her career in the Canadian retail and distribution sectors. Cindy approaches her work with dedication, a “roll up your sleeves” accountability, humour and honesty. She believes that great teams form the backbone of great organizations. Cindy is currently the director of human resources at the Peak Group of Companies.

We are increasingly working in an environment where our team members may work off-site, often in different time zones. In these reporting relationships, effective communication becomes a non-negotiable driver of success. Ultimately, keeping the lines of communication open with your off-site reports is one key to keeping an engaged and top performing team.

As much as we have the ability to connect via e-mail, phone, video conference and Skype; nothing can replace the live face-to-face visit with your direct report. I recommend the supervisor make a personal visit to the employee’s location or have them come visit the supervisor at their location no less than annually.

The ability to observe the direct report in action in their place of work is critical to ensuring the supervisor fully understands some of the daily challenges they face. A picture truly speaks a thousand words.

Tanzin Begum, CHRP
HR Communications Specialist,
Ledcor Group of Companies

Tanzin Begum, CHRP is an eager and motivated HR professional with over 6 years’ experience in recruiting and HR programs development & delivery. As the HR communications specialist at Ledcor—a multi-disciplinary construction company–Tanzin  is primarily focused on employer branding via web, print and social media. Internally, she also supports employee communications for all things HR. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and has been a BC HRMA member since 2008.

If you want your message to be heard and understood, it has to be clear, concise and compelling.  Over the years, and with the help of many great mentors, I’ve learned that no one communication style or format fits all.

Effective communication requires a defined purpose, and a solid understanding of your audience. What is it that you want to communicate? Why is this relevant to your audience? What do you want the audience to do with the information? Is it purely informational, or is there a call to action? If there is a desired action or outcome, did you make that clear and easy to understand?

Effective communication, for me, is the thoughtful approach to crafting a message that is engaging and meaningful; putting yourself in the shoes of the audience and asking the question:  how would I want to receive this message?

Nicole Whitaker, CHRP
HR Manager,
RONA

Nicole Whitaker, CHRP is a human resources manager for British Columbia at RONA. She has over 14 years of HR experience and has worked in the legal, manufacturing and retail sectors in both the UK and Canada. Nicole has a passion for developing people and partnering with Operations to achieve business results through people solutions.

A great mentor taught me ‘the only thing worse than bad is uncertain.’ I carry those words with me every day. When my Operations partners ask me how they can better engage and motivate our employees my first response is usually “communication.” But what does that mean?

In order for communication to be effective, the following elements are essential:

Timely: Waiting too long to deliver a message—good or bad—leads to uncertainty, which leads to loss of engagement and productivity. Early communication keeps everyone focused on the business.

Honest and constructive: No matter how difficult a message is, leaders who can deliver it with honesty, integrity and positive intentions will always be respected.

Varied delivery: We all have different methods of processing information so taking a blanket approach to communication is ineffective. Use a variety of methods to reach your audience to maximize receipt and understanding.

Joan Kleinsteuber, CHRP
HR Advisor,
Okanagan College

Joan Kleinsteuber, CHRP is a member of the BC HRMA Southern Interior Advisory Council and a human resources advisor with Okanagan College in Kelowna. Having 20 plus years in human resources and office management experience, that has included developing job descriptions and classifications, compensation and benefits, organizational development, accounting, health and safety, labour relations, negotiations, mentoring and all aspects of recruiting and staffing employees including hiring employees to work in remote work sites and other countries.

Effective communications for me means that the message you want to send is the message that is received, and you listen to others. To create trust and respect, open and honest communication delivered in a respectful manner is imperative.

We may not always think about how we are communicating or the style of communication that we present to others. This can lead to misinterpretation and potentially even conflict that you did not ever intend to have happen. When you are having a difficult conversation, it is important to consider your tone and body language. Other barriers to effective communications include distractions; noise; words sounding the same but have different meanings; the use of jargon or difficult words. Effective communication is critical in today’s workforce and can improve relationships, teamwork, decision-making, and problem solving.

Jocelin Caldwell
career coach/recruiter

Whether her role is as a workplace facilitator, career coach or recruiter, Jocelin Caldwell’s goal is to create innovative work environments led and staffed by the very best people. For Jocelin, nothing is more rewarding than successfully connecting people to meaningful work and workplaces where they will thrive. In addition to a BA from the University of Victoria, Jocelin holds an RRP (Registered Rehabilitation Professional) ACC (Associate Certified Coach) and CCDP (Career Development Practitioner) designation.

I have witnessed communication breakdowns between individuals or group members because people often listen with judgment. There are many instances where participants only hear what is easy to hear or they are preoccupied with their own problems (or cellphones) and are not focused on the discussion.

For me, effective communication recognizes that each person is unique and has something important to share even if it takes time to identify that importance. It means really connecting with another person in a way that allows you to see his or her point of view. A frequently quoted statistic is that 93 per cent of daily communication is nonverbal. Effective communication requires listening to what is being said with both your eyes and ears. When you are fully present in a conversation and give time for silence, this connection builds trust and a mutual understanding. It is this mutual understanding that really defines effective communication.

(PeopleTalk Summer 2014)