Fundamentals of Effective Communication in the Workplace
Angelette Thurmond
Dr. Lurlene Irvin, Instructor
Introduction to Business
February 8, 2015
Fundamentals of Effective Communication in a Workplace All communication, intentional and unintentional, has the some effect. Communication is an imperative social contact source for any thriving organization. Communication should be one of the main foundations on building a strong working environment. It is not imperative to the employees but to the consumers of the organization who are dependent on the staff’s communication while receiving or rendering service. Without effective communication between staff members, consumers could be at risk when the possibility of errors arises. Communication is needed to increase efficiency, satisfy customers, and improve the quality of service (Effective Communication in the Workplace , 2015). At my job we all have different opinions on how things should be done but we all share the same common ground and that is to handle each patient this care. We are a small rural clinic that assists those who can’t afford trips to the emergency room or visits to a private doctor’s office. The communication in our office had been difficult for years and became one of the biggest problems we had to face. Each doctor had his or her own unique ways of doing things which meant that the nurses had to adjust their way. It was difficult because none of us has one actual doctor to would with on a daily basis. The nursing staff failed to follow-up with the previous nurse to find out what had already been done before test or medications, meaning that we were losing money because we were place unnecessary orders. This had gone on for so long until the director decided she had had enough and called an office wide staff meeting. The day of the meeting the manager presented a plan that would help the office communicate more effectively. Each week we would have a meeting in order to discuss the prior week business. It was determined that during the weekly meetings we would also review orders, reports, and patients charts to ensure that there was nothing being overlooked. She introduced the concept of the “nurses’ huddle” this required us to have informational huddles throughout the day to ensure that tasks were being completed and there were no unforeseen issues with our patients. Doctors were advised that they would be able to use the weekly meetings as their platform to let us know what we’re doing wrong and what areas need to be improved
