Message in the snow
Naturally, the recent wintry weather has caused all sorts of problems but we’ve managed to find a communication lesson in amongst all the chaos!
On one of the news programmes a cold-looking reporter (without a hat!) was stood on the platform of Orpington station describing how the train services were being affected by snow. He then stated: “The train operators are advising people to check before they travel; but I did that online and everything looked OK but when I turned up at the station the situation was completely different with all sorts of cancellations and delays.”
So where’s the communication lesson in that, you may be wondering? Well, the statement ‘check before you travel’ is the one that’s always used when there are disruptions within the transport system, be it planes, trains or roads… It is wheeled out every time, isn’t it? In this situation the message could have perhaps have been more specific and meaningful, for example: ‘the situation is changing minute by minute so please check before you travel yet be conscious of the fact that it may still have changed by the time you arrive at your station.’
Now for a challenge to you: have a think about your personal equivalents to the travel disruption message. What are the things you say without thinking; the things you wheel out time and again without checking how appropriate they are for the situation? Then think about what you can say instead to make your message more meaningful.
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Comments
Really good point Jill. I dare say we all say lots of things by instinct these days, cliches almost, that don't really say either what we want to say or the recipient would find useful.
Did you get into work in the end?
It's a really good point Jill. In this latest spell of bad weather, I've discovered how good some of the councils in my own and neighbouring areas have become at using social media to communicate up-to-date messages.
School and nursery closures have been posted on facebook and twitter (and possibly other conduits although these are the only 2 I've been following) and Central Scotland Police have been tweeting and re-tweeting vital travel messages and advice, including the latest delays and road closures.
It goes some way to suggesting that the traditional media cannot provide the level of up-to-date information that the public now wants.
Taking that to the message you refer to, I guess the same lesson is applicable for businesses and organisations across the UK - there's a suite of communications platforms and you need to think about using all of them at various times depending on the message; the audience etc.
The beauty of social media is that it's user controlled, therefore you're messages can be instantaneous and reflective of any changes immediately they happen, your customers can access the information from their mobile devices and stay informed; the dangers of social media are that it's not always particularly well user controlled, it's two way and competitors and disgruntled customers also have access to your social media platforms.
For me, the greatest hypocracy over this last period has been the myriad employers who state somewhere (usually a glossy mission statement or similar that's in a shiny frame on a wall in head office) "Our people are our greatest asset" but the sub text should read "however we expect you to defy common sense and the advice of government agencies to put your health and well-being at risk to attend the workplace regardless of the widespread disruption to the transport infrastructure and if you don't attend the workplace, we'll withhold our other most valuable asset, our cash".
The result of this is other people having to risk their well-being endeavouring to reach and rescue those who become stranded and a greater strain being placed on our core civil services (whom I think have done a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances thus far).
The reality is this - if you're losing money as a result of this inclement weather, chances are that you either don't have a Business Continuity Plan or it's inadequate and the BCP is the responsibility of the employer not the employee.
I'm exceptionally fortunate, my employer is ahead of the game in this regard and I haven't lost a working day due to the weather despite never having to leave the house but I know there are many others who've regularly risked more than they realise to attend their work.
Give people the tools to do the job otherwise it's just a cliche!
I was one of the lucky ones who did manage to get into work thanks Mike.
Trust and respect within organisations are essential, and a straight forward common sense approach works brilliantly in these situations.
Good to hear Jill. Set for another cold snap towards the end of the week so hopefully lessons will have been learnt.
And boy have the airports shown how not to do things this past week. The one thing that seems to cry out whenever you hear people talking from the scene is that they want up to date information on what's happening, and almost without fail they don't get any. Poor showing by BAA.