MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
5 Practical Tips to Improve Communication within Your Management System
A key factor in a successful management system is great communication. This includes internal communication within the organization as well as external communication with your organization interested parties.
A successful communication strategy is founded on a well-rounded, and detailed foundation that outlines the steps for internal and external communication. This foundation may consist of or form part of the formal communication processes and/or procedures that have been put together by your organization.
Here are 5 practical tips to get the most out of your organization’s management system communication processes.
1. Assess the current communication strategy
Ideally, your management system will have a communication strategy in place, and this should be divided into an internal strategy and an external strategy. This strategy should be reviewed periodically to ensure that it is not only relevant but that it is practical and being implemented.
Communication strategies should include what needs to be communicated, to who, and how often, and whether communication needs approval from top management. The strategy should also have guidelines in place for comments, requests, or even complaints which internal and external interested parties may have.
These strategies can also outline how communication takes place, such as by report, meetings, formal letters, phone calls, or even social media platforms.
Communication strategies can be documented within processes and/or procedures. However, for ISO14001:2015, this is not strictly necessary.
2. Set roles and responsibilities for clear and efficient communication
Everyone who has an input into the management system as a whole, or even just at a certain component of a management system should have assigned roles and responsibilities.
Typical roles and responsibilities for communication include setting agendas, sending out invitations, booking venues, recording minutes and action plans, following up on action plans, approving external communications, etc. These can be stipulated within an organization’s formal process or procedure or can be stipulated as part of a forum’s rules, or even informally within a team or department.
The key to assigning roles and responsibilities is to ensure that everyone knows what is needed and expected of them, which will result in more efficient communication.
3. Keep work-flows accessible and transparent to team members
When it comes to communication, work-flows should be accessible and transparent to team members. This means that project plans, action plans, meeting minutes, and the like are available to those who need them.
This is particularly important when a specific team or department has been assigned the responsibility of managing the overall management system. For example, not everyone in a specific department will need to attend a meeting, but they should be kept in the loop about what occurred during a meeting and what the outcomes of the meeting are. Keeping the team in the loop can include informal gatherings, meeting minutes, or even slack messages.
4. Maintain consistent follow-up and expectation routines
Along with roles and responsibilities, a key factor to a successful management system communication strategy is to maintain a consistent follow-up and expectation routines. This means having required meetings at the required intervals, making sure meeting minutes go out within a week of the meeting occurring, updating, and distributing action plans promptly.
If you need to follow-up on actions with external parties, whether they are government authorities, neighbors, consultants, or contractors, have a routine set in place. Send out that email or periodically schedule a phone call. This allows not only you to have a routine in place but allows your interested parties to be prepared as well.
5. Maintain communication records
Communication records are vital to a successful management system. Not only do records keep track of what has been communicated, to who, when, on what medium, but they record decisions that have been made and why these decisions have been made.
Records about communication will include meeting minutes, attendance records, emails, phone calls, letters, and even informal meeting notes. These records should be made available to all those who are involved in the specific communication process.
If your organization has a communication process or procedure, the responsibility for updating, filing, and maintaining these records should be included in these processes and procedures.
Keep in mind, that ISO14001:2015 requires organizations to keep communication records.
Ultimately, communication within a management system is a work-in-progress that will improve as the system matures. An effective communication system will lead to a more efficient management system.
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Originally published at https://www.bloberg.com on June 07, 2020.
