Life in the New Paradigm
Or what do all these business trends mean to me?
By Marie Harrington
Two major trends have shaped the evolution of business in the last decade of this century:
Total Quality Management (TQM) in manufacturing and Customer Satisfaction in service delivery. How are these trends significant to communicators?
TQM requires changes in the manufacturing process, from mass production to mass customization, resulting in a change from assembly lines to self-directed work teams. This in turn requires changes in how resources are leveraged to manufacture and deliver the highest quality for the lowest cost. No matter the product, TQM demands accountability for moving quality and productivity benchmarks up.
Customer satisfaction is critical to survival. Consumers are demanding improvements in service delivery from institutions that traditionally have dictated the standards of service: retailers, hoteliers and financial institutions. One need only look at the phenomenal growth of the market research industry, which gives a voice to consumers, to realize the magnitude of the changes in service delivery and the need for accountability.
The key to each of these trends is accountability for quality in manufacturing and for service delivery to customers. Can we as communicators afford to ignore the demand for accountability? What, then, does accountability mean to us in organizational communication?
Accountability means proving our worth by proving the value of communications. It means proving that our services are effective in changing the way people do things (resulting in improved manufacturing methods), that they change behavior and attitudes (improving the way service is delivered) and that they increase the commitment of employees to accept responsibility and accountability for achieving corporate goals. In short, accountability means proving that communication gets results -- real, tangible, quantifiable results.
The sure way to prove results is to apply a fundamental principle of both TQM and customer satisfaction -providing and soliciting feedback. Feedback converts one-way communication to two-way, through formalized listening processes such as surveys, facilitated interviews and focus groups.
This kind of research helps communicators to set SMART objectives -- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Only by setting measurable objectives can the communicator quantify results and be accountable to the audience.
Communicators must build accountability into organizational communications by confirming assumptions about what the audience needs and by establishing SMART objectives that support organizational goals. This will help guarantee our worth as a communicators and the integrity and growth of our profession.
[From “Quick Notes,” IABC/Atlanta chapter newsletter.]
