Julie, How about that?! What a great way to communicate with someone, and voila, now a better process is in place. Thank you for sharing!
Dr. Jean Norris
Ask the department what type of information they need on a daily, weekly and/or monthly basis. For example, we have a financial aid processing center that processes all of our fa. Awhile back, I noticed my processor had a tendancy to become short and snippy. I decided to call her and ask what i could do to make her job easier. This is something that many people avoid because it usually means more work on the askers part. The answer she gave were very simple requests that took almost none of my time. it was simply an email in the morning with the day's appointments, putting their start date and schedule in a certain place, etc. While the other department controls the communication, there are ways to make it more clear and easier on everyone's part.
Deborah, Teamwork is a great way option. Thank you for sharing!
Dr. Jean Norris
In trying to improve communication that is controlled by another department, I would speak with that department to help them understand the importance of communicating with our students; ask if I can be of any assistance with follow up and remain the go between for the student.
Thacha,
Thank you for sharing. What are specifically ways you can work on your listening skills?
Dr. Jean Norris
Usually the issue with communication is listening. We tend to speak on what we feel and not the reality of the situation. We must learn to listen to one another (it goes both ways) come up with several plans and hopefully agree on whats best for everyone not just for ones self.
Portia,
That is correct! It is all about the students. What types of questions would you ask, specifically?
Dr. Jean Norris
Improving communication with other deparments can be improved by just asking questions and letting those know in those different departments know that we are all here working together for our students and it is important that we work together for the success of our students as a whole.
Great approach Joe! Taking them time to ask clarifying questions can benefit all parties involved. Thank you for your post.
Dr. Jean Norris
You want to make sure you understand the message they are delivering by asking clarifying questions. You might want to bring both departments together for a meeting.
I am a people person I guess you can say, so it is not hard for a person to feel comfortable with me, enough to the point where he/she trust me. We serve a population that is either unemployed or underemployed, so building that trust is a key factor.
Thank you for posting Felicia. I'm curious, how do you build trust with your co-workers and students?
I agree totally with you, there should definitely should be trust between both parties, you should be able to trust the people you work with and the students who you interact with. Communication is the key in any organization so that people will understand both the message and the messenger.
Great post.
That's a great idea Cindi. We can get caught up in our day-to-day back and forth of business that we often forget that a pleasant good morning or afternoon can make a difference. Thank you for your post.
In email communications it is found that there are no nice greetings or closings. Emails just stated the facts and were very abrupt. I like the idea of cordial communication even in business. I believe it makes the day much nicer since human interaction is becoming non-existent.
That's true, Nikeline. Follow up is such an important part of any plan and contributes to the success. How can we make this a seamless process so that fall out does not occur?
This is what I was saying before. Its the idea of continually meeting that makes communication more effective. Touching base and fine tuning.
That is exactly what we have implemented and has worked because it's not what tool you put in place , it's the follow up that is the key to success. It doesn't matter how good a list or plans are it's that you follow up to make sure it is being used and that it is being used correctly. A lot of times things seem to fall out because no one is there to there to make sure that the form of communication is still being implemented the correct way.
Meetings of the task force are fundamental to the development of strategies that are beneficial, besides allowing everyone is reading the same page.
It is important for all departments to work together. Usually when I am handling an issue or matter for a student through an email, I would cc the department or person that would assist in carrying out a specific task.
I can improve communication with other departments by meetings to ensure that we are providing quality service to the participants within the course.
I will ask the other department questions when they arise and not assume that I know the answer or can handle the issue. I will also encourage the other department to ask me any questions that they may have regarding admissions.
I believe that as an organization, and as people in general, that we tend to grow better together.
