MAKING COMMUNICATION WORK

You know your bank's leadership is "transmitting" preferred practices and key strategies all the time. But is anyone "receiving"?

Many clients for whom I have done culture assessments have been frankly astonished at how differently the front lines, and their supporting functions, view "how we do things around here" when compared to the executive team. The leadership has been in constant communication with the rest of the organization, but somehow the message is not getting through.

It's a little like a radio station: the leadership is broadcasting, but we discover (through assessment) that not everyone is hearing the program.

In fact, by the time they ask me for help, very often the leadership team has become aware of the "transmission failure" and tried harder. Unfortunately, their response has been to "get louder": more forceful memos, more threatening consequences, and so on.

It's a little like the American tourist who travels to another country and speaks English loudly and slowly to people who do not understand the language!

A Common Problem

Communication bottlenecks are such a common component of culture issues that my team includes special expertise in effective communication within banking organizations. My associate Nan Gesche Larsen is a communications specialist who has observed the cultural challenges banks face from the inside (training director) and the outside (regulator).

• Sometimes the message doesn't reach the front lines because they have not "tuned their receivers" to the right signal.
• Sometimes the original communication strategies are not that effective: the broadcast may carry messages that are confusing, or that conflict with other messages employees receive.
• Sometimes the leadership has a great message and excellent intentions, and the front lines and support staff are ready and willing, but the message gets distorted, or static is added, as it passes through managers and supervisors in the middle of the organization.

In all of these cases, our expert help can help you diagnose the problem and fix it at its source.

Communicate Smarter, Not Just Louder

I see so many cases where weaknesses in communication patterns contribute to a "loose" culture that I have developed standard services to deliver when the assessment is completed. You can book the type of help that works for you at the same time you contract your culture assessment (and enjoy savings compared to what you would pay if you purchased these consulting services separately):

1. Your team can discuss possible communication weaknesses and identify good first steps toward addressing them with our Coaching Calls. This series of three conference calls, up to one hour each, can also be used to check your progress and respond to issues that arise along the way.
2. We also offer a standard half-day Culture and Communication Workshop. Typically, the results of the assessment are presented to the leadership team in the morning, and the afternoon is spent in this workshop with selected department heads and managers, exploring more effective communication practices.
3. When a client needs help with Action Plan Development, a full day is spent with bank management reviewing the results and focusing on explicit steps that could improve communication effectiveness. After the session, the client receives a report summarizing the discussion and recommending steps to develop better communication patterns.

Naturally, custom consultations are also available, but these standard services will meet the needs of many institutions. And bundling communication help with culture assessment can save you about 25% over the cost of contracting for these consulting services separately. (For more about planning your assessment and coaching package, review my "Assess Your Culture" page, or download our Culture Assessment Planning document.

Whatever you do, do not look to the "speak loudly and slowly" model to get your message across to your personnel. Ineffective communication demands explicit examination and deliberate change ... and sometimes, expert help with that examination and change.

Continue to Credit Policy and Process ...

If you are looking for ways to communicate smarter, not just louder, contact me for consulting and training options that will enhance communication patterns in your bank.