Introduction
Every organization depends on good communication strategies to achieve its goals and missions. When an organization masters basic communication routines, it can achieve a lot of progress through good interactions between its employees. Communication is vital in the realization of the set goals and targets. Besides, good communication enables organizations to achieve growth by incorporating their employees into their missions and successes.
Communication is an important tool for any leader who wishes to acquire success on behalf of his/her organization. Research has indicated that good communication is the most important ingredient in a functional employer-employee relationship (Adair 52). When good communication methods are put into practice, it is easy to maintain productivity in an organization. On the other hand, ignoring good communication patterns within an organization makes it impossible for an entity to maneuver through different operational challenges. Achieving good communication is a priority for several organizations.
Furthermore, entities are required to keep updating their communication patterns to cater to both their interests and those of their employees. It is in an organization’s best interest to pursue good communication within its working environment. This paper explores how communication practices are manifested in a real work environment. The paper will present a study of how communication relates to an organization’s overall productivity about employee satisfaction. Consequently, this paper will focus on several employer-employee relationships at King Abdul-Aziz Senior House in Saudi Arabia. My knowledge of King Abdul-Aziz Senior House comes from my experience as a volunteer in that organization.
Basic Volunteer Experience
This paper is based on my experience as a volunteer at the King Abdul-Aziz Senior House, an establishment that accommodates senior citizens. The senior’s house is based in Saudi Arabia and its main goal is to provide services to the elderly people who might not be in a condition to take care of their wants. The organization is mostly populated by incapacitated, frail, sick, and mentally incompetent individuals. Therefore, the organization’s main priority is to provide safety, wellness, and healthy upkeep to its clients. Saudi Arabia is a society that upholds good care and respect for the elderly. King Abdul-Aziz Senior House is mainly focused on the need to care for the elderly in the current Saudi Arabian society.
The environment in a home for the elderly calls for the use of effective communication techniques. Good communication assists in the spread of crucial information across the home. Workers at the seniors’ home need to be able to communicate with each other as well as the elderly members who populate the establishment. My experience as a volunteer at King Abdul-Aziz’s home granted me insight into how communication features in an entity.
When I was working as a volunteer in the home for the elderly, I noticed that communication features in every area of operation within the organization. The entity had several developed communication hierarchies that involved employees of various levels. In most instances, the information would move from top to bottom. For instance, the home’s management would routinely disseminate information to the rest of the establishment’s employees.
There were approximately fifty employees at the home and good communication was responsible for anchoring the whole team to the home’s mission and purpose. One of the main principles of organizational communication is the use of teamwork as a tool for achieving efficiency (Adair 29). Nevertheless, communication is a tool that requires to be updated on regular basis. Besides, it takes time for employees to study and master an organization’s communication protocols. For instance, even with different employees indicating flawless interaction between themselves, it is still important for them to connect with the goals of their organization.
When I was working at home, I was tasked with the duty of going around the premises and checking up on the occupants. During times like these, I would freely interact with both the occupants and colleagues. I loved the experience of moving around and making the home’s participants comfortable. Therefore, I had the opportunity of encountering various forms of interaction. I came to learn that while good interaction helps with productivity, it is manifested differently when things go wrong. For example, on one occasion I witnessed two colleagues arguing bitterly over a client’s medication routine.
Previously, the two colleagues would be very friendly towards each other. Therefore, I learned that good communication needs pre-agreed protocols in cases of disagreements. My entire experience at King Abdul-Aziz’s home introduced me to functional workplace communication strategies. Also, I was able to invest my time in studying human interactions and their resulting communications. The hallmark of my experience at the home was that I had the chance of interacting with some highly experienced individuals. Interacting with senior and experienced individuals is like reading a very helpful manual on life. By the end of my experience at the home, I was sure that I had earned more than I had given to the home.
The portrayal of Communication in the Workplace: Interactions with Co-workers
Most of the duties that are performed at King Abdul-Aziz Senior House require most employees to interact on a personal level. Therefore, most employees are required to collaborate on several occasions. For example, a health worker might be in charge of administering medications to several individuals. When the health worker goes home, he/she has to delegate the exact duties to a co-worker. Most of the duties that are conducted at the home are recurrent and they are collectively known by a majority of the workers. Consequently, it is paramount for the organization to have a detailed communication framework. For example, there were several duty roasters at the institution’s bulletin board. Without a good communication system, an organization would find it hard to foster basic functionality (Adair 14).
There were around fifty employees at the home including managers and supervisors. My basic relationship with my colleagues was characterized by the need to sustain the home’s mission and purpose. There were unwritten agreements between the co-workers because we all understood the most important duties in the organization. Consequently, it was common for a worker to take over the duties of a colleague when he/she was not available.
For example, if I was walking around the home and I found an obstacle that could pose danger to the elderly, I would voluntarily move it even though that was not in my job detail. This experience enabled me to witness another form of communication; the non-verbal kind that is fostered by unity of purpose.
During my time at the home, I had a considerable amount of interaction with my supervisors. The supervisors were required to ensure that services to the home’s occupants were delivered without a hitch. Consequently, supervisors coordinated and oversaw most of the services that went on in the establishment. I interacted with my supervisors regularly when I gave them my mandatory situational reports. The reports were an advanced form of communication between supervisors and regular employees. On the other hand, the reports enabled supervisors to foster good communication habits within the establishment. Communication experts insist on the importance of the supervisors’ ability to propagate unity of purpose among the workers using good communication skills (Adair 46).
Most of my co-workers viewed our supervisors as leaders with higher levels of responsibility. Therefore, most of my fellow workers and I understood that the supervisors could not be completely friendly with the employees. Nevertheless, some supervisors appeared to hate their responsibilities. These supervisors were the ones who adopted an unfriendly stance towards us and they were permanently bossy.
The worst kinds of supervisors were the lazy ones. The lazy supervisors were mostly unaware of the activities that went on in the establishment. However, the slacker supervisors would promptly assign blame to the workers when something went wrong. The workers mostly judged the supervisors following their overall demeanor. Consequently, the supervisors who talked to the workers regularly were considered to be more efficient. This trend indicates that transparency is important in organizational communication.
On a typical day, I would work for a period of three to four hours a day. My work would involve constant interactions with both clients and healthcare professionals within the home. In terms of communication, I had to engage most of the elderly clients to ensure that they were comfortably settled within the home. In other instances, I was required to communicate any health-related issues to the healthcare professionals. I would gladly work at King Abdul-Aziz Senior House for several years because I already enjoyed working there as a volunteer. The organization is a pillar of Saudi Arabia’s social welfare and it is fulfilling to be part of its activities.
Conclusion
Communication plays an important role in an organization and its functionality. Moreover, good communication applies to all the individuals within an organization including managers, supervisors, and workers. Without good communication, an organization would easily fail to foster productivity. My volunteer experience at the senior’s home taught me valuable lessons on communication.
Works Cited
Adair, J. Effective Communication: The Most Important Management Skill of All, New York: Pan Macmillan, 2011. Print.