Unit 4.

3 Communication Skills
Level 4

15 Credits

The Senior Management Team (SMT) of a local medium sized organisation has become
aware of communication problems within their organisation. Customers have been
complaining of poor service, the Managing Director is appalled to see spelling errors in
letters and now suppliers have refused to deliver further goods until they receive a
response to their emails and phone calls about their outstanding invoices.
You work with a training consultancy, Training Solutions. An experienced colleague,
Asha Cumari, has established what the problems are and you have been asked to deliver
the proposed solutions.
You receive the following email and attached report from Asha.
Email
To:
From
CC
Subject

xxxxx
Asha Cumari
SHDE Holdings

Dear XXXXXX
I have recently visited SHDE Holdings and attach my report. Please read this carefully.
I would like you to finish this project. They need a workshop on communication with
some training materials (eg a manual or hand-outs) plus a report for SMT. Please carry
out the following tasks:
Task 1
Prepare a formal report for the senior staff and line managers at SHDE Holdings. (AC
5.1). You will need to use charts and graphs to present information as appropriate (AC
5.3)
This report should include:
a) The process of communication (AC 1.1) and why communication within
organisations is sometimes not effective (AC1.3), giving examples form SHDE
Holdings
b) The modes of communication that should be used for different purposes (eg letter
for formal communication with customers, telephone call for clarification of a
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complex matter, email for confirmation of detail). Please support this with an
assessment of what other organisations do and examples of that could apply to
SHDE (AC 1.2)
c) How organisations portray themselves through their communication. What image
does SHDE Holdings currently have? Give an assessment of other organisations
and the images they portray through their communications (AC 2.3)

Task 2
Design an oral presentation (using presentation software) with supporting notes for the
customer facing staff at SHDE Holdings. (AC 4.1, 4.3). Please include:
a) Formal communications systems that should be used to communicate with
customers. Please evaluate different systems. (AC 2.1)
b) An analysis of the effectiveness of social media to communicate with
customers. Please use current examples (AC 2.2)
c) An assessment of the impact of personal relationships on communications (AC
3.1)
d) An assessment of the impact of non-verbal communication
communications (AC 3.2)

on oral

Task 3
Please deliver your presentation to staff at SHDE Holdings represented by XXX (AC 4.2)
Task 4
Please attend a meeting with me. Using the written and oral communications from the
tasks you have just completed, I will need you to:
a) Assess the effectiveness of your oral presentation skills (AC 4.4)
b) Review your written communication (AC 5.4) including the conventions you have
used (AC 3.4)
c) Assess the impact of technology on both oral and written communications (AC
3.3)
d) Following our discussions I wish you to produce written documentation from this
meeting (AC 5.2)

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Report on SHDE Holdings

Asha Cumari
5 January 201X
1.0 Introduction
SHDE is an electrical supplier with a regional repair centres and shops.
The
organisation is currently experiencing operational problems that are affecting
customer satisfaction. Many of these are outside the scope of this report. Training
Solutions has been asked to focus on communication issues both within the company
and with suppliers and customers.
2.0 Summary
SHDE Holding is an electrical company operating locally. They have been
established for 10 years. However it is only in the past 3 years that their market has
grown rapidly. Their turnover and payroll have tripled within the last year. It is
anticipated to grow by a further 100% within 3 years.
They are currently experiencing high levels of customer complaints and staff turnover.
The communication difficulties exist in all areas and at all levels of the business.
Two solutions are proposed: a training session and a report to inform and influence
SMT and line managers
3.0 Research method
During week commencing 15 June, a consultant from Training Solutions spent 3 days
at SHDE Holdings. The following research activities were carried out
Desk review of customer complaints
Desk review of policies and procedures
Interviews with 10 staff including the Managing Director, Operations
Manager, 2 shop floor staff, 2 delivery staff, the HR Manager, one payroll
assistant, the receptionist and the Premises Manager
4.0 Findings
SHDE Holdings has expanded rapidly in the past 3 years. There has been a huge
increase in complaints form both customers and suppliers. Staff morale is low and
staff turnover high.
It is clear that this company value their customers and had a record of excellent
internal and external customer relations. The SMT are shocked to find that
complaints have increased by 50% and staff turnover is high. They acknowledge that
there is a communications issue within the company
Customer complaints have risen by 50% within the last year. The causes for
complaints are varied. Only 3 % concern the product itself. Over 55% of complaints
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concern delivery. (Most are about late delivery. The remainder are about delivery to
an incorrect address). The delivery staff acknowledge these problems. They are sent
notes in the internal post about changes to delivery details and by the time they
receive them the package has often been sent. Sometimes they are told about
changes (verbally) and fail to write it down. There appears to be no formal system for
communicating changes to orders.
25% of complaints concern poor face to face communication during the delivery of
customer service on the shop floor. Some complaints referred to rudeness. One
complaint made it clear that there was clearly conflict between staff on the shop floor.
Other issues include misunderstandings, the fact that the store only sends texts to
advise of delivery times and many of the older customers do not use texting. There
are also poor letter skills, appearance of staff and the tone of some of the
communications received are inappropriate.
There are no formal communication policies and procedures. As a result:
there is no protocol for answering the phone
complaints are often not acknowledged (and it may take some weeks for a
formal response)
there is no standard protocol for internal communication some use internal
post, others use email or word of mouth
the company Facebook page was recently used to inform customers of product
changes
suppliers are not dealt with consistently
communication between line managers and their staff is random. There appear
to be no regular meetings to disseminate and gather information.
The SMT do not meet regularly
5.0 Conclusions
The communication problems at SHDE Holdings affect all areas of the business. All
levels of staff are hindered by poor communications within the company and the
customers are badly served. There is huge potential for the growth of this company
but for this to materialise these issues must be addressed.
6.0 Recommendations
6.1 A series of training workshops is required for customer facing staff. These
workshops to be delivered to all staff and cover both internal and external
communication
6.2 In order to improve performance SMT need to be advised of best practice in
terms of organisational communication. A formal report for the senior staff and
line managers at SHDE Holdings should be provided

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