Read my lips

What a supervisor says and what a worker hears can be two very different things. Here’s how to understand. . .and be understood.

Communication is the thread that ties jobs together on a jobsite. Supervisors and their work crews who are good communicators seem to have fewer problems, and when a problem crops up, it doesn’t take long to get it under control.

What does it take to be a better communicator? There is no magic bullet, says Lin Grensing-Pophal, a Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, communication expert and author.

Grensing-Pophal’s husband is a general contractor. She sees first-hand what poor communication can do to a work crew.

“Contractors have a great focus to meet deadlines but are less likely to talk with one another about their distinct deadlines and how they affect others,” she says.

The communication gap stretches much farther than between subs working on the same job. It’s often a major stumbling block between supervisors working for the same company and even between members of the same work crew.

“I have seen where the owner comes on site and asks a simple question, such as how much of this stage of the project is completed and the front-line worker or even the supervisor doesn’t know the answer,” Grensing-Pophal says.

“Contractors and front-line workers often believe that effective communication is not a part of the work. They see it as an imposition on getting work done and that the information doesn’t have a direct effect on the process,” she says.

Poorly informed work crews can open up the chance for job bottlenecks or rework. “If the contractor shows a commitment to communication by making it a jobsite priority, it helps workers. If it’s only lip service, workers will see through it,” she says.

Grensing-Pophal says the first step in effective communication is recognizing the need to have a vision, develop a plan and make a commitment to communicate that plan consistently to everyone in the organization. The communications process for the vision is the same as the one needed for day-to-day issues to the worker, other contractors and owners.

Plan for communication
The vision, which drives why the contractor does what it does, must come from the top level, says Grensing-Pophal. That message must be communicated by them and reinforced by the chain of command.

Whether it’s the company vision or the plan for work on any particular day, Pophal says a good communication structure is built around critical hand-off or activity-driven points. “When you build in the plan that a certain communication will take place when you reach a certain point in the job, you are much more likely to do it,” she says.

Communicate in a way 
the recipient understands
In this multi-media world, it only takes a bit of creativity to come up with effective ways to communicate up and down the chain of command.

However, the most effective method, according to Grensing-Pophal’s research, is face-to-face communication reinforced with other methods.

It could be repeating the communication on the job trailer bulletin board, in toolbox talks conducted by front-line supervisors or even in flyers in workers’ paychecks. Technologically savvy companies may also employ e-mail, cell phones/two-way radios or even wireless personal digital assistants to reinforce the message and keep the work force apprised of the latest changes.

Here today, gone tomorrow
Work crews are often transient, and sometimes supervisors don’t see the need to explain even some of the most basic jobsite information to them. Grensing-Pophal disagrees.

“Even with very transient workers, it helps to introduce them to others, explain to them what the job entails and tell them how the crew takes breaks and works together. Longer-term workers on the crew are good people to ask what should be covered,” she says.

Today’s construction crews are often multi-lingual. For many workers, English is barely a second language. Make sure you can communicate in a way they can understand.

Risk being a broken record
People learn differently and good teachers know how communicate in more than one way.

“Say the message in more than one way. Use the technology available to you. Use toolbox talks to discuss more than the job that must be done today. Use it to communicate ongoing messages, such as customer focus or commitment to safety,” she says.

The message must also be delivered in ways that address the hierarchy of people’s needs, she says. Before you can move workers to care about what happens to the company or the customer, you must be sure their immediate needs are met. “They must have their needs for safety, security and a sense of belonging met. These are answers to ‘me-based’ questions such as, ‘What’s my job?’; ‘How am I doing?’ and ‘Does anybody care?’”

When these needs are met, a worker will then think about being of service to the greater organization. They are willing to ask and receive answers to questions such as “How is our work crew doing?” and “Where does our work crew fit into the whole process?” The pinnacle of self-awareness occurs when the employee is truly involved and asks, “Where can I help?”

Grensing-Pophal says the challenge for most companies is getting each supervisor to grasp the company’s vision and be able to translate it into meaningful attributes for front-line workers.

“One of the best ways to communicate is to walk the talk. If safety is a top priority, the supervisors should pay close attention to doing things safely. If the supervisors don’t embody the message, the workers never will,” she says.

One of the greatest problems facing many work crews: making the most proficient workers the crew leaders. “Just because they are proficient at a job does not mean they can communicate easily with others working on that job,” Grensing-Pophal says. Often, the communication link between upper management and front-line workers falls apart at the supervisor level.

 “I often see people who are very skilled at the work they do get promoted to supervisory-level jobs, but have no idea how to communicate with others,” says Grensing-Pophal. “While technical proficiency is important, the crew leader should at least have an interest and some aptitude in communication.”

Work vs. supervising work
“For many, it is hard to understand the difference between work and supervising work. They may have a strong focus on getting the job done and work harder themselves while others around them are not working as effectively. They get frustrated and if they don’t learn to let go of the work and learn how to communicate with others on how to do a better job, they will be very frustrated,” she says.

Grensing-Pophal says experience is the best teacher, although there are many local community colleges as well as professional contractor organizations that teach classes on communication.

“Communication is a learned trait. Going to a class on it can help but is not the only answer. It takes time to develop communication skills and most people develop them the hard way.”

A common mistake managers make is withholding information from the front-line workers, says Grensing-Pophal. Having work crews operate on a need-to-know basis sets the crews up for tight or missed deadlines and likely lower profitability.

“The rumor mill is often very accurate. If workers hear through the grapevine the job is running behind or there are cost overruns, they won’t rally to help out as fast as if top and middle management admit it and ask for help to get back on schedule,” she says.

Published in the July/August 2001 issue of Contractor Tools and Supplies magazine.

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