Communication Issues at the Workplace

Problem at Work Memos
To Department Management,
I would like to take this opportunity to offer a solution to a problem that I know we have all been experiencing here at work lately—and that is an issue related to communication among the various teams. The problem, as I see it, is that at some point during the week there is a crunch that occurs as orders become bottle-necked and emails start flying in a flurry of activity from various managers and employees seeking an explanation as to why there is a hold-up, who is causing the delay, what the problems with the spots that are supposed to air are, and why no one has brought these issues to anyone’s attention. What follows is always a litany of finger-pointing, with one worker pointing to another saying that he or she was waiting for so-and-so to finish such-and-such, and so-and-so pointing to another worker saying that he or she was waiting on another person for this or that, and so on. In short, there is little communication on down the line and before long, spots that should be ready to air are held up in production and no one knows why because no one is communicating effectively or using the tools that are currently available to help address this problem of poor and ineffective communication on down the line.
The solution that I would like to suggest is that all spots that are to be produced be entered into the cloud, which everyone in the department could have access to. Everyone would be able to see what has happened with each and every spot that is being produced, and there would be nothing unknown about who has what, where they are on it, or what remains to be performed. Everything would be visible to everyone who has a vested interest in the spot getting aired: the cloud would permit all of this information to be shared instantly. As soon as someone makes an edit, it would be shared with others in the cloud. As soon as someone completed a script, it would be shared with others. As soon as a new spot was completed and ready to go, it would be shared with others. There would be no more excuse making or wondering about when an item would be completed or where it was in the production line.
The cloud solution is a great one because it eliminates the obstacles to communication that this department currently suffers from. Instead of sharing our progress with the rest of the teams involved in the production of a spot for airing, we all tend to hold on to a file, working on it quietly while keeping others in the dark about our progress. Things pile up and people who could be getting ahead on other projects are left waiting because they don’t know what’s coming down the line. The cloud would clear all this up as it would allow sharing of information in an unprecedented way.
There would be no more nasty department head emails sent out in various directions to workers who really are not to blame that the department has not yet incorporated the cloud network into the way we file share and keep everyone else updated on what work has been completed. There are many different tools that we could use to make this a reality—and it is important that we pick one together so that everyone feels comfortable with this new style of communication and file sharing.
I think that if the department were to implement such a plan the problem of poor communication would instantly be solved and everyone would feel much better about their jobs.
Sincerely,
X
Dear X,
Thank you for bringing to our attention your concerns about the problem of communication in the department with special regard to the spots that we air on our station. As you and we both know, many different teams work together to bring these spots to completion, and many different stakeholders have a vested interest in making sure that they are completed correctly and on time. While your suggestion that using cloud technology to provide an open file sharing approach to working on these spots does have its allure, there are several reasons why we feel that it would not be an appropriate solution to the problem that you identify at this time.
The first reason is that our various teams all have their own approach to working on these spots and these approaches have been in place for many years. The team members have been in this department for as long and after conferring with them in private, they have expressed their preference that they be able to maintain their approach to working on spots. It is what they know and are comfortable with, and to make them change and adapt to new technology or software might cause various problems in the department’s work flow.
The second reason is that our department is only budgeted so much annually, and to implement the tool that you have described would, after careful research, cause the department to be over-budget for the year. If we were able to convince various department heads and stakeholders that the solution you have described would benefit them in the long run, there would still be the issue of fitting it into the budget. We would need to provide training seminars, support, and a variety of other measures beyond just the software and installation costs. As you no doubt realize and understand, our department operates on a budget that is very tight and does not leave much room for innovations of this nature. We are obliged for that reason alone to reject your recommended solution. We simply do not have the funds for it and are not likely to have the funds in the foreseeable future.
One key item you overlooked was that the current system for communications we have in place is already very much like that which you described. Our intranet system is designed to allow all stakeholders to share files and communicate directly with people involved in the process of producing spots. In order to prevent bottle necks from occurring, we always advice team members to communicate with all stakeholders in the process on every update that has been made. Unfortunately not every team member adheres to this recommendation, and in some cases that can lead to a miscommunication. The problem is related to personnel, however, and not to the type of communications technology or software that we currently have.
We feel that even if we were to shift to a cloud-based file sharing system, we would still encounter the same issues with personnel failing to share with everyone else what updates have been made or when others can expect their end of the process to be completed. In most offices, these shortcomings are to be expected and are part of the process of working together with teams in the overall production of something special. We know you appreciate how stressful it can get at times, but part of this business requires that individuals be able to handle stressful situations and be adept at prioritizing so that when obstacles do arise and bottle necks do occur, there are other work-related projects that can be tackled in the meantime.
Sincerely,
Management