Week 8

Communication post-COVID has been drastically different than before COVID-19. I never thought I would return to school entirely online or spend all this time online. What I have learned is that my mindset had to change when writing emails or any type of digital communication.  The thought of doing a blog never came to mind, but learning how to make one showed me that there is a whole world out there that can help me communicate with people.   

Being in this class assisted me in making good communication choices that lead to desirable outcomes.  The tools learned here have helped me write my emails better and give me tools to help me exchange information better and in a much clearer way.  With the advent of the Internet and emails, the world has opened up to us, and I found it much better to connect and express what I need to say with the written word.  Also, with AI emerging, we must learn the importance of communication in our professional and academic lives.  

An important lesson is that communication is only complete once the other side understands it. This class started the learning process of digital communication, but we all should be lifelong learners of how to make ourselves better commutators.

 My new role at work requires me to write more emails to our corporate office. In Chapter 10, Anderson creates a list for creating a compelling professional voice. I find this helpful because I do have to mail different departments depending on what I need to send. For example, I need to find out what is expected of me from my readers, what they are expected to read, establish a relationship with them, and write in my own words.  Since I am new to this role, establishing relationships with new people and departments will be crucial to understanding my audience and for whom I am writing my emails.  Like any writing, choosing words that convey your meaning clearly and precisely is essential in emails.  It is vital to describe exactly what you must say to avoid misunderstanding. In Chapter 14, Anderson goes over designing pages and documents for communications.  A lot of what I have to do is already pre-made for me to fill out, but tips such as grouping related items visually can be applied to other aspects, such as presentations for school or possibly resumes.  In Chapter 9, Anderson goes through how to build an effective relationship with readers.  I always try to establish relationships with all that I work with.  Speaking with or writing to anyone I work with, I find it practical and much easier to work with someone I have built a solid relationship with than with someone I have not.  It also makes the workspace a nicer place to work.  

https://1drv.ms/p/c/2461056c40e33a1a/EeChJUEoBDNDpAJ9bciISWkBq_vlmUuSiyAEDCh36l1UlA?e=ohQIdi 

Hi Everyone!

This link is to the presentation that I gave in Week 7.   

 Reflecting on my current job or any job I have had, there is always a list of pros and cons. The experiences that I have gained have added to my educational journey. Before working at my current job, I had always questioned if I had it in me to be a leader. I did have some confidence, but it was on the low end.  This job has given me so much knowledge and confidence that I can now be in a leadership role.  Even though, in the long term, I will not stay in any form of retail, this job gave me the foundation to be in a leading role in any company.   It has really driven me home that I have chosen the right path in my educational pursuits.  I have to give credit to my immediate manager for seeing that I could do this job and, as I worked, giving me the support I needed to pursue my degree and work.  It is lovely to speak to her and have a conversation, good or bad, and not worry that I will be spoken down to and have a conversation from person to person, not from a manager to an employee.  We all had those bosses that made us feel tiny, and the conversations were uncomfortable. We hate speaking to them, and they make our working lives miserable. With any job that I had, I always try to have a takeaway from it.  What have I learned?  What were some good ideas, and what were the bad.  With that knowledge, I knew what I was looking for and what I expected of the job and myself.  

 

Being a Head cashier at a retail store has given me skills such as:

1) Leadership skills

2) Confidence in my decisions

3) Enhancing my listening skills, creativity, and decision-making.

 In my current role, I communicate a lot through text messages. The answers and/or questions have always been short, sweet, and to the point. Soon, with a change in my role at work, I will be doing a lot more emailing with people in my administrative offices. Reading these two chapters in Anderson's book helps by giving me ideas and tools on how to construct qualitative and quantitative emails.  

Looking at my classmates' blogs, I am struck by how everyone uses these skills in their respective fields. All the different styles are interesting because our audiences are different. For example, the way I have to write an email is different from that of those who work in a different industry. As professionals, we know our audiences and write accordingly. 

     Professional communication is critical for any workplace to function. I am currently part of a team at work (a local grocery store) that is changing things, and all the departments in the store must communicate efficiently and effectively. On Friday, we were all in a meeting, for all of us in the front end of the store (cashiers, head cashiers, and customer service), discussing what to expect with the holidays coming up, what was going to be expected of us, and what events were coming up within the store.  This was important because we have a new person in charge of customer service.  Communicating with him what works and what is a challenge for us is crucial because it gives him an insight into what goes on daily.  It also allows us to hear his ideas, what he plans to put in place, what he already did, and why he made certain decisions.   Having these meetings is crucial because I now know who my new manager is, and I learned about my readers.  When I have to construct an email, I know what will be helpful and persuasive to him.  Learning who my audience is in any email or digital communication can be crucial.  

    Working in customer service is based on effective communication. While most of my job is helping customers have a great store experience, I also need to communicate with management. Most of my communication with them involves digital communications, primarily by email. I also serve as the point person for organizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc., when they ask for donations for auctions and charity events.  Adding all the information in an email to the appropriate person in my corporate office to get it approved is an email that must be detailed and to the point.  Again, knowing who my audience is and who I am directing the email to is important because, with context, the charity or nonprofit will not get the donation.

     In the first chapter of our book, Anderson points out how vital the "dynamic interaction between your communication and your readers" is. Knowing who your readers are and being valuable and persuasive in your communications can help change minds in your organizations.

    In our reading for this week, the authors Fletchers and Thornton pointed out that soft skills, which include interpersonal skills, collaboration, business etiquette, initiative, and emotional intelligence, help employees engage positively at work.  This can be applied to my communications with my managers because working with different departments and, more importantly, the customers helps me provide a better workplace for the cashiers below me and my colleagues.

     In the end, in any type of communication, it is essential to know who you are speaking to and how to say it to advance your career.

 Corrected Email  from class

To: Arin Agarwal <aagarwal@pioneer.com>

From: Ben Young <byoung@pioneer.com>

Subject: Guidance as Your Work from Home

Dear Arin,

I'm happy you were just granted leave to work from home. I'm writing to offer some support by sharing some tips on being productive while staying in touch with the office while working remotely.

1. Establish a dedicated workspace to communicate with others in your household where you are working.

2. Respond to email. Check your incoming mail at least three times a day. Answer your messages promptly and send copies of relevant messages to the appropriate staff as soon as possible. Otherwise, your email inbox will become very full and challenging to manage.

3. Transmit all your work orders to Rachel. She will analyze each week's activity and update all sales assignments and inventories.

4. Prepare an end-of-week report. Send Yolanda a summary of your week's work showing all the major accounts you managed.

We will hold our weekly staff meetings on Fridays at 9 AM. Can you attend the next one, which is on Friday, June 9th?

You are sure to enjoy working from home, Arin. Following these basic guidelines should help you become efficient and communicate adequately with the office while still allowing you to meet your family's needs, which is what we hope to support!

Thanks. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Ben Young

Director, Personnel

Pioneer Solutions

byoung@pioneer.com

808-900-3947