STOP TALKING

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A business owner from California called me the other day requesting advice on how to address a performance issue he is having with his Human Resources Manager. The issue is not about her job performance per se; she is doing fine in her functional tasks (e.g., compliance, investigations, staffing). The rub is her communication style with the business owner. She talks way too much, providing ancillary, if not, unnecessary information that is typically beyond the scope of the topic at hand, is exceedingly boring to the business owner, and is incrementally redefining her as a bureaucratic social worker instead of representing herself as a trusted business advisor.

When asked for behavioral examples about what the Human Resources Manager does, the owner maintained his poise despite his ascendant frustration. In specific, he made several distinct observations:

She talks in chapters, when all he wants is bullets.
Her communication style is characterized by too much background detail about the employee, issue, or problem while providing little value, context, or insight.
She speaks with unnecessary passion instead of measured clarity.
She unknowingly says, “You know what I mean?” numerous times throughout her meetings with him.
Once she conveys the basic information the first time, she will repeat the same information to him as if he was not listening to her at all.

Replete with kindness, the owner readily acknowledged the Human Resources Manager is doing a good job, is a superb role model of the company culture, and is genuinely respected by staff, managers, and executives alike. It just seems like she is so excited to be in front of the business owner, underscored by the point that she wants to impress him with her knowledge, that her emotional filibusters supersede her problem-solving lucidity, typically eventuating in a 15-minute meeting morphing into a 60-minute soliloquy. Like all executives, he does not have that amount of free time available.

First things first: We all can be better communicators. Put me at the front of that line.

That point being said, it appears the Human Resources Manager has forgotten Rule Number 1 of Communication: Consider your audience! That precept takes on unique meaning within the business environment. In general, here are the rules of thumb:

Executives only want a status update
Managers usually want detail
Staff always want direction

Executives simply want to know the business goal context, a concise description of the issue and how it can impact said goal, alternative recommendations with related costs, and the timeline for follow-up. Managers need more specifics: the business goal, prioritization, budget considerations, available resources, performance expectations, deadlines, authority vs. responsibility, contingencies, and potential consequences. Staff employees require tactical guidance addressing why something must be done, what must be done, how it must be done correctly, when it must be done, resources that can be deployed, and communication support.

Back to the business owner. I suggested he place formal structure onto his Human Resources Manager: all meetings will be less than 25 minutes long, she must present all of her information to him in bulleted format not conversational dissertations, she must frame her issues only on the company’s business goals not employee preferences, backstories, or personal subtext, and she must provide at least three mature recommendations she believes will rectify the problem, achieve the business goal, and improve the company culture. In this sense, he is definitely considering his audience.

All that being said, would you now like me to repeat everything I just told you, again?

Neither does the business owner.

If you have any questions or comments about this topic or anything else related to human resources, Sign Up for Steve’s HR Helpdesk!