In a survey of 100 people, how many said that communication was the most important factor in every successful enterprise? The answer – 90, the other 10 didn’t understand the question.

We’ve all heard the sayings, “communication is key”, “it’s good to talk”……but what is so important is actually to say something worthwhile. In a work environment that means giving people clear instruction, a focus, a vision even.

George Bernard Shaw once observed (allegedly – I can’t say I was there at the time) that “the single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place”. It’s no good talking when no one understands what on earth you’re saying and how it relates to them.  With that in mind, towards the end of last year we set about adopting and implementing the most effective methods of two-way communication and we’re not a bit ashamed to say we borrowed ideas from people who were already doing it extremely well. The Royal Mint was one of the first companies to achieve the coveted gold standard Investors in People accreditation and during a guided tour of their operations, we witnessed the methods in practice that had been successful there in improving communication in all directions. This experience, coupled with the feedback from our own Investors in People reassessment (following which we were delighted to retain our accreditation of the standard), helped us to gain valuable insight specifically into how we can communicate better throughout the business. We’ve always made a point to be as open as possible, but there’s always room to improve.

Our commitment to improving communication is more than words. Simple but effective tools have been implemented such as a central board installed where any issue or opportunity for improvement can be raised at any time by anyone, anonymously or otherwise. Progress is tracked on the board and the follow up can be viewed by all, so that there’s no hiding and no excuses. So far we’ve had an even better than expected response with 44 excellent suggestions for improvement actioned within the first month; all helping to resolve issues, improve quality or efficiency, or in some cases all three. Proof that people really do make the difference.