* An IT consultant recommends tips for improving communication with business management
Have you ever had to deal with another department and felt like they were speaking another language? Each department has its own set of lingo, acronyms and requirements for getting their job done. Coming into a project to work with other departments without good lines of communication can make you feel like you’re at a U.N. meeting without the translating headset.
This week’s Management Strategies story in Network World taps IT consultant Barton McKinley for advice in improving those lines of communication, specifically when it comes to IT and business. Now more than ever each side must be as clear as possible when detailing its projects or the business necessities for them.
McKinley says that improvement in communication between IT and business boils down to just three concepts: simplify, listen and quantify.
* Simplify: Due to their technical nature and necessity to all aspects of a company, IT projects can be vast and complicated. Sure, the IT folks may know exactly why they need to upgrade their WAN services or desktop software, but it may not be as clear to the business staff who write the checks. While IT may see a more responsive, speedier network, the business gang may only see lots of dollar signs. In order to make the process run as smooth as possible (and in order to get your money) IT needs to clearly explain the benefits of a project, as well as its tangible business or financial benefits. Basically, speak to business staff in a language they can understand – money.
* Listen. This is applicable to all aspects of life, not just business projects. Each side needs to explain their needs or concerns clearly and sincerely listen to the other party’s questions and answers. Sometimes dealing with other departments can take on a territorial, “win-lose” dynamic. Instead of working together for the benefit of the company, relations can assume an air of competitiveness. This can lead to a lot of talking and not a lot of listening. Try going into these negotiations and discussions with a spirit of “We’re in this together.”
* Quantify. If you’re in IT, you have more access to statistics than you know what to do with. This can work to your advantage in making a business case for a new project. If you’re network is too clogged and you want to upgrade, roll out stats to finance that show how slow your net is. Then translate those stats into costs – lost productivity time, lost orders, slow order completion rates, you name it. You can trot out stats to support your case. Just make sure, once again, you present it clearly and in a language business folks can understand.
Check out this week’s Management Strategies story in its entirety for more explanation of how you can use these three concepts to improve your communication: https://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2003/0623man.html
