Effective Communication for the Workplace

Understand the importance of effective communication in the workplace.

Reasons for effective communication may include:

• the business understands who their customer is and their needs
• promotes confidence between the customer and the business

Ways effective communication promotes high standards may include:

• everyone understands the goals that they are working towards
• reduces the likelihood of mixed messages

Possible impact of poor communication may include:

• loss of customer and no new customers
• legal action
• financial penalties
• loss of business

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1

  Explain how effective communication creates a positive impression of the organisation on the customer.

• 1.2

  Explain how effective communication between colleagues enables work to be completed to a high standard.

• 1.3

  Describe the possible impact of poor communication on an organisation.

Know how different types of communication are appropriate for different situations.

Examples of main types of communication may include:

• oral - team meetings, telephone conversations, one-to-one meetings, conference calls, Skype
• written - email, notes, minutes of meetings, reports, letters, charts, diagrams, illustrations

Reasons for using different types of communication may include:

• cost
• need to respond quickly 
• gather people together who are working in different parts of the country or internationally
• meet specific needs such as visual and auditory impairment, reading difficulties, English is not the first language

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1

  Describe the main types of communication, oral and written, used in organisations.

• 2.2

  Explain why different types of communication are required for different circumstances and when communicating with different people.

Use appropriate forms of written communication.

To achieve this learning outcome learners must provide appropriate evidence of using different forms of communication. 

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1

  Select appropriate formats of written communication for different purposes.

• 3.2

  Produce documents that are clearly and accurately presented and appropriate for the audience.

Use appropriate forms of oral communication.

To achieve this outcome learners must provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate their ability to use appropriate forms of oral communication. 

Assessment Criteria

• 4.1

  Communicate clearly in speech in different workplace situations, adjusting register and tone to match the audience and purpose of the communication.