Working with People Who Don't Communicate

January 17, 2008

Did you ever notice how some people are notoriously bad about keeping you (and others) informed?

They don't respond to e-mail. They don't answer their telephone. And if you try to leave a voicemail message, you hear something like this: "I'm sorry, the mailbox of the person you are trying to reach is full. Goodbye."

What is it with these people?

It's as if they have closed themselves off to the rest of the world, oblivious to whatever else is going on around them.

If you have experienced this yourself, then you know how frustrating it can be. We rely on people to share information with each other - especially when it affects our own work - and we expect people to respond to questions or requests for information in a timely manner. Failure to do so is not only inconsiderate, it undermines teamwork and prevents others from getting their own work done in a timely manner, resulting in tension and stress.

Here is an e-mail message I received from a manager describing a typical situation.

"Certain positions in our office are critical to communicate, document, and facilitate information, which includes returning e-mails, phone calls, and documenting case notes in a timely and immediate manner. One staff member is not good at returning e-mails, or communicating verbally, or by e-mails with staff members and others, on the status of the case. She leaves with things not answered, or without updating the relevant players. "

It's clear that failure to communicate can adversely affect the entire organization.

Why do a few people have to be so uncooperative? And what can you do about it?

The easy explanation as to why some people are so unresponsive is that they are insensitive. They simply don't care about anyone else but themselves. Therefore, they choose not to make the extra effort to return a phone call or reply to an e-mail message, for example, because there is nothing in it for them.

This explanation seems plausible on the face of it because, after all, failure to respond to someone is viewed by most people as an inconsiderate act. But here's the problem I have with that explanation. When confronting these individuals face-to-face, I typically find them to be friendly and cooperative. It's only my "out of sight" communication that gets ignored. So, I figure something else must be going on.

After thinking about this, I have come up with several alternative explanations for this puzzling behavior, along with some implications for what to do about it.

1. They don't understand why others need to be kept informed. They focus solely on their own work and don't understand how their work is connected with the team effort. They don't realize how other people's performance is affected when they fail to share information or keep others updated.
2. They see it as extra work. They don't realize that it's part of the job to keep others informed. To them, it represents additional work over and above their normal workload. In fact, they might even view it as a distraction from what they think of as productive work. Therefore, any time spent documenting or answering e-mail is unproductive time. They don't believe it contributes to their performance. And unlike someone standing in their doorway, it's easy for them to disregard e-mail and voicemail messages. So they do.
3. It is an attempt to conceal a lack of progress toward assigned work tasks. A person who is not conscientious about the job to begin with is not likely to take the time necessary to keep everyone else informed about what they are doing. In fact, it may only serve to show how little they are doing. Rather than explain to others why they haven't completed a task, It is easier to simply not respond at all.
4. They are disorganized. These are individuals who have every intention of responding. But, they are busy at the time, so they postpone responding. The problem is they have no system or process for following up on a timely basis. As a result, they never get around to it. In the mean time, more messages pile up and before long they are overwhelmed. More requests are received. Things pile up.

In each of these cases, there may also be some negative conditioning that reinforces the behavior. This conditioning begins when they "forget" to respond to a few phone or e-mail messages and nothing bad happens. They allow a few more messages to pile up and still, no one calls them on it. After a while, they stop responding at all. They figure it doesn't make any difference whether or they respond or not.

What Can You Do About It?

Correcting this situation requires a two-pronged approach.

1. Emphasize and reinforce the importance of keeping others informed.

The first thing you can do is to make sure that everyone on your team understands that effective communication is part of the work and that time spent replying to requests and keeping others informed is productive work.

Provide some benchmarks. For example, e-mail messages and phone calls should be returned within 24 hours. The more specific you can be with regard to your expectations, the less room for confusion or misunderstanding.

Include in the employee performance evaluation criteria measures such as "responsiveness" and "keeping others informed." Doing so will make it clear that there are consequences for those who fail to communicate.

When someone fails to respond in a timely manner, promptly address the situation. For example, "Did you get my e-mail about the xyz account?" or "Mr. Smith said he has been waiting to hear back from you regarding his request." This reinforces the message regarding the importance of responding promptly to inquiries.

2. Develop a system or schedule for communicating.

Some people don't communicate well simply because they lack a process or routine for doing so. They are disorganized. You can help them practice better work habits by providing some structure around the communication process.

For example, you might suggest to employees that they set aside time twice a day for returning calls and replying to e-mail messages.

Or, if the situation involves an employee who fails to document work-related activities, as described in the manager's e-mail above, you might establish some standards. For example: All case notes are updated at the end of each day. Then, follow up with periodic inspections to make sure that it's getting done.

But what if the situation does not involve one of your subordinates? What if it is someone in another department who is unresponsive? Or your boss?

In that case, you might have to take the lead in providing the structure. For example, you might arrange a schedule of in-person meetings on a regular basis and prepare a list of specific questions in advance.

Communication is a two-way process and when one person is not a good communicator, it places a greater burden on the other to keep the lines of communication open. I hope you find these suggestions helpful.

Stephen K. Foster
Canopy Software, Inc.
1493 Market Street
Tallahassee, FL 32312
(850) 893-5699

E-mail me at: Steve.Foster@ExpertSupervisor.com.