Communication:

Process improvements typically are expected to reduce costs through improved quality, reduced resource consumption, increased capacity and reduced cycle time. A classic strategy to identify and prioritize process improvement opportunities is to pursue high-cost areas of a business, leveraging seemingly small process improvements to yield impressive cost reductions. Communication transcends every aspect of a company’s performance, consumes untold resources, is often the root cause of many organizational mishaps, and yet is seldom viewed as a process. Communication consumes time from every employee in your organization, including a disproportionate amount of time from the highest-cost employees—the leadership team, thus qualifying this process as a high-cost area of the business. Approaching communication as a resource-consuming process offers tremendous high-leverage opportunities in many organizations.

Communication Process Inputs

Similar to product costs mostly being established during the design phase, communication costs mostly are established at the input stage of the process. The most important consideration in communication process inputs is purpose.

If clarity in purpose for a specific communication can be established, the rest of the inputs can be minimized, the value-added can be optimized and the outputs can be maximized. If the purpose of a specific communication process cannot be clearly articulated, then perhaps the entire process is a waste. The many purposes of communication processes in an organization include:

• Providing status updates

• Making progress reports

• Making decisions

• Solving problems

• Collecting inputs

• Making announcements

• Acknowledging accomplishments

• Coordinating resources

• Debating options

• Promoting morale

Companies exhibiting best practices in communication have clarity of purpose for each of their many communication processes and are disciplined as not to inefficiently mix or blend purposes. In doing so, the other inputs can be minimized without compromising the outputs.

With a defined purpose, resources can be allocated smartly. In a decision-making communication, all decision makers—and only decision makers—should participate. The decision then can be shared in a separate communication process (status update, announcement, etc.) in which different stakeholders can and should participate. All too often, the purpose is undefined or multi-faceted causing an inefficient use of expensive resources. For example, think about how many meetings you attended last year spending an hour wondering why you were there and thinking about all the “real work” that could be accomplished in that same period of time.

With the purpose and resources established, the other inputs can be determined. Time should be allocated commensurate with the purpose and the method selected commensurate with the purpose, resources and time. Pertaining to announcements, the sequence and method of communications can become critical to the success of the communication output. Sensitive and/or impactful issues ideally are communicated face to face and in a very specific sequence of audiences, while more general communication offers many varied approaches.

Planning and scheduling also should be a function of the other inputs. Most communication processes benefit in terms of efficient use of resources with advanced preparation. Therefore, planning is required to provide participants with advanced notification of what to prepare, as well as the time to prepare.

Adding Value

If the inputs of a specific communication process are well designed, then the value-added element becomes a simple matter of facilitation. With clarity of purpose, the right participants, appropriate time and method, and advanced preparation, the only opportunity for process improvement is to manage topic derailment. Good facilitators keep notes, review accomplishments at the end of the communication and record “parking lot” issues to be assigned to other communication processes. A reasonable skilled facilitator with a clear objective and agenda focused on keeping the participants on task can be highly effective.

Communication Output

If viewing communication as a process is a new concept to your organization, then having an output to a communication is probably a novelty as well. Thinking about communication output should start with the communication purpose. There are many outputs of communication processes in an organization including:

• Decisions made

• Consensus reached

• Coordination achieved

• Status understood

• Problem solved

• Inputs recorded

• Options considered

• Announcements made

Quite often, the output of one communication becomes the input to another communication with a different purpose and different inputs. For example, a successful debate of options should conclude with another communication process to make a decision potentially involving different participants and a different method. Each communication process should conclude with a recap of what was accomplished, and an agreement on actions to be taken as a result of the communication. With the exception of the media industry, most companies do not benefit from communication without a resulting action. The output of a communication process should answer the purpose.

Communicate With Purpose

Medical device companies generally are complex in nature. Most issues within medtech companies have many facets—regulatory and compliance, clinical, scientific, technological, financial and logistical, to name a few. Communication about these multifaceted issues is therefore critical. Today, most orthopedic device companies face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny, economic pressures, competitive pressures and technology advancements.

Our industry is fully engaged in an evolution, if not a revolution, and communication has never been so critical and yet so challenging. As both industry consolidation and industry growth continue, multi-functional, multi-location and timely communication is required.

Some leaders believe that technology is the solution to their communication woes, but a lack of defined communication processes in terms of inputs, value-added and outputs has allowed technology to make communication a growing problem. Of the hundreds of e-mails entering your inbox, how many appropriately consume your time? Designing, managing and process-improving effective communication warrants the same degree of management discipline and rigor as developing and launching new products and technologies. Think about the organizational capacity that could be released to better serve the marketplace. Perhaps you should communicate with purpose the process improvement opportunities that you see within your communication efforts.

Joe Condon is management consulting leader for the Life Sciences Group of Plante & Moran, PLLC, an accounting and business advisory firm. Previous experience includes work as vice president of operations and executive plant manager for Stryker Orthopaedics.