Is communication a step or a hurdle in your ISO 31000 implementation?

Communicating and consulting is a key ISO 31000 risk management tool and one step in the risk management process.
The publication HB 327:2010 – Communicating and consulting about risk, provides an outline of the ‘why and how’ part of the risk management process. As it says, Risk management takes place in a social context. This means that information needs to be shared by people who are affected differently by a set of risks, who know different things about those risks, and who have different views about them.
In other words, sharing and getting information, is the objective.
The problem
When it comes to communication and consulting, people vary widely in their ability and skills level. Some people are adept at getting people involved and uncovering the gems of information that can add enormous value to the risk management process and effort. Other people, even many senior managers and supervisors, frankly are awful.
We have all sat in front of a manager or colleague who is supposedly wanting to explore information with us but seems either preoccupied with their notes or some other task, or who are so busy trying to impress us with their own knowledge that they uncover nothing worthwhile from the interaction.
When it comes to communicating skills there is always room for improvement and bad habits can often sneak their way into our communication practices.
So, here is a checklist to add to your risk management plan that is useful to everyone.
Do you truly ENCOURAGE?
People need to be encouraged to share information. Not everyone does it and many people, for various reasons, aren’t very open or forward. So you need to:

• Show that you respect them.
• Show you are really interested in what they have to say.
• Show you are listening by checking your understanding with questions eg Are you saying ….?.
• Avoid all aggressive or defensive gestures, such as finger pointing or raising your voice to talk over them.
• Empathize by showing that you accept what they say without judgement.

What about your body language? Are you using only positive gestures such as:

• Open body posture with open arms not folded across your body.
• Direct eye contact.

• Do you OBSERVE them to get the entire message?

• Watch the other team members’ body language. Look for avoidance of eye contact, their facial expressions and general manner that can all tell you a lot about how they feel.

• Do you use the right type of QUESTION at the right time?

Do you know how to engage with someone through questions? Understanding the various question techniques is a must. Here is a basic list:

• Open Questions to get more information and open the discussion.
• Closed Questions to check or tick an item.
• Reflecting Questions to check YOUR understanding. Reflect back to them what  they have said or what you think  has come across from their body language or emotions, to show them you understand.  For example, So you are saying …. and I think you feel …… Is that right?
• Challenging Questions to check for accuracy or validity.
• Probing Questions to uncover issues or underlying assumptions that may be incorrect.

Are you CLEAR in what you are saying?
Here are a few tools which can improve your interactions:

• Be assertive. People want to know where the conversation is going and what is expected of them.
• Focus on the issue and don’t be sidetracked.
• Headline to direct the conversation and break it down into blocks, like stories in a newspaper.
• Summarize the conversation. Summarizing at points during and at the end of the meeting can tie together the main points and demonstrate to the employee that they have made a significant contribution to the risk management process.

So, next time you are discussing risk management safety with a shy or hesitant person, or someone who is difficult to get on with or someone who is not being totally open or honest, focus on your own communication and consultation skills rather than their limitations.