The Importance of Communication in the Workplace

“To join a profession is to plunge into a community of people. Much more than the meeting rooms and offices where we work, our relationships with individuals and groups constitute the environment in which we live our professional lives”

(Gersick, Dutton, and Bartunek, 1026)

Following the difficult journey that I underwent in securing a placement, the first challenge that I encountered in the workplace was adapting to the office environment and in establishing strong communicative bonds with my team. I carried out my placement at the Belfast Film Festival back in November, and we had an extremely tight turn around in terms of preparation for the festival itself. Many of my colleagues had already worked together on previous festivals. Some had been working together for months already by the time that I was introduced into the office. They knew each other very well and it was a positive, hardworking and friendly environment. However, the initial adjustment period upon entering the company and learning to adapt to the team’s work processes was a challenge. I was determined to integrate effectively into the team, but in order to do so, I used Borton’s Model of Reflection to reflect on my communication skills to then visualise how I needed to implement such skills or improve upon them to fit into a team dynamic within the broadcast industry. 

What?

“Communicating effectively is an art and must be practiced effectively at workplace for better output and successful achievement of goals of an organisation”

(Agyin-Birikorang , 208)

When I first arrived at the offices for the Belfast Film Festival, it was clear that they already had a solid stream of communication between each other. They were extremely close knit and knew exactly how to work together efficiently. They had been preparing for the festival for months and I was only slotting in for the weeks leading up to the festival itself. My new colleagues were now established professionals within the industry. Frankly, this was very daunting to me at first. The idea of working in parallel with successful creatives for such large-scale events was a shock to the system. Being trusted with working on the “Belfast” premiere was certainly not what I was expecting when I applied for the placement. I was immediately treated as an integral member of the team from day one. I was expecting to be running around getting coffees and acting more as a spectator. This certainly was not the case.

We were a relatively small team tasking a huge workload. It was evident that I needed to build a relationship with everyone in the office as elements of my tasks ultimately impacted their line of work as well. I knew that I needed to put immense effort in in order to learn from and communicate with the team thoroughly as I was tasked with some important assignments. The main one being, the press release for the “Belfast” Premiere. It was the biggest event that we had and it was one of the first jobs that I was asked to prepare. It was non-stop preparation from the very beginning and our communication needed to be solid in order for everything to fall into place.

So What?

“Communication in the workplace is critical to establishing and maintaining and maintaining quality working relationships in organisations.”

(Agyin-Birikorang, 208)

I was extremely nervous entering the office initially as it felt difficult integrating with a group of experienced individuals. I felt like an imposter. I had to disregard this insecurity to the side once the real preparation for the festival began. I had no choice but to communicate consistently with my newfound colleagues. We needed to rely on each other and work together to carry out most of our roles. I needed to adapt quickly in order to get my job done and for them to be able to do theirs. I also was conscious the entire time that it was crucial to develop connections within the industry prior to graduation. This motivation pushed me to put an emphasis on my communication skills whilst I was surrounded by so many established individuals. I found it extremely difficult at first but it slowly got easier as the festival approached.

The “Belfast” premiere gave me insight into what to expect at industry events and it actually put me at ease. The afterparty was bustling with VIP guests and professionals but to my surprise, everyone was very interested in speaking to anyone in the room as we were all creatives with an interest in film. My initial fear was that nobody would want to speak with me as I was a new start into the industry.

My first major communication struggle happened at the “Doineann” premiere in the ODEON in Victoria Square. We had issues in regard to a confusion with times in the cinema. They wanted to end a Q&A after the screening as there was a scheduling issue. This was a major problem because the stars of the film were all in the cinema and they had travelled a long way to be there. I had to work with Michelle Devlin to resolve this. It felt like a nightmare but we managed to negotiate a work around with the cinema. It was incredible working so closely with someone with as much experience as Michelle.

Now What?

Following this experience, I will now put a greater emphasis on my communication skills with future colleagues. We all needed to rely on each other consistently throughout the festival and from this, I now understand the importance of making a proper effort in regard to communication and relationship building in the workplace. It enables a better team dynamic and work gets carried out more efficiently and in a more enjoyable manner. I feel proud that I was trusted to work alongside such talented people on some very exciting events. This improved my confidence in my abilities greatly as graduation and the world of work rapidly draws closer.

I improved my communication skills and worked well in a team environment to successfully carry out large scale events, I learned more about the industry that I’m entering and learned the value of communication and teamwork within a broadcast context. I improved my confidence and my work-related skills on this placement, specifically in regard to verbal and written communication. I gained new contacts and friends within the industry in the short time that I was with the Belfast Film Festival and it was an incredible 6 weeks.

Bibliography

Adu-Oppong, Akua Ahyia, and Emmanuel Agyin-Birikorang. “Communication in the workplace: Guidelines for improving effectiveness.” Global journal of commerce & management perspective 3.5 (2014): 208-213.

Choren, Alexander. “The importance of communication in the workplace.” IEEE Potentials 34.3 (2015): 10-11.

Gersick, Connie JG, Jane E. Dutton, and Jean M. Bartunek. “Learning from academia: The importance of relationships in professional life.” Academy of Management Journal 43.6 (2000): 1026-1044.

Hermann, A., Leonardelli, G. and Arkin, R., 2002. Self-Doubt and Self-Esteem: A Threat from within. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, [online] 28(3), pp.395-408. Available at: <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167202286010>.

Lucas, Patricia. “Critical reflection. What do we really mean.” 2012 Australian Collaborative Education Network National Conference. 2012.

Nicol, Jacqueline Sian, and Isabel Dosser. “Understanding reflective practice.” Nursing Standard (2014+) 30.36 (2016): 34.