A supervisor from the production department of my organization recently resigned to take a better position with another company, thereby creating a void. The company needed to recruit and hire a replacement to fill the gap. It conducted an internal recruitment drive that conformed to its commitment towards the development and growth of employees. To this effect, the human resource manager composed an internal advertisement for the position and sent it out to all staff via their corporate email addresses.
The communication described above was considered effective as it contained clarity, correctness, and completeness, which are three fundamental elements of effective business communication. Clarity relates to the source of the communication and refers to the ability of the sender to transmit the communication in a manner that makes it simple for the receiver to comprehend (Kaul, 2015, p. 18). The sender must use short and familiar conversational words, construct effective sentences and paragraphs, include examples, illustrations, and other visual aids whenever possible, and achieve appropriate readability through headings and transitions to enhance clarity of the communication (Kushal, 2009, p. 21). The job advert described in the opening paragraph had clarity. Although the company encourages diversity among its workers, it requires that they all have the ability to speak, read, and write in English. To this effect, the communication was written in English to ensure comprehension by the recipients. It was written in short and up-to-the-point sentences and paragraphs that were easy to comprehend. It was also broken down into different sections, and each contained different information relating to the job opening. Additionally, it was broken down into different sections, each with a suitable heading and discussing a different element of the position. Examples of such sections included the company information, job title, position responsibilities, and requirements. The clarity of the information made it easy for the recipients to comprehend. To this effect, the company received applications from only the qualified candidates.
Correctness relates to the style and context of the communication. It requires the sender to take into account the level of the receivers’ knowledge, educational background, and status when formulating the communication (Kaul, 2015, p. 18). It ensures that the facts and figures in the communication are accurate. The correction of communication depends on circumstances, date, and details (Kushal, 2009, p. 21). The job advert communication displayed various elements related to correctness. The human resources manager appreciated that the fact that the advert was internal and that the recipients could easily verify information about the position from other supervisors within the company’s production department. To this effect, he made ensure to provide the correct information about the position to win the confidence of the recipients. For example, he correctly described all the tasks, responsibilities, and accountabilities of the position. He also provided the correct information about the job’s motivational factors such as salary, incentives, and benefits, the accurate information about the work conditions of the position such as work time and shifts, and the precise information about the necessary skills, experience, and knowledge of the holder of the post. He also ensured to provide the correct information about the circumstances that led to the open position. The correctness of the communication helped build the confidence of the recipients in the communication and its source.
Completeness relates to the context of the communication. Communication is considered complete when contains all the facts that the receiver needs. Complete communication contains all the necessary information, includes answers to all possible questions, and includes any possible extra information (Kushal, 2009, p. 18). The job advert communication displayed all the elements of completeness. It successfully responded to all the five Ws which are what, who, why, when, and where. For instance, it described what led to the open position, who the company was looking for, why it was looking for the person, when it was looking for him/her, and where it was looking for the person. It provided its recipients with all the necessary information about the open position. For instance, it described all the tasks, responsibilities, and accountabilities of the position and requirements such as the knowledge, experience, skills, and abilities of the suitable candidates. It also provided answers to most of the potential questions. For instance, the human resource manager realized that recipients may need information about the work conditions and information about the application. To this effect, he described the working time, the shift, and the motivation factors such as salary, incentives, benefits, and prospects of the position. He also described the submissions that the company expected from applicants, where and how they were to be submitted and the deadline for their submission. Additionally, the manager provided the recipients with contact information for use if any of them were interested in obtaining any extra information about the position.
Clarity, correctness, and completeness are fundamental elements of effective communication. Clarity relates to the sender who must make it as easy as possible for the receiver to comprehend the communication. Therefore, clarity makes comprehension of the communication easier. Correctness relates to the style and context of the communication and requires that the sender takes into account the level of knowledge, educational background, and status of the receiver when formulating the communication. It ensures that the receivers develop trust and confidence in the communication. Communication is considered complete if it contains all the information needed by the receiver, provides answers to the receiver’s possible questions, and provides the receiver with additional information whenever possible. Completeness is closely related to the five Ws which are what, who, why, when, and where.
- Kaul, A. (2015). Effective Business Communication (2nd ed.). New Dehli: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
- Kushal, S. (2009). Business Communication. New Dehli: FK Publications.
