E-News for February 2001
Greetings ALMA Members,
Our laboratories typically have numerous safety programs or initiatives including monthly safety programs, CAP training, safety audits, etc. In addition to communicating this vital information to our staff, we also have a responsibility as managers to make certain that our staff understands the information that we communicate. This concept is very common in academia where understanding is measured through testing—why don”t we use the same approach? Whether viewing a video, reviewing safety rules, or receiving safety training, people will listen more intently if they know that they will be tested at the end of the program. Testing can enhance the learning experience, provide feedback to help improve future presentation of the material, and, if you use a bit of creativity, can actually be fun for the staff. Inject a little humor in your tests or use the tests as a competitive game to build staff acceptance.
At the ALMA Conference in Palo Alto, our members from Ashland Specialty Chemicals passed along an interesting safety idea. They reported an exercise where they went into the lab, blindfolded an analyst, and asked him to find the eyewash station. This practical demonstration turned into a real learning event that emphasized the importance of the safety equipment in the lab and awakened new safety awareness in the staff. Sharing experiences such as these is the reason for our conference and for our organization. Give this exercise a try in your lab and let me know how it works.
Harvard Management Communication Letter had a recent item on “The Ten Commandments of E-Mail” that is worth passing along. I found that I didn”t agree with all of them but a few are thought provoking:
- You have several choices
- Consider if the message can be easily understood in an e-mail or if a phone call would be better. Tone of voice may be important for some messages.
- Never print e-mail
- If you have to print e-mail, it means either you or the sender misunderstand the purpose of the medium.
- Never send e-mail when furious or exhausted
- You will probably regret sending emotionally charged e-mail messages. If the e-mail doesn”t lead to an action, consider not sending or reading it.
- Never substitute e-mail for face-to-face meetings
- When trying to persuade someone or handling personnel functions (discipline, reward, firing, etc.), do it in person.
- Never delete names from your address book
- Use the time saving features in e-mail such as standard headers or names from your address book but don”t assume you can remove names just because a person moves on.
- Never forward chain e-mail
- It gets clogged with headers and footers and is a lazy form of communication.
- Never pass on rumor or innuendo about real people
- It can come back to haunt you.
- Never criticize the company you work for or may work for one day
- Never put anything in an e-mail that you wouldn”t say in public.
- Remember the communications hierarchy and keep it sacrosanct
- Communication in terms of impact are 1) meeting, 2) phone call, 3) voice mail, 4) e-mail.
- Never send anything by e-mail that must be error-free
- It is too difficult to proofread successfully on the computer screen.
With this set of commandments, I’ll bet we’re all sinners.
If you have any comments, cost saving suggestions, opinions, etc. let me hear from you .
Wayne