FINAL PROJECT

ALLEN COMPANIES

ABOUT ALLEN COMPANIES

Allen Companies is a design and build company founding in 1999 by Jeremy Felstead. Allen Companies strives to deliver the highest quality service throughout all stages of the design and build process in both commercial and residential markets. Allen Companies is family-owned and operated, with deep local roots. Jeremy started Allen Companies after graduating from the University of Texas with a Bachelors of Science degree in Architectrue. With the help of his business partner H.C. Wood, Allen Companies has been sucessfully operating for over 20 years.

JEREMY FELSTEAD

H.C. WOOD

TED PETERSON

RON FELSTEAD

TREVOR PETERSON

COLE COOLEY

THE PROBLEM

The company is experiencing communication problems across different trade organizations and building sites. The ideas, policies, and procedures needed to be taken for each project are being lost in the communication channels. This is resulting in poor performance at the building sights from multiple teams on various projects, leading to frustration from upper management. It is assumed that the lack of communication is lacking in an upward direction as well, not just downward communication. The employees’ grievances are not being communicated to management either. This results in poor communication.

DATA COLLECTION

In order to learn more about the conflict in Allen Companies, an interview was held with the owner, Jeremy Felstead, and business partner, H.C. Wood. To read the full interview click the button below:

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From this interview, one challenge that was evident is that the company needs to work on communication with a view to improving it. There are problems in communicating that often happen when customers are requesting some changes and this results in overall lost profits. Employees are not communicating what has been done (daily checklists), and they do not have a common calendar. Employees are not given enough time to complete their tasks. They are often given short notice of the dateline; for instance, a day before the project dateline. For better preparation, the employees should be notified well ahead of time to avoid last-minute rushing that may cause some errors. The main form of communication is through texts and email which is not effective because it may cause miscommunication and confusion due to lack of good clarity. Including options such as in-person meetings very often may solve the problem. Another important issue that needs urgent attention is the need to improve team bonding often.

To determine the communication styles commonly used in the organization, a survey was created and sent them out to be answered by the employees. These surveys asked about employee satisfaction with communication in the company while requesting input their suggestions to fix said communication deficiencies. To view the results of the communication survey and learn what each type means, click the button below:

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From the responses obtained, a majority of the employees (80%) said they use assertive communication styles while a minority (20%) said passive communication styles. One of the main problems with assertive communication is that it can create an environment of mistrust and suspicion. When people feel that they are constantly being communicated to in an assertive manner, they may start to feel like they are being treated like children or that their opinions are not valued. This can lead to communication breakdowns and a lack of trust within the organization.

RESOLVING THE PROBLEM

For any company to succeed, communication is vital. After careful consideration and analysis of what theories and recommendations might work best for Allen Companies, we recommend the following:

The 7 C’s of Communication

Allen Companies employees all completed a survey determining their communication styles. Four of the five were assertive communicators, while only one was passive. The 7 C’s of Communication address all communication types and help improve communication within the workforce (Andrade, 2020). The 7 C’s of Communication are:

Clear

Concise

Concrete

Correct

Coherent

Complete

Courteous

Teaching each employee the 7 C’s of Communication will improve communication between top-level managers and employees. If everyone understands which tasks are required of them, problems will begin to diminish. Misunderstandings between managers and employees (and vice versa) can be easily resolved by being clear, concise, and concrete. As aforementioned, ideas, procedures, and policies are being lost and forgotten, which has resulted in poor performance at job sites. Keeping messages correct, coherent, and complete will result in everyone knowing what is expected of them when they get to a job site. We are confident that the application of the 7 C’s of Communication will result in better communication between managers and employees and more clear policies and procedures, which will improve job performance (Andrade, 2020).

The Different Types of Communication

The process can include three different types of communication. In order to understand the entirety of a message and seek ideal, effective, and fully functional communication at Allen Company we need to make sure everyone involved understands the different types of communication. The three types of communication are (Andrade, 2020).

1.Verbal

2. Written Communication

3. Nonverbal language

Messages can be sent each of these ways, or span across multiple types simultaneously. In order to truly understand what is being communicated, employees need to be able to identify the messages coming from any type of communication. Each of these types are required for different purposes and situations. This means it is vital for managers and employees alike to be aware of the appropriateness and usefulness of the different types. (Andrade, 2020). Large portions of communication within the company could be missed if employees only accept one of these types and ignore the others. Teaching and identifying the different types of communication with the employees would help ensure that communication is more universally understood.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend that Allen Companies do the following to improve communication throughout their company.

First, we recommend keeping messages clear, concise, and concrete. To accomplish this, using bulleted lists or numbers can help limit confusion or misunderstandings. Bulleted lists or numbers are also easier for people to understand. We recommend that whoever is leading out the tasks for the day is in charge of creating these bulleted lists and making sure that they are clear, concise, and concrete.

Secondly, we recommend utilizing those clear messages in the best way possible by choosing the correct method of communication. Knowing when and where verbal, written, or nonverbal communication is acceptable helps your message come across more efficiently. You can slo educate your employees on these types of communication to make sure both sides understand the full scope of communication.

Another suggestion to help overall communication is moral building. As mentioned earlier, there are not many team bonding activities that the company holds for its employees. Implementing these every so often could be the next step to great communication. The first step to proper communication is feeling comfortable, and team bonding is a critical piece of that.

OVERVIEW

When a company is having issues with dates, times, etc. it is likely that the root of the problem is communication. Employees can become frustrated when things are not being communicated effectively. Managers can become similarly upset, if they feel that their messages are being misunderstood or ignored. Through identifying this, efforts can be made to educate all employees, managers, etc. on ways to communicate more effectively and how to understand the types of communication. Communication is the most basic, key factor, to any organization… without it, success is unlikely. When the company is taught about the importance of communication and takes the time to incorporate the different theories into their organization, they can see real growth. Communication is vital within the company, focusing on eliminating poor communication can improve motivation, efficiency, and many other aspects of the work.

All photos taken by Brody Felstead, used with permisison from Allen Companies.

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