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WorldLine Training Ltd

WorldLine Training

Writer's pictureKathy Ratcliffe

Communication - The Conversation

Manufacturing Connections - contact james@m3publishing.co.uk

for more information


The latest Manufacturing Connections meeting discussed Communication, with special guests contributing their insights on trends and practices. Most of those present took part in lively, constructive conversations in both the main room and breakout sessions.


With many different perspectives and experiences to draw from, a range of issues

was covered including how to define the needs of a culture and dealing with difficult

workplace situations. Providing a closed environment in which to discuss matters in

confidence, the meeting enabled participants to open up about personal concerns

and limitations which the group could relate to and benefit from considering. In a

wider context, entire companies can fruitfully employ this kind of facility as one guest

pointed out; a safe psychological environment is essential to gain and maintain trust,

so opportunities for honest and safeguarded communication in the workplace

naturally feature highly in a fully engaged employee matrix.


“We can’t be all things to all people,” a key speaker mused, yet clearly everyone

appreciates and recognises empathy and respect. All contributors touched upon

these aspects one way or another, with recall of personal circumstances helping

those present to situate what was being said. With communication topping the list of

dissatisfactions in personnel surveys, the consensus was that companies need to

meet increasing demands for higher standards, while centralising focus according to

the nature of the individual workplace environment.


“People tend to use the term ‘communication’ glibly,” said one of the guests,

“and it could mean anything, making specifics difficult to interpret.” On a similar vein

it was noted that while top-down communication was relatively easy, achieving

information flow from the ground up was another matter. “It’s incredibly hard to get

people to talk openly,” a CEO observed, with general agreement pinpointing

reluctance to ‘step up and be heard’ from lower echelons of the hierarchy. Again, the

essential provision of safe spaces in which to engage entered the conversation, with

chat rooms on-site being mentioned as one of the relatively new innovations to arise

from present-day expectations.


As ESG and other templates of governance make their way onto the industrial stage,

employees are voting with their feet and actively looking for cultures they can enjoy

being part of. Setting out to bring about transformation may be a challenge to start,

but with so many provisions available to assist companies in developing their

workplace environment there’s little excuse not to take the plunge and invite positive

change. Everyone wins, the company benefits in all respects, and finding solutions to

specific problems faced is aided considerably by talking about them with others in

similar situations.


Look forward to seeing you at Manufacturing Connections! This is the only network-discussion group of its kind dedicated to our industry; whether engineer or manufacturer the taking part in this evolving socio/cultural whirl is going to be important - let's go there together.


Kathy Ratcliffe, WorldLine Training Ltd




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