Flexibility

In flexible situations in an organisation or workplace, you may not be able to allocate work through devices such as written plans and job descriptions. An alternative is to provide oral instructions or briefings.

The nature of the briefing or instruction will depend on the skills, abilities, and experience of the person who will carry out the work. Less experienced people will need full instructions. More experienced staff may need no more than an indication of the requirement.

For example, a statement such as, 'Pop in and see me around three-thirty. I need to brief you on a new requirement,' may work better than, 'I want to give you some instructions on a new requirement.'

The full range of information in an oral instruction should include:

• what the staff member is required to achieve
• why this is necessary
• how the task is to be achieved
• when and where the task is to be achieved
• what standard is required
• who else should be involved in getting the task done
• what constraints must be observed, for example resource constraints.

Don't be too quick to assume that you can leave out any of these items. A common mistake is to assume that people already know why a task is required. If they don't, they may do the wrong thing.

For example, if you ask Heather to revise the marketing plan for a product, but don't explain that costs exceed revenues in some areas, she may, despite the best of intentions, make the problem worse by changing other strategic activities and not addressing this major one.

Another problem occurs if there is a mismatch between the demands of the task and the skills, experience, and capabilities of the person you ask to complete it. If a task exceeds a person's capabilities, you could destroy their confidence and incur the costs of having to undo the task and do it again.

If there is potential for a mismatch, you may need to provide additional information on how the staff member should proceed. You may also need to provide training or coaching.

For example, if Heather is asked to work with detailed financial information that she has only a partial understanding of, she could make critical errors in her calculations or conclusions. The results of this could be embarrassing and cause her to resent her manager for putting her in this position.

Briefings and instructions may involve more than two people. If you have a major task to which a team of people need to contribute, you should brief the whole team in one session. This would be more efficient than individual briefings and also enhance coordination and teamwork. You might call this process a conference.

For example, Heather has joined Whiti, Moana, and Maya on a team to revamp the marketing plan. To ensure that they all have a common understanding of the requirements, they are all briefed together and are then apportioned their tasks and responsibilities.