Excessive Talker

HRVolley

I have a manager who is a good employee. So good, in fact, that he has been given a promotion where he will have additional employees and additional responsibilties. Some of his new duties include corresponding with customers via e-mail and phone. The problem is that this Manager talks excessively!! Any conversation is at least 20 minutes, even if you are asking for a one word answer. He is very personable and relates well to the employees but other managers get frustrated when trying to work with him. He also has some issues with e-mail, where his correspondence is jumbled, and grammer is less than desirable. This is a valued employee and someone we want to develop. I am wondering what is the best way to approach his issues. He has good management skills, but needs to work on communicating professionally.

Any Thoughts?

HRVolley

Dutch2

Is this your responsibility or his supervisor's responsibility? Sounds like you already have a good idea of what he needs to improve. Someone needs to explain this to him. There are usually all sorts of seminares available that cover how to communicate more effectively, from conversation to the written word. His superivsor may need to sign him up to attend same after first pointing out these areas that are in need improvment.

Paul in Cannon Beach

This manager needs to have someone respectfully but firmly sit him down privately and explain how his excessive talking has begun affecting his ability to perform his job effectively.

Its not that the manager is TOO talkative. Its more that he is talkative at the wrong times. Being talkative isn't a bad thing and can be a very good thing. The key is knowing when its appropriate to "shoot the breeze" and when a one or two word answer is sufficient.

He will need prolonged coaching by someone he can trust who can pull alongside him and say "You are doing it again!" This habit has probably developed over years and years. It wont change overnight and it won't change at all unless he is convinced of the benefits of talking less.

As for e-mail, I would be direct with him. Tell him that his e-mails are not satisfactory and why. Have him cc you everytime he sends an e-mail out to a customer and give him feedback until he has a handle on it.

Just make sure when you e-mail the feedback you don't accidentally send it to the customer as well.

Brother Bluto

This is a very complicated issue in my opinion. I'm sure the "excessive talker" feels that when he is engaged in conversation that he's doing more than conveying a message. He's building a relationship with the other individual. He's learning about the individual as a person and letting them know about him as a person. There is a great chance that while he is discussing an issue with another person that he is also extracting more valuable information that he can use to benefit that individual's likes and dislikes to better service them in the future. He's come to rely on this approach to every person he comes in contact with and has resulted in great success. This behavior has been positively reinforced. If he truly is sloppy in his verbal and/or written communication skills, you might be able to take the "Grooming" approach. It's a non-offensive waying of cleaning up the ruff edges on someone that has great potential. If your company discusses individual goals with it's managers, the manager of the "excessive-talker" could include on the list of goals on-going education/seminars, and give the "excessive-talker" a list of classes that would focus on being a more consise and effective communicator. Follow up with projects that would require that he use the information from the courses. This would provide an opportunity to reinforce this new behavior.

Paul in Cannon Beach

HRvolley,

So how did you end up handling this employee?

HRVolley

After reading all of the posts, I discussed the issue with his manager. I emphasized that this is not going to change overnight, and that this is how he has been communicating his whole life. The manager then sat down with the newly promoted employee and gently discussed the excessive talking and e-mail communication.
The employee was very receptive, and seemed to accept the criticism positively. So far, so good. I am in the process of trying to find some literature on proper e-mail etiquette. This new manager has many new responsibilities, so I am trying not to overwhelm him.

Thanks for the help!

HRVolley

Leo

If you do a search on the web, there are online writing courses that deal with e-mail ettiquette. Some are free.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Here is one from MSN.com today:

[url]http://tech.msn.com/guides/msproducts/article.aspx?cp-documentid=584351[/url]