How to fix communication breakdown in the Malaysian workplace?

Unquestionably, in the workplace, there will be communication breakdowns. They will happen when the two parties involved in the communication breakdown don’t communicate effectively. To be honest, communication breakdowns will happen at any workplace, and it can be at the top, middle, or bottom of the organization. Communication breakdowns happen in the workplace because people have different personalities. Each person has his/her own communication style. For example, when you talk to your boss, you have to be careful in your tone of voice, your body language, and your facial expression. You will find that each boss has his/her own way of communicating.

To narrow down and understand this better, let’s find the answers to the following questions.

Why does communication breakdown happen in the Malaysian workplace?

Indeed, a recent study revealed that an estimated number of Malaysians are affected by communication breakdowns in the workplace. This communication breakdown usually occurs when two or more people are involved in a certain process or transaction, and when they fail to communicate effectively with each other.

When two people communicate, they need to be able to listen to each other and understand each other. The communication breakdowns are usually caused by different reasons such as:

– Different levels of language proficiency.

– Differences in the cultural background of the people.

– Differences in attitude and beliefs.

– Differences in the way of thinking.

In this article, I will discuss some of the common communication problems that people have when they communicate in the Malaysian workplace. I will also show you how to overcome these problems in order to be able to communicate more effectively.

How to solve the communication breakdown at the Malaysian workplace?

Surprisingly, the solution is simple. It is to treat each other with respect. This is the ultimate key to Malaysian work culture.

I recently had the opportunity to work with a client, a high-profile company, whose management was very difficult to deal with. The people on the floor were also difficult to deal with, and this was not a surprise. They were working in a complex environment, in a location that was difficult to manage.

They were struggling to get their message across to the leadership team. They were unable to understand what the leadership team wanted from them. This was a common situation.

In fact, they were not communicating with each other effectively.

So, hired as an external change agent, I decided to step in and give the leadership team a fresh perspective. I did this by going to the leadership team’s executive committee.

Step 1

I met with the CEO and other senior leaders of the company. I explained to them that I am a facilitator and I would like to help them understand their people. I also explained to them that I have a different communication style from them. Since the top management was mainly comprised of expatriates, they need to adapt to this new style of communication by embracing respect as part of their work culture. This is how we do it in Malaysia. This was the first time they were hearing about this. They were quite surprised.

I also explained to them that I would like to work with them to make sure that they were able to get their message across. I explained that this was the only way to get things done. This issue had to be rectified from top to bottom.

After relentless hours of coaching and training, the people on the top were ready to work together. However, the team leaders and other members were not ready to cooperate. There were still communication barriers.

Step 2

This problem can only be solved by training and coaching the team members. I had to change the culture in this workplace. I had to train them on how to communicate with each other.

Therefore, I taught them the importance of listening to each other. I taught them the importance of respect. I taught them the importance of being transparent. I taught them the importance of being open despite coming from different backgrounds, races, religions, and age groups.

I taught them to be creative in their communication. I taught them to have a common language. I taught them to have a common culture. I taught them to have a common mindset.

It was a very difficult task to train them. They were very resistant to the idea.

It took me a lot of time to train them, but eventually, along with continuous coaching they were able to change their communication style.

I believe that everyone can change. The way we communicate in the workplace can change. The way we think can change. The way we deal with each other can change.

We need to understand that we are not born to be like this. We can all change.

Yes, this was a long process, but it was worth it. The team leader of the floor was able to get the leadership team to change their communication style. Finally, the leadership team was able to get their message across to the team.