Stop Assuming, Start Assigning: How To Communicate Actionable Tasks

Words: Melonie Leslie
Photos: G & G Masonry LLC

Communication is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behavior to express or exchange information or to express thoughts, feelings, etc., to another person.

It is such an important part of a successful business and for construction projects. We all know it, but have you really taken a step back from your day-to-day routine to think about how well you, your teams, and those around you are communicating?

The Problem With Project Meetings
I see more of our construction projects requiring meeting after meeting to coordinate our projects. The goal of these meetings is to create clear communication and coordination among trades. We spend time updating on where things are currently, talking about where we need to go, and being asked for information to put together the puzzle of how we are going to get there.

But that is when it starts to get messy and falls apart. It often turns into no one directing all this “communication” that is flying out and creating our clear path forward. The result is a bunch of stuff that needs to be accomplished, but no clear directives on who is supposed to follow through and complete these tasks. Rather, there is just the assumption that someone will do it, and somehow we will meet our deadline and finish the project. I leave these meetings feeling like not much has been accomplished and that I will not get the information I need to move forward with my tasks.

So, this got me thinking. We are having all these meetings to improve communication, but how come I am still not seeing a result from this time and effort? What is missing in these meetings, and if it is missing here, are we missing it in our internal teams as well? Then it hit me. What is missing is the ability to communicate clear, actionable tasks and assign who is supposed to complete them, and by when.

Taking Ownership Of Internal Communication
While I do not have control over outside teams, it got me thinking about my own communication and how my teams are communicating. How can I improve and better structure my communication, coach others to communicate better, and create processes that increase communication without having to think about it?

In thinking about my own communication, I made some key changes to how I give my team directives. While I have usually been good about providing clear, direct instructions, I realized I used the word "we" a lot because we have a team culture. Using "we" communicates that culture, but when you are trying to assign a specific task to an individual, it creates confusion because you have not clearly directed who is responsible.

I have since worked on correcting this and encouraged my team to call me out when I use "we" while assigning action items. I also found I was not good at providing deadlines, assuming my team understood when tasks should be completed. My failure to do this as the team grew resulted in more fire drills that could have been avoided had I simply given them a deadline.

Clarity And Accountability In The Morning Huddle
There is no doubt that a morning daily huddle with your team to give them an idea of what needs to be accomplished today is beneficial, but does everyone on your team know their specific task to reach that goal? Or was it just assumed they knew their tasks to complete?

I can count many times when I am following up on incomplete work or work done incorrectly, and the response I received was, "He should know." Now, sometimes this is the case, but I find most of the time, we just assume someone has acquired a skill along the way and should be applying it here when, in fact, they have not. How can we hold someone accountable if we have not given them clear, direct instructions and stated by when we need it finished? By providing this information, we have now created a pathway for them to achieve the goal. We have also now provided a way to measure and hold them accountable for their performance without misunderstandings or excuses.

Automating Communication Through Technology
While we do our best to communicate actively, things are going to get missed. So how do we create passive or automatic communication? By building and using consistent processes, standard operating procedures, and technology. Default processes for notifying team members and third parties at certain milestones or dates make communication automatic. Setting specific days or dates for recurring tasks makes it easier for team members, new and existing, to follow through without needing reminders. Standard formatting for things like material orders minimizes confusion from the office to the field.

Taking it a step further, you can start incorporating technology with workflow features and AI. Project management software typically can assign tasks with ball-in-court and due date fields. Many of them will also automatically generate email reminders when the task is assigned and when the deadline has passed. This hits all the marks I mentioned before: a clear, actionable item, who is assigned the task, and when it is due.

Another way to create this communication is by using AI and workflow platforms. By building workspaces in these tools, your teams can create lists, boards, assignments, due dates, notifications, alerts, progress charts, and so much more automatically. A little time investment by your teams to build out your workspace can save so much headache, errors, and fire drills down the road. We use a workspace built specifically to track materials needed on our projects and to communicate across project management, superintendents, dispatchers, and drivers. Jobs are created on the board with a task for every material item, assigned to a specific person with a status: ready to ship, need to pick at yard, or delivered. At any point, that data is accessible to the whole team, and when statuses change, notifications go out automatically, keeping everyone updated.

The Challenge: A Name And A Deadline
At the end of the day, communication is not about how many meetings we hold or how many messages we send. It is about whether the right person walks away knowing exactly what they need to do and by when.

So here is my challenge to you: this week, before you walk out of your next team meeting or huddle, stop and ask one question. Does everyone here know exactly what they are responsible for, and by when? Not "we will figure it out" or "he should know." A name and a deadline, every time. That is it. That is the whole shift. You do not need new software or a company-wide overhaul to start; you just need to catch yourself the next time "we" slips out when you mean "you" and replace it with clarity. Fix that one habit, build the systems that communicate automatically over time, and watch how much less time you spend chasing down work that should have already been done.

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Stop Assuming, Start Assigning: How To Communicate Actionable Tasks

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