ISO 9001:2015 no longer requires organizations to design a specific process dedicated to communication; however, communication is mentioned throughout the latest version of the standard, giving it all the importance it deserves.
Having said that, it is worth remembering that if activities are undertaken to achieve an intended result, it is obvious that a process must underlie them. Therefore, although communication processes are no longer seen as actual business processes, they should be considered as mechanisms on which every process relies to be effective.
The 2008 version of the standard required top management to establish actual processes to ensure appropriate communication within the organization. In the 2015 version, all of this has been extended, including internal and external communications relevant to the quality system.
The concept was then further modified so that communication became everyone's responsibility.
Communication is a process in which information and its related meaning are transmitted from a sender to a receiver.
This definition implies that, whatever means is used to transmit the information, the sender and the receiver must reach an understanding of its meaning; otherwise, the communication was not sufficiently effective and the sender did not adequately transmit the message.
The effectiveness of a communication process is, therefore, evaluated based on the extent to which the sender and receiver of a message agree on its meaning. Because communication pervades every process, it does not constitute a process like any other because it does not produce tangible outputs.
The output of a communication process, in fact, can pass through other processes in which it can be distorted in some way. In the different communication processes, the specific inputs, activities, resources, constraints, and outputs will differ, but each of them will have some common characteristics:
- the sender – is the one who originates the communication;
- encoding - the sender encodes the message from his thoughts into words (spoken or written) or images that use a set of common symbols (e.g., language, dictionaries, glossaries);
- the channel and the medium - messages are transmitted in one or more ways (e.g., verbal or written) through different media (e.g., face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, video, letters, written reports, formal specifications, spreadsheets, etc.);
- decoding – whoever receives the message decodes the symbols into thoughts to be able to understand them;
- the message – constitutes what you want to communicate;
- whoever receives the message - processes the information to attribute a meaning to it;
- the feedback - the sender receives a signal that his message has been understood;
- the technology – consists of the set of tools used by the sender and the recipient to transmit and receive the message;
- barriers - consist of anything that interferes with or masks the message;
- organizational structure - the levels through which the message must pass to reach the intended recipient;
- organizational culture - the acceptable patterns of behavior, norms, and values that influence how communication takes place.
Organizations are formed to create something that no single person could do alone. It is therefore axiomatic that these people must be able to communicate with each other to do things properly and achieve the purpose of the organization. To communicate in the best way, it is necessary to work on the following points:
- ability to ask questions - asking the right questions elicits crucial information, removes barriers to understanding, allows people to go in the right direction, and helps build trust;
- listening skills - listening is often taken for granted, but represents 50% of the communication process.
Barriers to effective listening must also be removed by the listener who must strive to have the right attitude towards the speaker or the message, knowledge of the subject, the environment, control of emotions, concentration, and the opportunity to interact with the speaker;
- projecting the right image - the first impressions that a person projects accelerate or delay the development of trust;
- communication through tones of voice: rhythm, speed, intonation, volume, inflection and clarity of voice influence what is communicated;
- effective use of body language: body movements, a person's facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and posture reveal much more than words;
- creating the right space: the environment and the proximity of one person instead of others influence the way people interact and act as drivers or as barriers to communication;
- use of time: a person's use of time can communicate their attitude, what they value, their priorities, etc.;
- use of feedback: communication depends on reaching a consensus, and to do this the parties involved must speak the same language, read the signals, recognize feedback
In section 7.4 of ISO 9001:2015, five requirements relating to communication are listed:
- determine what to communicate (7.4 a)
- determine when to communicate it (7.4b)
- determine with whom to communicate (7.4c)
- determine who can communicate (7.4e)
- determine how to communicate (7.4d)
Determining what to communicate means thinking about what you want to say and what meaning you want to convey. Internal communication refers to the flow of information within the network of processes necessary in the Quality System. Depending on the organization, communication could take place within a single site or across multiple different sites located, perhaps, in multiple countries.
External communication, on the other hand, refers to the flow of information between the quality system and other parts of the organization or between the organization and entities that are not part of it. This type of communication can also take place within a single country or be transnational. In the daily life of each organization there are many communications, not all relevant to the quality system.
If a communication concerns anything that falls within the scope of the quality system, it is relevant to it. Why is such a requirement necessary? It's easily said: if communication is not done with serious and stringent criteria, problems may arise that would lead to making it ineffective. Therefore, before transmitting any message, it is vital to focus on what to communicate and how to do it.