A difficult communication (2)

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another.But this simple definition of communication becomes more and more complex if we analyze the way, the media or the moment in which communication occurs.

I want to focus communication in my personal work experience. As I was the responsible of human resources of a company, I had relationship with a lot of people: the departments of the company that needed to recruit employees and the staff selection department, for example. And as it was a great company I had to have relationship with trade unions. This is the more difficult communication I had to have to, and the worst was indeed the bargaining of a new collective agreement.

I remember those days as the worst of my life. The negotiator that I had named for representing the company fell ill and I had to bargain myself. The negotiations had reached a deadlock due to the impossibility to reach a consensus about the increasing of the wages. So I tried to approach to the trade common position by putting myself in their shoes, but it was the worst decision I could have taken because they thought I was going to accept all their demands what wasn’t the truth at all.

After a strike, I had to work out for an agreement. Misunderstanding was the real problem, and it was because the two parts weren’t speaking the same language, and it was necessary to find a common way of expression and a common objective. The objective was clear: to reach and sign an agreement about salaries. The way of expression was establishing a new communication. So I proposed we would have a little meeting the two responsible of trades and me, without other people. We went out of the company looking for a different ambience. So I chose a private room in a little and quiet tea shop. There, having tea, in a relaxed situation, we were able to speak and listen to each other about the problems of people and the problems of the company trying to find a point of agreement. Finally, listening carefully and speaking frankly we could reach an agreement. Then, the agreement was finally signed.

Communication is a two-way process, and to listen carefully to other people is the key of a good communication.