Formal Report Proposal – Increasing Communication between Employees at Siegle Properties

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Instructor of English 301
From: Amy Yung, Student of English 301
Date: October 11, 2019
Subject: Proposal for increasing communication between employees at Siegle Properties

Introduction

Siegle Properties is a company that specializes in property management. Currently, there are two departments: the strata and rental department. The strata department deals with the strata council and the numerous tenants and owners from the strata plans they currently manage. The rental department deals with owners who have rented out their property. Employees are trained to assist both departments. New hires are taught on the job by senior employees as they get assignments. However, due to a lack of training and job description, they are often confused about what needs to be done and how to do things correctly. The purpose of this formal report is to help increase communication between employees.

Intended Reader

This report is to be read by Karen Ma, the directing manager of the company. She oversees both departments, so the department managers report to her. Currently, she has been assigning senior staff such as myself to review all assignments before passing them to the department managers. She has noticed there has been a lack of communication between employees, hence she has employed this short-term solution. However, it is causing a burden among senior employees as it is extra work on top of assigned work. This report can assist her to implement a long-term solution.

Statement of the Problem

Currently, new hires are not doing their assignments correctly but continue to pass it off to their manager. This issue stems from only being told a brief set of instructions before each assignment. Most assignments have specific rules and lengthy instructions that require memorization. Although new hires can ask questions when they are confused, most often they do not remember how to do assignments correctly if asked to do it a second time. To prevent this issue from happening, communication between employees and departments is needed.

Proposed Solutions

Possible solutions to increase communication within the company would be to assign a mentor for new hires and establish weekly meetings for each department and between departments. By assigning a specific mentor, each new hire can have someone to rely on when confused. Moreover, their mentors can provide thorough training. This can increase the confidence of new hires when on the job. Weekly meetings will further benefit new hires as during this time they can provide progress reports and clarify any misunderstandings. Not only are weekly meetings needed for each department, but it is also important to have them between departments. Due to employees occasionally being assigned assignments of both departments, it is important to keep employees up to date with their client database and projects.

Scope

To assess the possibility of improving communication in the workplace, I plan to focus on these areas of inquiry:

1. Is the job description for each position clear?
2. Do existing employees think a mentor will benefit new hires?
3. Do the employees feel comfortable assisting clients from both departments?
4. Would employees like a weekly meeting for departments?
5. Should there be a training manual where employees can refer to?

Methods

My primary resources will involve conducting a survey of the employees of Siegle Properties to investigate whether they feel competent in assisting customers of both departments. Furthermore, I will interview a senior employee and investigate whether they feel the employees of both departments are lacking communication between one another.

My Qualifications

I have been working at my office for two years. Recently, multiple senior employees have left the office and I have been assigned to assist new hires. This was when I first noticed a problem with my workplace. When I was assisting them, I noticed that they received insufficient instructions before proceeding with their assignment. Moreover, I noticed that the new hires seemed confused about who they can ask when they need help as most senior employees are busy.

Conclusion

As an employee of this office, I am hoping this proposal can allow the office to run more smoothly. By improving communication between employees, it will lessen the burden on senior employees and the new hires will feel more confident when working on their assignments.