AMPCOR205 Communicate in the workplace

What is communication for the job?

Communication is part of getting the job done. You are communicating when you:

• read the signs and posters in the wash room
• follow your work instruction and SOPs
• listen to instructions from the supervisor
• attend a union or shed meeting
• report an accident or equipment breakdown
• fill in a holiday or leave form
• press the buttons on a computerised control panel.

Communication is also part of working well with other people. You are communicating when you:

• share a joke with Sam in the boning room
• show someone where the first aid room is
• buy a football club ticket from your mate in load out
• stop people giving the new guy a hard time
• work with Mira to find a better way to store the high pressure hoses.

When you communicate you get the information you need for your job. When you communicate you also give other people the information they need to do their jobs.

What information do you need to get the job done?

Whatever your work is, you need to get and give certain kinds of information to do the job. This includes information about the company, the people in your workplace and your job.

The company

This diagram shows a typical flow of work through an abattoir. Everyone in the company has a part to play.

A typical workflow

Stick Delivery

Cattle Wash

Run – Up

Stun

Weasand Tie and Shackle

Stick

Rod

A guide for the preparation of the MSQA System – MSQA, Department of Agriculture, Canberra

Information about your company helps you to see where you and your job fit in.

For example, how would you feel if your supervisor started doing a lot of extra quality checks? You might feel annoyed or worried. But if the supervisor had explained that the company was improving the quality system so that it could win a big contract with a supermarket chain, you would feel a lot better.

You would know why there were more checks and why you might be asked to do things differently.

The kinds of information you need to know about the company could include:

• what the company produces
• what the company’s main aim is, and how they are trying to achieve this
• where the livestock comes from
• who the customers are; local, state, national or overseas
• the way the company is organised into departments and sections
• where you and your job fit in
• expected standards of behaviour
• conditions of employment, such as awards, pay and holidays
• rights and responsibilities
• regulations such as quality, safety and environmental waste
• clothing and other personal protective equipment requirements.