Effective Communication
Working as a crew brings together individuals from diverse groups who may not share common norms, values, or vocabularies but who do offer unique expertise, insights, and perspectives. Many factors affect how well a team communicates and works. Some of these factors include conflicts, workload, stress and group interactions.
Your interpersonal skills are a key contribution to successful
teamwork even when faced with difficult group dynamics or stressful situations. Some of those skills include:
y Being able to communicate clearly.
y Being able to actively listen and respond, asking appropriate questions or clarifying unclear situations.
y Being able to give and receive constructive feedback.
y Maintaining professionalism in all interactions.
y Being adaptable and flexible.
y Being respectful of others’ ideas, opinions and feelings.
y Being able to recognise your own biases and judgments.
y Being open to others’ ideas and suggestions.
y Managing conflict effectively.
y Being supportive if others need assistance or are having a difficult time.
y Making the best decisions for the situation at hand rather than striving to be right.
y Being supportive of the decisions being made.
Barriers to Effective Crew Performance
There are many factors that challenge communication between crews. Some of these are:
y Fatigue y Workload y Stress
y Cultural differences y Fear
y Bias
y Language barriers
y Lack of understanding of another’s situation, job and responsibilities
y Poor listening Skills y Poor communication
As cabin crew, you must develop the necessary skills and become aware of the factors that interfere with good teamwork and
communication. You should evaluate how the factors mentioned in the previous list impact your ability to perform as cabin crew.
During initial and recurring training, you will be introduced to ways to overcome these barriers and challenges in order to achieve effective crew performance. For example, you will learn how to recognise fatigue and stress in yourself and others and learn how to remain calm under stressful conditions.
Some of the other topics covered are:
y Supportive team behaviors y Balanced participation y Established ground rules
y Clearly defined roles and responsibilities y Good leadership
y Support from leaders and other team members y Motivation
y Effective time management y Effective workload management
6.3.2 Basics of Crew Resource Management (CRM) CRM is the effective use of all available resources (equipment, procedures and people) to achieve safe and efficient flight operations.
Effective CRM helps to:
y Avoid human error.
y Stop errors and their consequences before they occur.
y Minimise and effectively handle the consequences when they occur.
A secondary, but very important benefit of CRM is improved morale.
Good morale leads to improved efficiency and performance by individuals and teams, which leads to better results for the airline.
ICAO requires CRM training for all airlines. In addition, it is recommended that airlines combine the flight and cabin crews whenever possible in this training. However, logistics and size make it difficult or impossible for some airlines to combine the training so often it is often conducted separately. CRM is required in both initial training and recurrent training for all cabin crew. It is important for all cabin crew members to be aware of these CRM basics. Part of
efficient and safe operations and also what barriers might impact that effective performance.
The basic elements of Crew Resource Management (CRM) are:
y Leadership – It starts with the captain but involves all cabin crew. A good leader invites and also expects feedback from others up and down the chain of command and also allows others to take leadership roles.
y Communication – clear and accurate sending and receiving of information, instructions and feedback. It involves
understanding that communication is not just words but we send messages intentionally or unintentionally with our body
language and tone of voice. Active listening is also a key part of effective communication.
y Situational Awareness – taking into account and being able to identify the important elements of what is happening around you and using that information to avoid mistakes or to communicate more effectively. Factors that reduce situational awareness and one’s ability to respond and increase the potential for errors are fatigue and stress, task overload, difficult operating conditions and lack of crew communication,
y Assertiveness and Participation – Sharing of ideas and knowledge and performing with team goals and not personal goals in mind. Making sure that your input is heard and understood rather than silently watching as mistakes might be made.
y Decision Making – the ability to use sound judgment and all available information to make the best decision for the situation.
This involves assessing the problem, verifying the available information and asking questions to clarify, anticipating consequences of the decision and informing others of the decision and the reasons behind it.
Keeping these basic elements in mind when working as a team fosters an environment where everyone feels their input is valued. This approach has a strong and positive effect on how well individuals and the crew will function together in day-to-day operations. It is
particularly useful and effective during times of high workload and stress. When an emergency arises, crews are already working together using parameters that produce good communication and coordination without having to think or reflect on it.
Real Life Examples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_disaster (http://yarchive.net/air/airliners/dc10_sioux_city.html
Progress Check
1. Define CRM and what it is used for.
2. List at least 8 interpersonal skills required for effective teamwork 3. Explain the importance of crew cooperation and teamwork in
order to function smoothly under difficult circumstances.
4. List and describe various types of obstacles to effective crew performance
5. In order to overcome barriers to effective crew performance you can learn to __________________________ and learn how to ______________________.
6. Two skills that will help overcome challenges to successful crew performance are effective ____________ and effective
__________________.
7. The _________ works in an environment that is very confined and quiet.
8. Factors that affect how well a team communicate and works effectively include, ________, _______, _______, and ______.
Answer Key
1. CRM is the effective use of all available resources (equipment, procedures and people) to achieve safe and efficient flight operations. CRM helps to avoid human error and to stop errors and their consequences before they occur. CRM is also used to minimize and effectively handle the consequences when they do occur.
2. Being able to communicate clearly, being able to actively listen and respond, asking appropriate questions or clarifying unclear situations, being able to give and receive constructive feedback,
and flexible, being respectful of others’ ideas, opinions and feelings, being able to recognize your own biases and judgments, being open to others ideas and suggestions managing conflict effectively, being supportive if others need assistance or are having a difficult time, making the best decisions for the situation at hand rather than striving to be right and being supportive of the decisions being made.
3. Crew cooperation and teamwork ensures the safety and well being of the passengers and crew before and during flights and in particular during unusual or difficult situations.
4. Fatigue, workload, stress, cultural differences, fear, bias, language barriers, lack of understanding of another’s situation, job and responsibilities, poor listening skills, and poor
communication (body language, non verbal's, tone of voice).
5. Recognise fatigue and stress in yourself and others; remain calm under stressful conditions.
6. Time management; workload management 7. Flight crew
8. Conflict; workload;stress; group interactions.
Lesson Summary
Now you are be able to describe CRM, a communication and situational awareness tool used during routine and emergency situations. You are also able to identify key elements of CRM and explain its importance in day-to-day operations. You can also explain the importance of crew cooperation and teamwork in order to
function smoothly under difficult circumstances. In addition, you have also learned about the different skills needed for team coordination and communication and the barriers to a successful crew performance.
MODULE SUMMARY
In this Module, we discussed how all members of the flight and cabin crews function as a team and coordinate all of the everyday
operations. In order for the flight to go smoothly and to ensure an efficient and safe flight, the entire team must be able to communicate with each other effectively and understand everyone’s roles and responsibilities. In addition, this module introduced you to the Crew Resource Management, a tool used to ensure effective crew performance and to prevent human errors during flights.
To prepare for the final exam, complete the progress checks found at the end of each lesson several times. You know you are ready for the final exam when you are able to perform the actions listed in the module and lesson objectives.
In the next module you will be introduced to the principles of
customer service and how they apply to the cabin crew’s duties and responsibilities.
Module Learning Objectives
At the end of this Module you should be able to:
• Explain how a cabin crew member can make a passenger feel like a valued guest.
• Describe the impact of good customer service on the airline, on flights and on cabin crew members.
7.0 Customer Service