Raleigh, NC.

27604
(919)-830-7980
Hallie Cofelt

MEMORANDUM
Date:
To:
From:
Subject:

9/25/15
Professional Writing Committee
Hallie Coffelt
Investigative Report on Professional Communication in the
Workplace

By request of my Communication for Business and Management professor, I have gathered information from
an interviewee about communication in the workplace. The information in this report will be used to help
prepare students for future professional communication.
Research Methods: I interviewed J*** Preece by telephone on September 23 for one hour. I asked her
interview questions about her use of professional communication at work and she completed the Professional
Communication in the Workplace Questionnaire by email (Appendix).
Background
Preece: Preece obtained her Business Administration/Finance degree from Park University. She is now the
owner of ZipZap pest control with her husband. Preece manages the business side of the company as well as
all of the financial components.
Zip Zap Pest Control: Preeces company is very small, the only employees are their three children and a few
close friends. Their company is private and their main customers are in the immediate area of Kansas City,
Mo.
Results
Janet spends the majority of her day at work communicating. While managing her business, she estimates that
she spends between 30%-40% of her work days writing, 10%-15% reading, and between 60%-80%
communicating orally.
Preece Uses the Following Formats:

Bids/Proposals: A bid is an Excel document that describes the service and prices. A proposal is a
more formal document written in Word that is at least three pages.
Lead Responses: Lead responses are responses to questions or requests for service posted on the
company website. These are done via email and Janet responds to these at least ten times a day. She
also responds to any letters that the office receives via Word.
Employee Handbook: The handbook explains the expectations of employment and what to expect
from the company in return. This is reviewed on an annual basis.

Technologys Effect on Communication

Time Spent on Internet/Internet Literacy: ZipZap is currently moving to a paperless environment. Most of
their online presence is managed by Preeces husband through blogs. Preece has recently been working with
some of the social media components. She describes her level of Internet literacy to be moderate and
dependent on the task at hand.
Importance of Communication at Work

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October 7, 2015
Page 3 of 6
Preeces writing is a very important part of her job because customers read what she writes in order to make a
decision about their service or to receive an answer to their question(s). Her writing needs to show that she is
knowledgeable about the situation or issue that customers are seeking to resolve. By communicating
effectively (and meeting the budget requirement), she can grow her company.
Education: High school and college provided a basis for Preeces wiring skills and she has continued to learn
through workplaces, reading, and talking with others about their writing styles. Preece stated, I am
constantly looking for new ways to improve my writing.
Consequences of Effective/Ineffective Communication at ZipZap: When someone contacts Preece about
prices, she typically provides them with a starting dollar amount. When the customer calls to discuss their
specific situation with a technician, they may receive a higher quote. Preece explains, It is always funny
how they remember the starting price, but not always their specific price. She has tried to avoid these
instances by making her communication clearer over the phone.
Analysis
Comparison: Preeces responses were very similar to other professionals, especially those working in smaller
organizations. The importance of email and writing skills in the workplace is shown in the other reports.
However, a major difference is that Preece was not required to take a professional writing course in college,
compared to 57%- 60% of professionals in previous reports.
Report Year
2002
2007
2013

% of Time Spent
Writing Email
25%
38%
39%

% Claiming Writing is
Essential to Performance
43%
44%
51%

Completion of College Prof.

Communication Course
57%
60%
60%

Interpretation: The amount of writing that Preece experiences daily as a business owner surprised me. She is
responsible for many types of official documents as well as responding to customers in a professional and
timely manner. . The written portion of her job is extremely important because she needs to constantly appear
professional and well-informed to increase business and maintain current clients.
Recommendations: It may be helpful to include an assignment that involves professional communication
over the phone because that appears to be the second most common form of workplace communication.

Sources
Covington, David. Communication in the Workplace Report 2013. Rep. Print.
Covington, David, Etta Barksdale, Sarah Egan-Warren, Jamie Larsen, and Stephanie Trunzo.
"Communication in the Workplace" Communication in the Workplace: Title Page. North
Carolina State University Department of English, Aug. 2007. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.

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October 7, 2015
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Miller, Carolyn R., Jamie Larsen, and Andy Huyck. "Communication in the Workplace: Title Page."
Communication in the Workplace. North Carolina State University, Aug. 2002. Web. 07 Oct.
2015.
Preece, J***. "Communication in the Workplace." Telephone interview. 23 Sept. 2015.
Appendix

Professional Communication in the Workplace Questionnaire

Professional Data
1. What is your job title?
President/Ow ner

2. What is your field?

Education
Engineering
Finance, Accounting, Banking
Management
Marketing/Sales
Programming
Research
Other

3. What is your company name?

4. How large
ZipZap Termite & Pest Control

is your company?
50 or fewer
50-100

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100-500
Over 500
5. What degrees do you have?
B.A.
B.S.
M.A.
M.S.
M.B.A.
J.D.
Ph.D/Ed.D/M.D.
6. List the degree(s), institution(s), and Year(s) of Graduation. (For example:
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, North Carolina State University, 2002)
BA in Finance and Management (double major); Economics (minor), Park University 1995

7. Did you take a college course in technical, business, or scientific writing that was designed to prepare you
for writing on the job?
Yes
No
8. If yes, was the course required?

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Yes
No
Writing and Speaking on the Job
9. What percentage of your workweek do you spend communicating orally?
60-80%

10. Are oral and written communication a part of your performance appraisal?
Yes
No

Essential

Very
Important

Not Very
important

Unimportant Irrelevant

11. How important is the quality of your writing

for the performance of your job?
12. How important is your writing to your
career advancement?
13. What percentage of your workweek do you spend writing (planning, drafting, revising)?
20-30%

14. What percentage of your time is spent working with others to plan and write documents?
30-40%

What percent of your writing time is spent composing the following (this does NOT have to add up to
100%):
1121314151617181910-5% 6-10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
15. Email
16. Chat/IM/Text
messages

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17. Blogs
18. Short, internal
word-processed
documents (e.g.,
memos)
19. Short, external wordprocessed documents
(e.g., letters)
20. Long wordprocessed documents
(e.g., reports and
proposals)
What percentage of your time is spent orally communicating one-on-one?
0-5% 6-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% 51-60% 61-70% 71-80% 81-90% 91-100%
21. In person

22. Phone

What percentage of your time is spent orally communicating in meetings?

0-5% 6-10%
23. In person
24.
Teleconference

1120%

2130%

3140%

4150%

5160%

6170%

7180%

8190%

91100%