Why Quality Auditors Need Interaction Skills

Introduction

Quality auditing is rapidly becoming a mandate for organizations around the world. Much of the training and education surrounding auditing focuses on the mechanics of auditing. However, most auditors agree that the key to an effective audit comes from the information gained during one-on-one interactions, the interactions between the auditor and the auditee. Because of the intense interpersonal nature of an audit, quality auditors must have excellent communication skills. By applying Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to the interactions taking place during an audit, interpersonal communications are greatly improved.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the study of how human language and other forms of communication affect the central nervous system. By studying subjective human communication behavior, certain communication theories, strategies, and beliefs have been established for increasing interpersonal effectiveness and creating change . This paper will discuss the interpersonal communication aspects of performing the audit interview.

The audit process can be described as an ongoing continuous improvement cycle. Shewhart's Plan, Do, Study, Act, Model, or the PDSA cycle, provides an effective way to conceptualize the audit interaction process. The first phase of the model involves planning for an audit. Proper audit planning is critical to the total success of the audit. Knowing where information is located and how to access that information is critical to successful audit planning. The second phase of the model, the "do" portion, involves managing the opening meeting, observing the organization, and conducting the actual audit interview. The "study" phase of the model requires that audit information be fed back to the organization for examination and study. Finally, the "act" portion of the model involves taking the audit findings and creating action plans for improving the system. Although good interpersonal skills are needed throughout any audit cycle, this paper will discuss applying NLP to the "do" phase of the Shewhart model--performing the audit.

Background of Neuro-Linguistic Programming

The field of NLP is growing and evolving at a rapid pace. It had its beginning in the mountains of California. In 1976, at UC Santa Cruz, two communications professors determined that when you ask people to remember a picture, they look up. If they were trying to create a picture they usually looked up and to their right, and if they were trying to access an actual memory picture, they looked up and to their left. Also, if people were trying to remember the spoken word, they looked sideways and if they were trying to remember an emotion or feeling, they looked down and to their right. People's eye movements gave observers information about how they stored and accessed information. This gave communication a neurological base. When we think of communications, there is a neurological reaction taking place in our bodies. This, and a number of other discoveries about our neurology and communication led to NLP. NLP knowledge and application is growing at a rapid rate and there are many communication strategies making up NLP.

Communication Strategies

In applying NLP to the auditor's job of gathering organizational information, the following communication strategies and psychological aspects of the communication interaction need to be addressed. These include:

- an auditor's internal state

- an auditor's language skills

- the level of rapport during an audit

Auditor's Internal State

The auditor's internal state or feelings about the audit can affect the interpersonal interactions taking place. Possible past experiences of intense discussions with auditees may come pouring into their minds. Stress then gets associated with the overall audit experience, and a pattern of anxious behavior, audits phobia, is born.

Just the word audit can produce neurological effects in people. When I think of the word audit, I get visions of the IRS invading my small home office, searching for violations of a tax rule. Quality audits can also turn normally happy, well-adjusted employees into nervous jittery, people. The fear and intimidation that goes along with audits are not new phenomenon to the seasoned auditor. Audit interactions can create stress for both the auditor and the auditee. By spending time understanding how feelings and attitudes influence the total audit interaction, auditors become more interpersonally competent in general, but specifically, when dealing with sensitive audit situations.

Auditor's Language Skills

Effective quality auditors must also possess excellent language skills and have a good understanding of how language affects human behavior. Language communication occurs throughout the process, from the language that shows up in a letter announcing the audit to final oral presentations on audit findings. An example of how language can affect the auditee's subconscious neurology can be seen in the sentence, "There is nothing to be afraid of during this audit." What the subconscious mind hears is the last portion of the statement, "be afraid during this audit." A better way to rephrase this statement would be, "During this audit, audit team members will try their hardest to make the experience a positive one." The subconscious mind is now ready and willing to make the audit process a positive experience.

Level of Rapport During an Audit

The third behavioral component in an audit interaction is the level of rapport between the auditor and the auditee. Before any communication can take place, rapport must be present. Rapport can be defined as the "relationship" between the auditor and the auditee. A relationship built on mutual trust and emotional affinity. Building rapport comes from respecting another person's view of the world, while still being true to your own objectives. You know you are in rapport with someone when the conversation seems to flow easily and there is a feeling of goodwill and comfort. Excellent communicators build rapport easily and unconsciously.

Excellent auditors build interpersonal trust and gain rapport because they have a great deal of interpersonal flexibility. Interpersonal flexibility means recognizing other channels of communication - voice, spoken language, and body language. Recognizing someone's preferred channels of communication during an audit puts you in "sync" - synchronous communication. Based on the UCLA study (O'Connor and Seymour, 1994) that found that only 7% of the message is communicated through words, and the rest through voice and body language. Auditors need to have the interpersonal flexibility to match all channels of communication, e.g., vocal tone, vocal speed, and body language. Also, by recognizing and matching the way in which auditees store and access information, rapport can be obtained at a subconscious level. This can be done by paying close attention to the language used by the auditee which references visual, auditory, or kinesthetic descriptors.

Communication Theories

Learning is enhanced when the underlying reasons or ideas behind the communication strategies are apparent. We make sense out of the information coming to us by distorting, generalizing, or deleting portions of messages. Each person's combination and preference for doing this creates a unique linguistic model or representation of how that person views the world.

Distortion

Distortion of information happens regularly as we filter communication messages through our perceptual differences. Have you ever wondered how two auditors can hear the same information but come away with totally different ideas about what was said? Distortion occurs when we make shifts in our perception of the sensory data. Distortions also occur when someone tries to "mind-read" another person's thoughts, or read between the lines.

There are many instances where distorting information or reality is a good strategy to use. When we create a contingency plan, we distort reality in order to imagine other scenarios. Creativity and distortion are closely related. Good distorters are usually very creative people.

Generalization

When we draw generalizations, we create conclusions based on two or more experiences. Generalizations are how we gather information and apply the new information. A generalization at worst is taking one experience and turning it into a lifetime belief. If the experience of making one bad presentation generalizes into a lifetime fear of public speaking, that can be very debilitating. Statements that include all, every, always, never, everybody, nobody, must, shouldn't are examples of generalizations. Auditors have to generalize the data they collect. However, the degree to which information is generalized is key.

Deletion

If we tried to process all the different types of communication coming at us each day, we would go crazy - we simply cannot do it. So we delete information and pay attention to selective aspects of communication. We delete information when we are faced with too much information. Deletion also occurs when we are under stress, like maybe being audited or conducting an audit. If you delete information under stress, know that about yourself and work on becoming more resourceful.

Communication Beliefs

Finally, the glue that holds the theory and strategies together is the belief that one has about human communication. The communication beliefs that we hold can influence all aspects of our behavior. This is especially true for how we relate to others in an interaction. A key characteristic of an effective auditor is maintaining interpersonal flexibility and an open mind. Not all of the beliefs listed below may fit every auditor's map of the world, but being flexible enough to act as if they might fit can greatly improve interpersonal empathy in the communication interaction.

Auditees Have Positive Intentions

If you believe that every action taken by someone has an underlying positive intention, it will make your emotional state more resourceful. In an audit situation this is a particularly helpful belief to maintain. Realize that the person you are auditing has a positive intention behind their actions.

Communication Is Redundant

We communicate using all channels of communication - words, body language, and tone of voice. In order to send a message that is perceived as truthful, auditors must be aware of all the ways we receive and store information. We reinforce and strengthen the communication message by using all channels of communication. Being congruent in all channels of communication builds trust into relationships and rapport at subconscious levels of interaction.

The Meaning of Your Communication Is the Response You Get

If you are trying to communicate a certain message to a person and their response is one you did not expect, you should try something different. Effective communicators always have a different communication strategy to try if the one they are using doesn't work- -it's called interpersonal flexibility.

The Auditor with the Most Flexibility Will Control the Interaction

Having the interpersonal flexibility to take another perceptual position or use a different communication strategy can be a tremendous advantage in an interaction. And when you take another perceptual position to appreciate another's point of view, you are more empathetic and gain a deeper understanding of the message.

Auditees Respond to Their Map of Reality, Not to Reality Itself

According to how someone views the world, their perception of and reaction to the environment will most likely be different from your own. There is no such thing as reality, only perception.

Leave the Auditee in a Better State than When You Found Them

We don't mean relocating the person to Hawaii. Because of your interaction with another person, they should feel good about themselves and the communication that took place. This requires building rapport and trust in the relationship so that feedback can be received and processed in a positive perspective.

There Is No Such Thing as Failure, Only Feedback

Providing value-added information to the organization is what auditing is all about. Giving feedback is part of the auditor's job. Exceptional auditors provide feedback to the organization and auditees so that they feel good about the interaction. By taking an interest in improving interpersonal communication skills, auditors can greatly improve the quality of information received during an audit.

These seven communication beliefs set the stage for positive interpersonal interactions. Maintaining positive and constructive beliefs about human interaction changes the way we feel and ultimately how we communicate with others.

Conclusion

In summary, getting the best information possible during an audit is critical to the success of that audit. Marrying the mechanics of auditing to NLP creates a dynamic system for gathering good information from the organization. By understanding the belief behind a communication behavior, participants are able to gain awareness at a deeper psychological level. The supporting communication theories of deletion, distortion, and generalization help to give a rational explanation for communication behavior. Finally, learning new communication strategies for managing internal feeling state, improving language skills, and building rapport can improve an auditor's interpersonal effectiveness.