Communication in Contracting

con 215 pre-class assignment #1

Communication in Contracting

Introduction

With all the demands on your time, why should you be concerned about effective communication? Communication skills are vitally important in any environment where teaming is important. As a business advisor to the acquisition team, it is important for you to communicate clearly and effectively to carry out the mission of your customer.

Performance Outcome(s)

At the end of this reading, you will be able to effectively communicate orally and in writing. Specifically, you will be able to:

Explain why effective oral communication is important to the contracting process.

Explain why well written documents are important to the contracting process.

Resources

You may access the following resourceformore information on basic communication skills:

“Tongue and Quill”: An Air Force Handbook that provides the necessary information to ensure clear communication whether written or spoken at

Basic Communication Skills

Definition

Different resources define communication using different terminology, but it ultimately boils down to it being an exchange of information regardless of how that information is presented.

Purpose of Communication

Communication can serve many purposes such as directing, informing, persuading, inspiring, and sometimes just getting a message across to others. Regardless of the purpose, you must understand the process as well as the general principles that apply to all forms of communication.

As business advisor, you will be communicating with many people for many different purposes. If your purpose is not clear, then you will have a problem getting your message across. Knowing your purpose will help you know where to place emphasis and what the tone of your message should be.

Communication Process

The following is a description of the communication process:

Sender: must establish credibility

Message: affected by tone, organization, validity, what is communicated and what is left out and individual style

Channel: face-to-face, telephone, letters, emails, reports

Receiver: audience enters process with ideas and feelings that influence understanding

Feedback: crucial to ensuring understanding

Context: situation in which message is delivered, i.e. environment, culture

Adapted from

This process leaves lots of room for error, with messages often misinterpreted by one or more of the parties involved. In fact, your message is successful only when both sender and receiver perceive it in the same way.

Barriers to the Communication Process

There are several barriers to effective communication. As you communicate with members of the acquisition team, contractors, management, and others, you should be aware of the impact that these barriers may have on your message. The most common barriers are:

Physical: Environmental factors such as distance, pronunciation, physical health, speech pattern and articulation, temperature.

Perceptual: Contained within message, sender, or receiver, e.g. past experience, hidden agendas, stereotypes.

Psychological: Mental factors used unconsciously by sender or receiver, e.g. fight defense, flight, manipulation, anxiety, frustration, threat, insecurity.

FOCUS: General Principles of Communication

The Tongue and Quill uses the acronym FOCUS to spell out the following general principles of communication:

Focused: Address the whole issue and nothing but the issue.

Organized: Information and ideas are systematically presented.

Clear: Communicate with clarity and make each word count.

Understanding: Understand the audience and its expectations.

Supported: Use logic and support to make your point.

Most errors in communication occur because one of the above principles has been forgotten. Remembering and applying these principles to oral and written communication will help you stay on target while effectively getting your message across to your audience.

As you work with acquisition team members developing and reviewing various documents, put yourself in the place of the intended audience to determine whether your oral or written communication is FOCUSED or are there unanswered questions, ambiguous statements, or other issues that could be confusing to the audience and could result in costly changes, delays, and decisions.

Communication and the Contracting Process

Communication plays an important role in the contracting process. Contracting works best when all of the components work together to achieve a common goal: support the mission of the customer. Direct communication between the program office and all levels in the acquisition oversight and review process is expected as a means of exchanging information and building trust.

Communication, written and oral, is extremely important to the contracting process. In fact, federal and agency regulations and various guidebooks mandate and encourage full and open discussions with all members of the acquisition team, including the contractors who furnish the goods and services you purchase to meet customer needs. The following resources may be accessed to reinforce the importance of communication in contracting:

FAR 1.102 and15.201

“Rules of the Road: A Guide for Leading Successful Integrated Product Teams” Chapter III, page 13; Chapter V, page 19:(

Seven Steps to Effective Communication in the Contracting Process

The Tongue and Quill identifies seven steps to effective communication and you can apply each of these to specific areas of the contracting process:

  1. Analyze purpose and audience: Know your customer(s), stakeholders, acquisition team, and contractor. This also includes a self-analysis of your strengths and weaknesses.
  2. Research your topic: Gather information about your requirement(s) using market research, sources sought, draft RFPs, or other techniques.
  3. Support your ideas: Use results of market research to support your decisions (e.g., commercial vs. non-commercial, contract type, method of procurement, level of competition).
  4. Organize and outline: Plan for the acquisition (e.g., method of procurement, level of competition, set asides).
  5. Draft: Use draft solicitations and requirements documents to obtain feedback on the clarity of your acquisition.
  6. Edit: Critically evaluate, critique, and correct all written and oral communication.
  7. Fight for feedback and get approval: Get buy-in from all involved in the acquisition process. What we write or say at work must often be approved by our chain of command through a formal coordination process (e.g., supervisor, executive officer).

Modes of Communication in the Contracting Process

In the contracting arena, most of your communication involves speaking and writing, but it also includes nonverbal communication such as body language, physical environment, and personal attributes. Therefore, when communicating you must be aware of the impact each of these modes of communication has on the delivery of your message.

Oral Communication

Oral communication is the physical act of speaking to convey your message. Much of your oral communication in the contracting process will take place during the following:

Clarifications

Negotiations (sole source)

Discussions (competitive)

Briefings

—Management

—Source selection teams

—Pre-award

—Post-award

Because of the complex or controversial nature of these types of communication, it is important for you to ensure that key information is not omitted, to avoid repercussions caused by inadvertent ad-libbing, and to use exact definitions and precise phrasing.

Access the following references to read the regulatory policy regarding these forms of oral communication:

FAR15.306

FAR15.505

FAR 15.506

It is important for you to constantly remind members of your acquisition team that there are certain rules that apply to these various forms of oral communication and improper action can result in serious repercussions.

Written Communication

As contracting officer and business advisor, you will be writing as well as reviewing many of the written documents generated by the acquisition team. It is important to ensure that those documents are clear and concise to avoid confusion, costly changes, delays, and unfavorable acquisition decisions.

The various documents that you may be writing or reviewing include, but are not limited to:

Requirements documents

Justifications for other than full and open competition (JOFOC)

Determinations and findings (D&F)

Memorandums

Briefing documents

Solicitations

Price negotiation memorandums (PNM)

Source selection documents

Many individuals will read these various documents; therefore, all of your written documentation must provide detailed, explicit explanations for your decisions.

Although format is not always as important as substance, a professional looking document may make the difference between success and failure of your written presentation.

Nonverbal Communication and Negotiations/Discussions

Nonverbal communication is the sum of your body’s messages and includes body language that consists of facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, posture and breathing, distance and touching.

Research has shown that between70 and 90% of all communication is nonverbal. Therefore, you should be aware of the different forms of nonverbal communication and their impact in contracting situations. For more detailed information on nonverbal communication during the negotiations, you may access:

Summary

As business advisor to the acquisition team, it is important for you to be an effective communicator, both orally and in writing. More often than not, you will be the voice of the team, so it is important that you understand the communication process, recognize barriers and situations that could impede that process, and ensure that all team members are communicating and working together to support the mission of the customer. Each member of the team must understand the importance of open, honest communication and its impact on our ability to support and meet the needs of our many customers.

At certain phases in the contracting process, your role as business advisor is even more critical to ensuring that communication, whether oral or written, is in compliance with policies governing the various forms of exchanges.

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