Communication skills importance and proficiency: perception differences between IS staff and IS users

Communication between information system (IS) professionals and IS users must be effective in order develop successful systems. Users have a set of expectations of communication skills and a perception of how well the IS professionals exhibit the skills during interactions. IS professionals have different views of the importance of communication and of their own performance. This communication gap is tested with a matched sample of IS users and IS professionals. A gap is found in the importance the different groups place on communication skills and a larger gap is found in the perceived presence of the skills in the IS professionals. The study indicates a need on the part of the IS professional to understand the preferred methods of communication in addition to the information requirements of the organization. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.