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We all know that communication is important for human existence. When communication breaks down, it becomes painfully obvious just how important it is. What we don’t know is how to communicate effectively.
The effects of poor communication can be felt in any relationship, but within the work environment, it’s costly. Employees won’t understand tasks, they may feel disregarded, and may eventually quietly quit.
Talent retention, keeping clients happy, and producing work by a deadline are all supported by healthy workplace communication.
We discussed methods of communications before, but now we’re here to help you with communication strategy and style. After reading this article you’ll be able to use these actionable tips to improve your businesses’ communication.
1. Start With Why
Assigning tasks without letting the worker know why it’s important is a surefire way to discourage excitement and productivity. Instead, let employees know the reason behind the tasks and assignments they’re working on.
A clear and transparent approach to the importance of what employees are doing is important.
Start meetings by explaining why the meeting has been scheduled. This includes why people have been invited to them. Some businesses are notorious for scheduling people in meetings that they shouldn’t be in. Try not to waste people's time, but remind attendants why they’re there.
2. Create a Safe Space For Employees
Fear of retaliation or being laughed at are two ways to kill creativity and collaboration within your organization. That’s why it’s important to cultivate a place where employees feel safe and encouraged to collaborate.
Doing this is much easier than some people make it. Make it clear that ideas shared during meetings don’t need to be final or even good. This will encourage healthy collaboration without fear. Teach everyone that mistakes are ok as long as they learn from them.
A no-retaliation plan means that employees can speak up about issues in the organization without fear of being fired, demoted, or shamed. These issues include sexual harassment, hazing, bullying, and other inappropriate behavior. It’s obviously a good idea to have one of these plans in place. It helps your business find and deal with issues that are harmful to your business and your people.
Your human resources (HR) team can help you develop a no-retaliation plan for your organization.
3. Create a Confidential Communication Channel
Anonymous reporting channels are important for your organization to have. Some organizations are required to have one in order to maintain license status.
An anonymous reporting channel is an incognito way for workers to air their grievances and whistle-blow serious issues throughout the organization.
Using an anonymous reporting system protects whistleblowers and the company. Reporters have no fear of reporting and you’ll likely have a greater chance of receiving important reports.
Receiving reports before issues become major is lucrative because you can stop theft, fraud, or other illegal activity. Depending on the situation, issues can be handled internally and any negative press can be avoided.
Create a confidential reporting channel with the help of your HR team. The best channels are the ones that are easy to access without anyone noticing.
4. Make Connections
Part of being a leader in an organization is taking care of the people you’re in charge of. This isn’t only making sure they have what they need to get their work done.
An organization with good communication will emphasize conversations about life outside of work. That’s because they recognize the importance of team camaraderie. Outside work conversations help develop meaningful relationships within the workplace that can increase team morale, commitment, and productivity. Employees and coworkers aren’t cogs in the business machine, they’re people.
The best way to make meaningful connections at work is to communicate at a personal level. This doesn’t have to be formal! Ask about how weekends went and try to find common interests.
Sharing personal interests is important for remote workers too. It’s easy to feel isolated while working from home. Make sure to check on your remote workers from time to time.
Related Article: How to Build a Remote Team: Strategies & Tips
There are a lot of ways to do this, but the best place to start is with leadership. Create a culture of personal connections by leading by example. Your employees will enjoy their work and work harder.
Related Articles: Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
5. Provide Constructive Feedback—Not Criticism
Feedback helps validate and realign employees’ expectations and job performance. Without feedback, workers don’t know if their work is making a positive impact or needs to be corrected. However, it’s important to be mindful of how feedback is given.
The best kind of feedback is constructive. Just saying something isn’t good is not enough.
When giving feedback, let the employee know what they’ve done well and ways to improve. Give specific examples and reasons for why. Be empathetic and give feedback how you’d want to receive feedback.
Related Articles: Top Soft Skills for Leaders
6. Ask For Feedback
Handing out tasks, monitoring progress, and giving feedback are only parts of what a manager does. Communication is a two-way activity.
Managers and organization leaders need to be opening up conversations with employees. That means asking for feedback about how things are going. This includes projects, goals, and your personal work.
Asking for feedback gives employees ownership over what the company is doing and how. It’ll give them a meaningful way to interact with and contribute to the health of projects and the business as a whole.
7. Be Aware of Body Language
Words, whether spoken or written, are only a portion of how people communicate. Non-verbal communication communicates:
- How much you care
- If you’re honest
- If you’re listening
- What you think about what’s being said
Be aware of how you’re sitting during meetings. An open body posture with a relaxed face will show that you’re open and listening to what’s going on. Crossed arms show that you’re closed off to what is being said.
Be aware of your body at work to make sure your team members and workers understand that you’re listening and receptive.
8. Write Better Emails
Emails are the backbone of most organizations. If you want to effectively communicate at work, you need to write better emails.
A well written email is like a refreshing drink in a desert land. Good email writing is not intuitive, but with the right tips and some practice you’ll be writing more effective emails in no time.
Here are some tips on writing good emails:
- Make the subject line relevant: If your subject lines are relevant, people will be able to quickly understand what your email is about.
- Put your questions on the top: Putting your questions toward the top of the email will make the email easier to read and comprehend. Don’t bury your questions or requests under a large preamble.
- Do not assume your task will be completed: Ending an email with “thanks for your cooperation”, “thanks in advance”, or any similar phrases can be seen as rude.
- Add to the chain: Emails can quickly become disorganized messes. Keep things tidy by replying to the appropriate chains rather than starting a new one.
- Be concise: Emails are not the place to deep dive into topics. Stay on topic and keep your message concise.
Employing these email writing tips will help you become a better communicator at work.
9. Don’t Give Up
Healthy communication requires consistent effort and maybe significant change. Don’t give up on your efforts to create a meaningful culture of communication within your organization.
If it doesn’t seem like your efforts are working, double down. Ask employees more questions about work and life, and open up conversations about how the organization operates.
Services For Arizona Businesses and Employers
Cultivating a culture of communication can be difficult. As a business leader or team member it’s hard to find training opportunities that will actually improve your organization.
Businesses in Arizona have access to services from Yavapai College’s Regional Economic Development Center. Whether it’s scaling, required training, or onboarding courses, the REDC delivers personalized training to support your business at every level.
Explore your options and start taking your business communication to the next level.