Are you trying to build a company with flawless communication and superior teamwork? We bet you are because everyone’s trying to do the same, but not everyone is equally successful at it.
According to a recent report, a staggering 74% of employees feel they are missing out on company information and news. This isn’t a surprise if you know that only 54% of entrepreneurs agree that progress towards communications objectives should be researched, measured, and evaluated with metrics and key performance indicators.
Now, we’re not saying that your team members in particular lack communication skills and prowess. As a matter of fact, you might even be delighted with the level of openness and transparency within your organization.
But there is always room for improvement.
If you’re interested in learning more about it, keep reading to see 13 easy ways to strengthen communication practices in your company.
1. Ensure easy onboarding
As soon as a new worker joins your team, it’s your job to get them acquainted with the company’s culture and communication practices. Easy onboarding will simplify employee integration and help newbies fit in seamlessly. The result of this process is clear – your team won’t feel any changes or interruptions in communication, while the new colleague will quickly feel at home.
2. Establish an open door policy
Do your employees feel free to visit you whenever they feel something is important? If not, perhaps you should think about establishing an open door policy in your company. Jake Gardner, a communication expert at the essay writer service, says the policy has two practical manifestations:
- Internal communication becomes free and uninterrupted thanks to your readiness to listen to coworkers
- The open-door policy also has a symbolic connotation because it shows that you are ready to engage whenever needed
3. Organize meetings regularly
This tip goes without saying, but we witness way too many business owners and managers who fail to meet their staff in person. Your job is to organize meetings, consultations, and brainstorming sessions regularly if you want to give everyone the chance to speak their minds.
4. Define the agenda to improve meetings
We guess you understand the purpose of meetings already, but do you know that a clearly-defined agenda can significantly speed up and improve communication? You should determine the most important topics and leave enough time for every participant to express their opinions. It will make meetings more efficient while teaching team members to communicate briefly and concisely.
5. Use the latest communication tools
Face-to-face meetings are always useful, but the majority of internal communication now takes place online. In such circumstances, it’s essential to use the latest communication tools because they guarantee smooth and simple employee engagement.
And no, email platforms are not cutting-edge communication channels. You must invest in a more serious platform such as Slack, Trello, Bitrix 24, or Blink.
6. Determine and promote the best communication channel for your team
A business unit may come in many different formats and sizes, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for all firms out there. This is exactly why we urge you to test multiple tools and communication channels in order to find the best one for your organization. We strongly believe in the power of face-to-face interactions, but something else might work better for your team.
7. Be honest
Everyone seems to be appreciating the virtue of honesty these days, but not everyone is ready to put it into practice and speak openly. Our advice is to be honest with your coworkers as it will make them feel better and inspire them to embrace the same mindset.
8. Encourage positive criticism
No one enjoys being criticized all the time, but it’s not a good idea to keep the bad news swept under the rug either. As a leader, you should encourage positive criticism among team members because mutual consultations and discussions often lead to fresh ideas and business proposals.
9. Give tasks with tangible deliverables
Task delegation represents a frequent source of disputes and uncertainties among business professionals. This is exactly why we encourage you to assign tasks with clear deliverables and key performance indicators.
That way, every member of the team will know exactly what to do and when to do it without the need for additional explanations. Such an approach doesn’t only boost productivity but it also simplifies internal communication.
10. Find time to really get to know your colleagues
Business is business, but sometimes you need to take the extra step and show colleagues that you really care about them. Do your best to find enough time to truly meet your colleagues and learn more about their personal issues, families, plans, and so on. It makes people feel more comfortable and willing to communicate openly on and off work.
11. Conduct a survey
Even if you think there are no problems within the team, nothing’s stopping you from conducting a short survey and ensuring everything’s fine. Using tools like Survey Monkey, you can quickly launch an anonymous opinion poll and discover what your employees really feel and think about internal communication practices.
12. Follow up in writing
No matter how you communicate with employees, you should always try to sum it all up and follow up in writing. First of all, written follow-ups eliminate possible misconceptions and confusion. Secondly, employees will be left with a clear objective and will be goal-driven in the post-communication period.
13. Don’t forget the power of team building
The last tip is to organize team-building events because they really make employees feel like contributing to the same goal and mission. It can be anything from hiking to gaming, but the most important thing is to pinpoint an activity everyone will enjoy.
It’s Up to You!
You may or may not like the way your employees interact with each other, but one thing is for sure – there are many ways to improve communication in your team. In this post, we’ve looked at 13 simple tactics to strengthen communication practices in your company. Can you think of any other one’s we’ve missed?