Building Workplace Communication

Many people have worked on a team that felt more like friends or family than coworkers. These teams, although rare, are incredibly effective and efficient.

However, even the closest teams can fall apart without good communication. Effectively communicating is key to the success of every piece of your business. Today, more than ever, good communication requires a range of skills and tools.

Here are few to help get you started.

Listen first

Active listing is engaging with your conversation partner in a way that non-verbally informs them that you are listening. Active listening is great, but take it a step further with empathic listening—a skill every employee can benefit from.

When you’re an empathic listener, you reflect on the emotions another person is expressing. By letting them know that you can understand how they feel you let them know you are someone who hears and respects their perspective.

Just as Steven Covey taught, we need to listen to understand, not simply to reply. Tapping into the emotions as well as the message when a person is speaking creates a better connection, trust, and a strong relationship.

Fit your Communication to Your Audience

Knowing your audience is especially important in business. The tone, language, and methods you use to talk to friends may be effective but fall short at work. Matching your communication to your audience strengthens your reputation and respect while making it easier for people to understand you.

One size does not fit all though. Different people in your organization will require different methods. Learning to recognize those needs and adapt to them is an essential skill for any aspiring leader or veteran executive. Make sure you are listening to the needs of your audience.

Lastly, make sure these skills cross into the digital side of communication. Using the same formal tone you would use in person is very important in email and chat apps. As more companies adopt organization-wide chat apps, clarity and professionalism need to come with.

Tools and Technology

Apps that allow fast team communication and collaboration have been booming recently. With offerings like Slack and Microsoft Teams, these apps are constantly adding new features to make workplace communication easier than ever.

As 2019 moves forward, experts forecast that this will only increase. Making it simple for teams to collaborate quickly regardless of location is incredibly useful to companies. Removing roadblocks and reducing friction in communication builds a high-functioning and agile team.

The difficulty is finding the right solution for your company. Take into consideration your specific needs, now and in the future. Try to avoid choosing an app that does too much. Clutter will prevent employees from using the new tool. For some companies, email may still be the best choice, but make sure to do your homework.

Avoid the Noise

The most critical step to building strong workplace communication is to make it easy. Whether you’re looking at employees’ access to leadership or implementing new tools, simplicity is king. We all naturally want to use the easiest method to accomplish a task. If your communication structure is cumbersome, employees won’t use it.

This causes problems for everyone. In terms of technology, if your offering isn’t user-friendly, employees will turn to unauthorized solutions. There are many consumer communications tools available, and they are very simple to use. Business apps are built with more security and specific functions in min, whereas consumer apps may leave you vulnerable to data breaches.

Making it hard to communicate with leadership provides another problem as well. Employees who feel disconnected from leadership don’t feel respected. This can increase turnover rates and damage your employer brand. Make sure you are making it easy for employees to communicate, and be heard, by leadership.

Reliable Resources specializes in building a strong team for your organization. Reach out to find out how they can help you today.

‍