4 Tips for Improving Communication in Your Workplace
Effective internal communication is essential in the workplace. It often takes multiple people being on the same page to properly execute important tasks. Hierarchies, unfamiliarity, and misunderstood emails can all impede productivity. Quality communication is often taken for granted but can make a massive difference in a business’s output. Keep reading to learn four tips for improving communication in your workplace.
1. Set the tone for ideal communication
As a leader, the way you communicate will influence the way the rest of your team communicates. Something as simple as saying, “good morning” with a smile or asking someone how their weekend was can lead to an uplifting conversation. After one person responds, someone else is likely to answer. Suddenly, your entire team is laughing and building relationships. These conversations can increase your team’s comradery, which can increase productivity. Learn more about how to encourage friendships in your small business.
You should strongly consider an open-door policy. Giving your employees the freedom to ask questions will help them become more comfortable in their roles. The last thing you want is a team member who is afraid to ask for help. That person’s work will likely suffer- both its quality and timeliness.
Try to engage your staff through open, inclusive conversation. Everyone is more productive when they’re in good spirits. Plus, everyone can use a few laughs throughout the day to break up the intensity.
2. Diversify your communication methods
The modern business world offers multiple communication methods that don’t require a worker to get up from their seat. Email and direct messaging are useful, but don’t forget about face-to-face communication.
You’re likely going to get more out of your employees through verbal communication than through typed messages. The information you can gather in a 30-minute one-on-one session or team meeting is equivalent to hours of messaging back and forth.
Furthermore, give employees a chance to voice opinions anonymously. Someone might want to address a particular topic but may not feel comfortable speaking out about it. For example, maybe someone is mildly allergic to perfume but doesn’t want to bring it up so as not to offend their coworkers. An anonymous forum can help resolve many issues.
3. Hold an impromptu meeting to gather opinions, ideas, and feedback
Occasionally hold an impromptu meeting, which can be an excellent opportunity to get everyone’s minds off work and open the floor to a friendly, relaxed conversation.
Ask everyone how things are going, if they’re confused by any assignments, and if anything is bothering them about clients, culture, deadlines, etc. It’s also a good time to ask for feedback on your performance. Is there anything your team would like to see from you to help them improve?
Even if you navigate toward project statuses and to-do lists, end the meeting on a light note. It never hurts to have your team talk about fun weekend plans they have coming up, which can help everyone learn something new about their colleague’s hobbies outside of work.
4. Take advantage of Workful’s HR Software and Internal Communication Tools
Innovative HR tools can help speed up communication within your small business. With Workful’s software, you can enjoy the benefits of an HR management and internal communications solution that allows you to send important information, dates, and documents to employees with the click of a button. You’ll also be notified anytime an employee submits a PTO request or time clock adjustment. You can review changes in an instant and can review and approve the changes in an instant.
Some tasks shouldn’t take up too much of your time, and the right software can help simplify your job. It can also save you time so that you can focus on important, face-to-face meetings. With Workful, you can communicate with your staff efficiently and get back to business faster.
