How to Facilitate Communication in the Workplace

“Communication is a key aspect of our lives – it is essential for us to achieve personal success, and the lack or poor quality of it may lead to stress, frustration, and unhappiness. The same is true for businesses. Communication in the workplace contributes to the productivity and motivation of the employees and is crucial to the company’s overall results. But achieving effective workplace communication can prove challenging, which is why we have put together a list of helpful tips that will improve your business’s productivity and performance.Have regular 1:1 meetingsRegularly checking in with your employees is crucial to establish trust and to learn more about what is actually going on within your company from different people’s point of views. Encourage them to share their thoughts and concerns with you in weekly or monthly informal meetings instead of just waiting for them to approach you. It’s important to make your team members understand that you care about them as people, not just about the success of your business. By doing this, you will notice an improvement in your employees’ morale and motivation, as well as in productivity.Fewer emails, more talkingEmails are a great tool – they allow for quick and effective conversation to take place without ever leaving your chair. However, they can sometimes make the other person feel distant even if they’re just in the other room, and increase the chance of miscommunication taking place. When possible, try to have face to face conversations with your team instead. All it takes is walking over to their desk and you will notice that problems are solved a lot quicker when you’re actually talking instead of typing. Also, exchanging a few words with your colleagues or employees will make you feel a lot more motivated and refreshed.Seek and offer constructive feedbackConstructive feedback is one of the best ways to improve your company’s overall results and facilitate communication in the workplace. Always ask for additional feedback after meetings – this will make your team feel more involved and valued. When giving feedback to others, try to be objective and specific. Explain what exactly they did a good job in, and what they could improve on so that they know how to replicate positive behaviour and what to work on instead. Make internal information availableIt’s essential for your newer employees to fully understand how your company works so that their tasks and objectives become clearer. Make sure internal information is available to your staff – an intranet software is a great way to do this. Your team will benefit from the knowledge being centralised and accessible, as they’ll be able to have a more comprehensive understanding of the business, solve problems quicker, and feel a lot more connected to each other.Socialise outside of the workplaceTo strengthen the bond between you and your team, and between team members, it’s essential that you know one another as individuals, outside of the workplace. Organise events for your employees to take part in, such as a holiday party, a dinner, or simply drinks after work. This will allow you to get to know one another’s thoughts and preferences, strengthening your connection and making communication easier when back in the workplace.”