In-house communication is one of the most important aspects of a company’s success. To achieve adequate communication within your team, you need to know how to properly communicate with them. However, different people have different communication styles, which may result in a lot of misunderstandings. This can endanger work relationships and lead to decreased productivity and lack of motivation. So, is there a way to prevent and fix that?
Believe it or not, every time is a good time to improve the relationship and work towards your goals. But how can you exactly create better communication between the employees in your team?
Include your team in the decision making process
Even though you are sort of superior to your team, it doesn’t mean that they should be excluded from processes going on in the organization. For solid communication and professional work relationships based on it, you need to set some rules, and engage your team to help you! So, how can your team help you improve communication?
For instance, you can all implement a couple of rules, such as keeping your narratives short and simple. On top of that, respecting other people’s opinions is crucial for organizations and their productivity. Once you start engaging your team more, the job satisfaction factor will increase, and your employees will feel more valued and listened to.
Take time to get to know each other
Getting to know your employees and colleagues personally can really help you understand how they think and act. It can completely change your perspective which will result in more mutual understanding. It doesn’t matter if you’re the leader or not, take time to get to know your team’s personalities, traits, hobbies, and similar to improve your work.
One of the best ways to put that into practice is by organizing regular team-building and bonding activities. You can go hiking, take up a sport, or play laser tag. If your employees work remotely, consider adding fun to meetings by playing interactive games like team trivia or hosting an online murder mystery party. Anything goes as long as you’re having fun!
Hold regular 1:1 meetings
Getting timely feedback on their work is one of the most important things for almost every employee. Since they invest their time and knowledge into a project, it’s natural to expect feedback on what they did well and what they could improve. So, if you want to become a better project manager, hold regular 1:1 meetings with employees from your team.
Effective communication is a crucial element in any management role, and project management is no exception. These meetings provide an opportunity to give and receive timely feedback, allowing you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, according to Milan Kordestani‘s insights on how to debate effectively, they create a platform for open communication where employees can share their ideas on how to improve job aspects. By integrating this practice into your management style, you can create a culture of continuous improvement, resulting in better team performance and overall success.
During such meetings, you can give and get feedback on the work. Maybe some of your employees will have a terrific idea on how to improve a certain job aspect! If you want to run an organization that keeps on moving forward, weekly or monthly 1:1 meetings are a fantastic idea to strengthen your plus sides and improve your weaknesses.
Implement a comprehensive strategy
Since you can’t expect everyone to have the same communication style, you’ll need to learn how to adapt to overcome those differences between employees. Therefore, implementing a comprehensive communication strategy is a crucial part of every organization. How can you benefit from it?
A comprehensive and well-developed internal communication strategy can help you organize your workforce no matter the differences and make your employees more engaged. This leads to increased productivity and motivation. Such a strategy can also help you join forces with your team to combat problems and obstacles that appear along the way. It’s a marvelous way of teaching your team how to cooperate and work as a team.
Focus on truly listening and understanding
As a team leader, besides assigning tasks and ensuring that your team is effectively working on them, you also need to be a good listener. Every office manager that listens to his/ her employees has a happier and more satisfied team. However, taking time to listen to your team’s problems can be really difficult once the midday rush starts. So, how can you overcome that?
Morning meetings are ideal solutions! If you want to become a great office manager, ensure to have time to listen to your team and come up with a plan on how to deal with the issues they are facing. Keep your team up to date with new information and focus on listening to their needs during the project. This can certainly improve communication in the workplace.
Conclusion
Communication is one of the trickiest parts of running a business. You need to meet the other side at the middle grounds and be tolerant towards differences. On the other hand, you also need to learn how to improve the communication within your team and create a pleasant workplace for all. Hopefully, these tips will clear some things up for you! And in case you’re also seeking to improve communication with clients and stakeholders in general, consider reaching out to the Throughline Group, they provide custom workshops and executive coaching for businesses.