We’ve all had moments of miscommunication in our lives. While in normal conversation this isn’t that big of a deal, in a business setting, small blunders can snowball into large problems when you leave them unchecked. Read on to uncover ways to promote clear communication in your workplace so that your processes can run smoothly.
Make Procedures Specific
It’s good to take a look at the procedures that you give to your employees to follow when you’re concerned about communication. If you’re vague with these, it can be easy for people to become confused. Go further than just outlining the broad steps and include specific details about aspects that could be perplexing. For example, using the software or digital tool that your business works with may not always be intuitive. Try to predict where people might become stuck and seek to explain those areas well from the beginning. Allow employees to ask questions wherever they need to and consider including the purpose of different procedures as well to further clarify things for them.
Encourage Employee Feedback
The perspective of a business owner and a staff member can differ greatly. It’s possible that there are issues that you’re not aware of because you don’t directly deal with them. Therefore, you should promote clear communication in your workplace by encouraging employee feedback. Actively tell your employees that they can come to you with problems or questions, so you can resolve them quickly and effectively. You could also send out anonymous virtual surveys to your workers and schedule periodic one-on-one meetings to make providing feedback easier for them. This kind of environment can not only help you sort out dilemmas but also help you with certain business growth strategies. To illustrate, an employee might bring up a good avenue for acquiring new customers that you didn’t think of yourself.
Utilize Organizational Technology
Technology is your friend when it comes to strengthening business communication. You can prevent mix-ups from occurring with some simple programs and devices that promote collaboration. For instance, if you have multiple people creating documents throughout the day, you could use a common cloud storage space where everyone can find what they need. With a set way to name files in place, this makes it easy for employees to discuss and refer to documents. Instant messaging systems such as Microsoft Teams and Slack can provide a basis for conversations both large and small even when people are working remotely. These applications also usually provide video conferencing options. Small touches, such as having Wi-Fi-enabled time clocks in your physical workplace, can make a notable difference for communication as well. These clocks will synchronize over your network, so no mistakes happen because people are looking at incorrect time displays.
