It’s no secret that communication is difficult in the workplace. More often than not, communication is misconstrued and leads to conflict between employees. But with a little effort, you can improve communication and collaboration in your office! Here are 6 sure-fire ways to do just that:
Encourage face-to-face communication
The best communication occurs when it takes place face-to-face. Emails and chat messages can be misunderstood, so encourage employees to talk in person whenever possible.
When you talk in live communication, you can better read the other person’s communication and body language. This will help you understand their communication and tone of voice better than when communicating via electronic communication methods.
When employees communicate in live communication they also have more time to think about what they want to say, so it tends to be more organized or concise than email communication which is often misunderstood because it seems rushed or informal.
Find appropriate communication app
There are many communication apps out there that can help your team communicate better. Find an app that works best for you and encourages communication between employees!
Explicitly state what the communication app is to be used for so it’s clear to everyone who uses it. Make sure everyone knows how often they should use the communication app, as well as when not to use it.
For example, if a chatroom isn’t meant for brainstorming new ideas but rather discussing current projects or tasks, let employees know this upfront so that the conversation stays focused on work-related topics only. There are plenty of options like using a walkie talkie app or an instant messaging app. For remote teams check out Slack, which has built-in features like message threads that show all of the exchanges related to one topic together instead of having to go back and forth to find messages related to a specific topic.
Use email sparingly
Email communication is efficient, but it doesn’t allow you to read the other person’s communication and body language which can make communication difficult. Think about when someone emails you with an issue – they don’t provide much information or context.
It leaves room for miscommunication that could lead to conflict between people in your workplace! Instead of using email communication all the time (which most employees already do), try limiting its use by encouraging live communication whenever possible. This way, everyone will be able to communicate more effectively and efficiently without having any issues arise from a lack of communication skills due to misunderstandings caused by electronic communication methods.
Eliminate distractions from the workplace environment
Sometimes communication is difficult simply because of the distractions in the workplace environment. If you’re trying to communicate with someone and they aren’t listening, it can lead to conflict between employees as well as a lack of communication, which will make work-life harder for everyone involved.
Strive for open communication by making sure your office or workspace doesn’t have too many distractions like loud noises (e.g., music blaring), frequent interruptions (e.g., phone calls), and other people talking loudly around you while you are trying to talk with someone else – all of these things disturb communication!
Concentrate on what’s being said so that both parties understand each other without any issues arising from poor communication skills due to external factors interfering with communication.
Create an open work culture by giving employees autonomy over their tasks
Communication and collaboration are difficult in the workplace when employees don’t feel like they can speak up about their communication issues or concerns. For example, some people might not know how to communicate more effectively so they keep silent rather than speaking out which means no one hears what they have to say – it’s as simple as that!
Create an open work culture by giving your employees autonomy over their tasks and responsibilities. This way, communication will be easier because people won’t hesitate to ask for help if communication becomes challenging due to a lack of communication skills caused by fear of judgment or criticism from other members of staff.
Instead, everyone will contribute equally and you’ll see better results with fewer miles between co-workers leading them all to become good communication buddies!
Implement creative brainstorming techniques for ideation sessions
Ideation sessions are not always successful, especially when communication is poor. For example, if team members don’t communicate well or get too distracted by the workplace environment instead of brainstorming ideas together they might end up with a lack of communication that could lead to conflict between your employees!
Implement creative brainstorming techniques for ideation sessions like “brainwriting” which allows each person on the team to write down their own thoughts about an idea without talking – this prevents people from having to talk out loud all at once and creates more space for everyone’s individual voice within the group.
The workplace environment is made up of many different elements. From the physical space to how employees communicate, what you do in these areas can impact your final productivity and employee happiness levels. By implementing some simple changes like encouraging face-to-face communication or eliminating distractions from the work atmosphere, you could see a significant change in culture that will lead to an increase in efficiency at your company.
