10 Tips for Effective Communication in the Workforce

Tips for Effective Communication in the Workforce – Introduction

Since 2019, we have seen a massive increase in the number of remote workers in every industry. This work-from-home culture has made the communication process even trickier than it already was.

If you want to send a simple greeting or share a GIF with a coworker, it doesn't require a lot of thought or planning, even though the conversation is taking place at work.

However, there is a distinct difference between casual banter and communication centered around work-related tasks or procedures.

In simpler terms, communication at the workplace means communicating at work and strictly about work.

When you know how to communicate at work, the chances of miscommunication is significantly reduced.

And the decrease in miscommunication keeps the workplace environment happy, makes collaboration easier, and builds trust among teammates.

Teams with stellar communication skills are better armored to face difficult situations. But it is practically impossible to form good communication habits in a single day. It takes time, which is precisely why we're here– to make the process easier for you.

What Do We Mean by Workplace Communication?

As mentioned above, any conversation at work about work is called workplace communication. Knowing how to communicate effectively is essential if you want to avoid confusion.

This can include asking for project status, giving feedback on a report, reporting individual tasks, etc. If you lack good communication– you might unintentionally hurt someone's feelings sooner or later.

Communication can happen at the workplace in different mediums. It can happen face-to-face, through emails/chats, on a video conferencing channel, or it can be a group meeting too.

It is unnecessary that everyone involved in the communication be present at the same time or place. .

Some examples of workplace proactive communications are:

• Team meetings
• Sending information
• One-on-one feedback sessions
• Sharing information in cross-functional collaboration tasks
• Communicating about project progress and status
•  All non-verbal communication

Some Elements of Good Communication

Now that we're clear with what we mean by workplace communication, we look into ways to get better at it.

There are certain vital tenets that you should keep in mind, irrespective of the type of communication and place.

Look for Clarity: No matter where you are sending the message, be it on Slack, writing an email, or giving a simple reply on face– you should always aim to communicate your message clearly to avoid any confusion.

Instead of Creating, Solve Conflicts: One of the primary reasons people communicate at a workplace, or anywhere for that matter, is to solve a problem. Or, in some cases, to promote effective collaboration on projects. Good communication at the workplace can produce efficient solutions for your problems. Your goal from a conversation should be to get to a better place than where you were before.

Goes Both Ways: Whenever you communicate at a workplace, there are two parties involved. There is always an exchange of information, even if it is non-verbal communication from one of the two sides. You must ensure that your message is received correctly and you've interpreted the message correctly.

Tips for Effective Communication in the Workplace

There are three pillars of effective communication at the workplace– when, where, and how. Try incorporating the tips below to see better results.

Prioritize Face-to-Face Communication

The most tried and tested way to avoid miscommunication is by talking face-to-face as much as you can.

And if you are working with a remote team, having conversations on video conferencing also works. You should emphasize more face-to-face communication when you know that the topic or discussion will be challenging.

It is almost impossible to accurately judge the tone of team members through written messages. In important meetings, you want to see your team members' facial expressions and body language.

However, you should also consider that video conferencing fatigue is real. Some individuals find it quite stressful to communicate through video calls.

If the conversation is not very important, you can choose voice calls, it helps avoid video fatigue, and you still get to hear the tone.

Leverage Unified Communications (UC) Technology

Effective communication is not only about exchanging information. A big part of it focuses on exchanging data among different channels and groups efficiently.

And this is precisely what Unified Communications (UC) technology helps you achieve. With UC, you can integrate different communication systems such as business phone systems, team collaboration, video conferencing, team presence, instant messaging, and file sharing in a single, unified platform..

By implementing the right Unified Communication technology, you get the real-time features and perks that were once only affordable by large corporations.

Some of the benefits of UC are:

• Reduced business communication cost
• Unified communication supports remote employees
• Increases productivity among teammates
• Allows you to provide better customer service

Use Business Email Address

You often have to send emails to potential clients for collaboration, business, or services purchase. These prospects judge you based on your emails, so you should appear as professional as you can to make a good first impression. And if your email says @gmail.com or @yahoo.com, your reputation takes a hit.

To communicate with your prospects, first, you'll have to convince them to read the complete mail, and using a business email address is the first step.

If you can afford to have separate emails for every employee, it will be convenient for everyone involved. If not, you should at least have separate emails for different teams.

Encourage Two-Way Feedback

If you want to have a smooth and seamless environment at your workplace, you should focus on two-way communication.

At the workplace, you aim to check the progress towards the company goals, and feedback only makes things easier for you. But, you have to avoid feedback from becoming a one-way dialogue. You must hear what your team and employees have to say. You should listen to their concerns and comments.

When the leader encourages two-way feedback, it's a sign of good communication, which allows the team to self-evaluate.

The more detailed the feedback is, the easier it is for team members to improve. You can keep track of feedback in a task management system if you want. It helps increase overall productivity and communication.

Schedule Frequent Meetings

If you are not regularly catching up with your teams, it's time you recognize how beneficial it is and start scheduling it.

The more you catch up with your team, the more you allow them to share their progress, the fewer roadblocks and issues you'll face with their performance.

You can try the following setup to see good results:

Weekly Team Meetings: These meetings can be your touch base where your employees can share what went well last week and what are the things that they have to work on in the upcoming days.

Bi-Weekly Project Sessions: In these sessions, you can check the progress of team tasks and projects. You can see if they are facing some issues and help them with the solution.

Month One-on-Ones: You can make these meetings performance-focused. Here your employees can share their monthly progress, which helps in determining if they are growing professionally or not.

Monthly Town Halls: Bring your whole company together. Make strategies on how different departments can collaborate more efficiently. These meetings are a great way to ensure that all your departments are aligned with the company's goals.

A Quote To Sum it Up

Author of Cracking the Leadership Code, Alain Hunkins, says: “When you have a solid foundation of understanding, you make good decisions. You get great action, which gets great results. If it's a lousy foundation of misunderstanding, you're not really sure what's going on — and you're going to make bad decisions and get lousy results.”

In simpler and fewer words, effective workplace communication gives your business an edge to be more successful.