10 Ways to Improve Communication within the Company

Effective communication is about sending the right message using the right channels.

However, you also need to know your employees as the nature of business communication reflects on the company’s culture.

Strengthening your communication at work leads to greater efficiency and increased sales, and provides a satisfying place to work.

But, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to communication within the company, how can you improve such communication?

Here is what you can do:

#1 Understand your team members and audience

High engagement at work implies having employees who are passionate about their work, feel they are a part of the team and wish to give their strengths and creativity for the success of the company.

A company that wishes to reach this level of engagement needs to nurture effective communication.

This open communication is only possible if you understand your employees; know skills and talents of each one in your team, as well as their weaknesses, especially if you are a team leader.

When and if you know your team members, you can better connect with them and tailor communication.

#2 Communicate clearly and openly

The effectiveness of communication depends on the clarity of message, thus it’s imperative you use simple words so you can be easily understood.

But don’t only use words, use body language, or visuals, presentations, etc.

Sometimes, your body language can send the message faster, and better. Let your team members see the message, not just hear it. Communication should be direct, honest, and memorable.

#3 Keep your message short and same across the team

Go straight to the point; don’t go into long explanatory or conversations as you should not waste anybody’s time.

To avoid any misinterpretations, keep the message same across all team members, especially if you are working with geographically dispersed teams. It’s essential you communicate at the same time to avoid miscommunication.

#4 Choose the right channel to communicate your message

Effective communication depends on the quality of the medium you are using to transmit the message (email, telephone, video call, etc.)

Today, modern business use various communication tools and methods, and there are usually multi-channel flows of communication. However, many email messages might distract the recipient from receiving the right message, for instance.

Some information should be written down, and some should be spoken, and sometimes using multiple channels is the best approach.

#5 Introduce feedback as important part of communication

Communication is a two-way process, so it’s important to take into account the opinions and views of your team members and everybody in your company. You should be able to check with your team how well communication is going.

A good feedback mechanism will help you match the interaction with the desired level of involvement.

#6 Communicate via training and team building activities

Team members should actively take part in decision-making process and they need to feel they are an integral part of the group, valuable for company’s success. You can use trainings and team building activities to strengthen both formal and informal communication.

Through such activities, you can take advantage of entire groups’ talents and skills.  

#7 Enhance communication with groups events

How often does your marketing team interact with your operational team?

Eventually these teams will work together, so it’s good to know everyone’s responsibilities and roles. Group events can unite geographically distant teams, especially in large businesses.

Getting your team together will greatly facilitate company communication and lead to shared experience, helping them communicate and relate to each other more easily and effectively.

#8 Invest in a good collaboration software and communication tools

Strong team connection and communication are key to productivity, and innovation.

Distributed companies need to take advantage of communication tools to help their employees stay connected, creative and collaborative.

Collaborative technology is not just for remote workers, but also for any team, as these tools provide channels for the various types of business conversation.

You need to keep in mind that effective collaboration tools enrich team communication, regardless of the industry, so you need to think in terms of quality. TallyFox offers great resources on this subject, so check it out before you make a decision.

#9 Communicate through active listening

Communication in a team must be two-way, thus you need to demonstrate active listening.

It’s crucial your team members feel their opinion is taken into account, if so, they will also listen to you attentively.

If your team members notice you are taking their opinion for granted, they are likely to treat you differently and might take the information with disdain.

Open communication means you understand and respond to any concerns, misunderstandings and clarifications of your team members and you can do this through active listening.

#10 Communicate via open meetings and forums

Open meetings and forums are great ways to not only say what you have, but communicate your passion so that your team members can also see and feel your message.

This is also a great opportunity for you to see which team members would appreciate other communication channels or methods; some might prefer to communicate on a one-on-one basis in certain situations. While the message might be the same, other approach might be more effective.

Moreover, this is a great opportunity for you to test your communication skills as well.

To sum it all up, the goal of working as a team is to share ideas and increase productivity.

Team communication orients the team towards a healthy working style helping the team be highly efficient and goal oriented. Thus, it’s crucial one learn how to improve team communication enabling all to work towards the same goal.