Communication at the workplace

Workplace communication refers to the practice by which employees exchange information and ideas. This can include how people communicate during a regular workday and during formal gatherings like team meetings.

Communication at the workplace also takes into account those times when employees are not necessarily talking about work. These are the conversations that happen in the break room or the cliched water cooler talk. This type of communication between co-workers can indicate the type of work environment your organization has, as it shows the types of relationships that employees have with each other.

For example, suppose the talk in the office almost always sticks to actual work. In that case, it might mean that your employees do not feel comfortable talking about their everyday lives at the office. Though this is okay, most employees want a good balance in their workday and feel more satisfied at work when they have comfortable relationships with their co-workers. When thinking about communication in the workplace, you should consider all these aspects to get a clear picture of how you can improve.

Communication and the pandemic

Before the pandemic, most communication used to happen in person, where you could simply pop into someone’s office to ask a question. However, communication has largely shifted to phones and digital chat platforms. These communication platforms allow organizations to keep employees productive and have become essential to businesses during the pandemic.

Digital platforms such as Zoom and Slack allow workers to carry one-on-one conversations during the day. They can easily ask questions, clarify ideas, or participate in group messages or video chats to stay in touch and be up-to-date with group projects.

Organizations have also started to hold meetings in the virtual world, which has brought on a new set of rules around meetings and how information is shared with the staff. That said, it is imperative for managers and leaders to learn how to engage their staff in a new way so that meetings can have the same type of efficiency they had when they were in person. A good way of achieving this is to become proficient at sharing your screen and making your presentations more interactive. If you allow your employees to participate in different aspects of the meeting, for example, people will be less bored, and the information given will be more likely to stick with them.

Why is good communication important?

Good communication builds connections, which is one of the foundations for any business to be able to succeed. Besides that, good communication can affect your organization in several other ways, such as:

• it provides your company with a purpose and a common goal
• it can prevent misunderstandings and avoids confusion
• it stimulates team building and boosts company morale
• it encourages employee engagement
• it boosts company culture
• it results in a more productive and talented workforce
• it allows workers to relate to management and improves leadership skills.

Tips for effective communication

It is every employer and manager’s responsibility to give serious consideration to creating good communication strategies within the workplace, as it can directly affect your workforce’s productivity. Here is a list of seven tips for promoting good communication in the workplace:

1. Give clear instructions on tasks. When communicating a task for an employee or group of employees, make sure to give clear and concise instructions on what it is they are supposed to do. This will ensure that everyone knows what the task is and that there is less chance for mistakes. Along with this, make sure that they know what the expected results are, so they know what you want. The clearer your instructions are, the better your chances are of avoiding mistakes.
2. Encourage open discussion and feedback. An open communication work environment can increase productivity as workers feel less burdened if they have an issue. So, make sure that employees feel comfortable coming to you with issues or questions at any time. By having open discussions, you can create an atmosphere of trust between you and your workers. This is important as it will allow you to see possible problems before they strike.
3. Communicate frequently and with transparency. Leaders who can communicate with their staff more often can stay on top of what is going on in the organization and create long-lasting interpersonal relationships. Moreover, workers feel more satisfied when management pays attention to their needs and is proactive when it comes to issues. So, have frequent and transparent communication with your employees to encourage confidence in you as a leader and respect towards your decisions.
4. Provide specific and descriptive constructive criticism. When giving feedback to your workers, it is always best to be honest but not mean. If you have to give any bad feedback, try to phrase it in a way that sounds like a need for improvement rather than just saying the employee did something wrong. Make sure you are specific about your feedback so that the employees know exactly where they need to make improvements and what to do when they come up with the same type of assignment or issue. This type of constructive criticism will keep your employee happy and allow for fewer mistakes in the future.
5. Schedule regular employee check-ins. Checking in with your employees is a great way to make them feel appreciated, which can help improve their job satisfaction. So, try to connect with your employees one-on-one on a regular basis. This way, you will have an idea of how they are performing and if there is anything you can do to help them improve as their manager. These check-ins do not have to be formal, nor do they have to revolve around employee evaluation.
6. Organize team-building exercises. Having team-building exercises is an excellent way of fostering communication between co-workers and allows everyone to have a bit of fun. A team that communicates well is usually more productive. You can encourage good communication between co-workers using short five-minute exercises before meetings or an actual excursion. For example, escape rooms and other problem-solving games are a great way to practise communication and creative thinking.
7. Always try to improve. As a leader, you want to make sure that you are communicating in a way that is effective for all employees. So, be ready to be constantly working on your communication skills. As things change in the organization, you might have to adapt your communication style so make sure you are also open to learning new techniques. By doing this, you can improve your skills and demonstrate motivating behaviour to your employees simultaneously. No one is perfect, but by showing your employees that you value improvement and take the necessary steps when needed can make them more inclined to do the same.

Tips for sharing constructive feedback

The art of giving constructive feedback to employees is an essential skill to have for any leader and a great way to boost morale. This is important because employees are usually more productive and less likely to leave when they feel appreciated for their hard work.

Here are a few tips on how to give constructive feedback to your employees:

• be specific about what you appreciate. Ensure the employees know what you are referring to when giving the feedback
• provide details of their impact on the project. Explain how their contribution helped the team
• be timely in your constructive feedback. Make sure to appreciate a job well done or scope for improvement as soon as you can, so your employees know where to make corrections and that their hard work does not go unnoticed.
• be open when giving positive feedback. Make sure others see you giving positive feedback, as it can be a great motivator.