Communication is vital in the workplace. Whether it’s between you and your employees or your employees and your customers, communication should be at the forefront of building your business. Once you have good communication skills embedded in your business, the rest will follow.
Communication throughout your business takes time and effort to build. If you’d like to improve communication, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some tips on how to create excellent communication skills in every aspect of the business.
Know Your Staff
Whether you have a handful of staff or a whole building full of staff, it’s your job to communicate with them. Knowing your staff well will help you to support and encourage them. Have regular one-to-one meetings with your staff to discuss progress and how you can support them in their role.
The more you know about their lives, the easier it will be to understand how they work. Simple gestures like making working hours more flexible or allowing staff to work from home can make a big difference and you’re likely to find it won’t affect production rates. Running a productive business is paramount for all business owners.
Keep Employees Informed
Your employees are an integral part of your business. They deserve to know what’s going on when changes happen. It’s inevitable for businesses to go through changes- good and bad.
Your staff should know what to expect from their jobs and how changes will affect them. During tough times, your voice is never more needed by those you employ. Guide them through the storm and keep their spirits up.
Utilize Technology
Everyone working in one office isn’t the norm anymore. You may have staff working from home, staff with hybrid roles, and even some staff on the road. It’s essential to find a communication tool that allows you to stay connected with everyone, no matter where they are.
This is where field service management can come in handy. It will allow you to stay in communication with each member of your team and ensure that every job is done to the best of their ability.
Constructive Criticism
There will be times when your workers aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Your business reputation is hinged on the work that comes from your employees. If your employees need to be doing better work, you have to address the issue.
However, it’s vital that you do this tactfully. Instead of pointing out errors constantly, be sure to offer your support. Offer additional training and demonstrations to ensure your workers have examples of what perfect work looks like.
Offer Praise
One of the best ways to get the best out of your staff is with encouragement. Everyone wants to be appreciated for the work they do and valued for the time they give. There are many ways you can do this for your staff.
From verbal appreciation to gifts of thanks, and more. How you choose to praise your staff for good work is up to you, as long as you make sure they know.
Open Door Policy
Do your employees feel that they can talk to you? As an employer you have to be approachable. Let your workers know that you have an open door policy and you’re willing to listen when they need you to.
Life can get complicated at times and your workers should be able to tell you about important things going on in their lives. It could be the reason for their distraction or mistakes. However, there is a difference between an agony aunt and an employer- you should always be the latter.
Ask For Feedback
If you’re offering constructive criticism, you should also be able to take it. Your employees may have some valuable insights that could propel the business forward. It’s worth remembering that your employees will often deal directly with your customers.
As they spend time with your customers, they’ll get to know them well and gather information about what they want to see from the business. You can use this knowledge to continue to provide what your target audience wants. Additionally, your employees may have feedback on how you operate as manager. Be willing to listen.
Note Strengths and Weaknesses
As you get to know your workers, you’ll pick up on their strengths and weaknesses. As an employer, it’s vital that you use your employees strengths to build the business. Your employees will also be happier playing to their strengths.
However, it’s also important to offer help where weaknesses are concerned. Your employees may feel daunted by challenges but they will thank you later. Investing in your employees by strengthening them will only lead to strengthening your business.
How You Communicate
How you choose to communicate with your employees could have a direct influence on the results. Be mindful of the way you communicate. If you are too critical or too harsh with your words, the natural reaction is to be defensive and continue as normal.
If you want your employees to listen, do it in a way that speaks to them. Break the ice and make them feel comfortable talking with you. When you have a good working relationship with your employees, it will be easier to address the complicated issues.
Team Building
Nothing helps team communication more than team building activities. It could be bonding games at work or it could be spending time together outside of work. The better your team knows one another, the better the flow of work will be.
If you have employees that work in-office and from home, having communication platforms like Slack can help employees to chat and get to know one another. You can also consider setting up an employee spotlight email where each one employee says something about themselves every month. It’s a great way for teams to find common ground with each other.
Communication is a huge key for any successful business. If you’ve found this article helpful, take a look at the others.