Communication is a key indicator of a healthy working environment. When channels of communication start to fall apart, the efficiency and “togetherness” of an organization will surely suffer. For this reason, it is important to be mindful of the different ways that office communication is being handled, and too consider if there are surefire ways to improve it. Here are some tips and ideas to help improve the communication in your workplace!
Practice Personal Communication
With many company improvements, the best way to enact them is to start with your own self-improvement. In terms of communication, this means expanding your own toolbox of communication skills to make you more approachable and relatable to the people around you. A lot of this comes down to simply having basic communication skills. However, conversations of promotions, demotions, frustration, and expectations can come up in the workplace, as well, which is why it’s important to learn critical ways to have difficult conversations without letting emotion get the better of you.
Take Suggestions
Always be open to taking suggestions from your coworkers or employees about how communication could be better. Sometimes they will tell you on their own, but other times you should actively work to get these suggestions. Also consider making suggestions anonymous; no matter how open your workplace is, some employees will still only feel comfortable expressing their concerns if they can do so anonymously. Consider establishing a suggestion box where employees can leave comments and suggestions about ways to improve the company.
Always Have an Open Door
Establishing an open-door policy where employees can approach their superiors with their concerns will help your employees feel comfortable bringing things to your attention. Be sure to communicate this policy to employees and to present yourself as approachable if you are a manager.
Be Transparent About Internal Information
Many workplaces run on a specific set of internal knowledge, such as a client database or style guide. Consider which documents are important for everyday work and which documents new hires would need access to. Be sure that these documents are made readily available in a central location on your private network.
Especially if you work in a larger work environment, it can be difficult for employees to keep tabs on everything that is going on in the organization. A workplace newsletter can help keep employees up to speed on recent happenings. Many workplaces employ a monthly newsletter, but you might make use of a smaller, more frequent weekly newsletter if things change in your workplace rather quickly.
Have an Open Floor Plan
The layout of your office space actually has a great deal to do with communication. Many offices still make use of cubicles and partitions, but these are things that can greatly hinder communication. If employees are shy about communicating with one another, consider adopting a new office arrangement, such as one that centers around an open design. Simply being able to see the face of your coworkers on a regular basis creates a much better rapport for communication.
Communicate In Multiple Ways
How are current methods of communication working for you? Many offices are used to running on solely phone and email, but there are a variety of new communication methods that workplaces can make effective use of. When a workplace uses Gmail for email, for example, it can also use integrated chat for quick and direct communication, or Google Hangouts for video conferencing. Try to pinpoint areas of inefficiency in your current methods of communication and to adopt new tools that will help you address these areas.
Another positive aspect of adopting multiple forms of conversation is that you can give requests and orders in written form. Of course, t is no substitute for verbal communication, but when it comes to one employee asking another employee to do something, written communication, be it through email or a social networking program, should be the preferred method of communication. Written communication helps employees better remember orders, and it serves as a written record of when things are requested.