3 Tips on How to Communicate Better with Your Employees
by Mashum Mollah Management Published on: 28 August 2018 Last Updated on: 08 November 2024
Communication is key to any successful human relationship. It’s just as true in your private life as it is in the workplace. If you want your business to succeed, then you have to make sure you’re communicating well with both the customers and the employees.
But many companies struggle with the latter: communicating with their employees. This is a major problem as many workplace failures can actually be followed to ineffective communication. By improving communication, companies can improve business success and minimize problems.
What can be done to improve communications between employees and the company?
Here are a few important tips your HR department should keep in mind:
1. Clarify your company values first:
It all starts with an introduction to your company’s values and goals. Communication within the company will always be better if everyone is clear on what the company is trying to achieve. You can’t communicate well with someone who doesn’t share your objective or doesn’t know what your objective is. By simply clarifying your company values, you help the employees feel more at home and more able to help the business succeed.
Employees are more likely to engage with your company, be productive, and stay loyal to your organization if you make company values authentic and transparent. This creates an environment where everyone is working towards a common goal and therefore, you have people that are on the same page, so to speak.
2. Boost information flow:
Communication can also improve if you make sure information flows seamlessly from one part of the department to the other. You will have plenty of people working on different projects at various times, even when you are running a small business. It’s rather easy for these departments to stop communicating and thus, creating problems within the company.
How do you boost information flow? There are many strategies for this and it’s a good idea to find the most suitable ones for your business through trial and error.
Here are a few important ones to keep in mind:
1. Create a newsletter
Employee newsletters are a traditional option that works in many companies. It’s an easy way to communicate with different departments, ensuring that people are on top of developments in all areas of the business. You should put effort into designing an engaging and informative newsletter to make the most of this option.
2. Use cloud software and chat applications
A more modern way of boosting information flow is through cloud software and chat applications. These software solutions ensure information can flow instantly and when it’s most needed. It also provides two-way communication, as employees will be able to respond to these messages directly. This is also a good strategy for enhancing the employee-to-employee conversation.
3. Train and educate your employees
Offering training solutions can also boost information flow. One good way of doing this is by allowing different departments to train each other. It helps build relationships within departments, creates more understanding between departments, and helps establish meaningful relationships across the organization.
4. Adopt transparent policies
Information flow will also improve the more transparent your company is in its operations. If you keep things hidden and away from the eyes of the employee, you, not only damage communication but also the flow of information. Instead, adopt Human Resource Management Software that creates transparency by inviting the employee to the decision-making table. If employees have the agency to make decisions based on health insurance, payroll, time off and so on, they will have more information about how the company operates.
5. Ensure you are recruiting the right employees
It is important to ensure that you have the right human resources at your disposal. Businesses need to keep in mind that they are able to look after the well-being of employees. While having an at will employment policy in place is a good idea, you should ensure that your employees sign proper paperwork. As an employer, it is important to set up the right communication channels for your employees. Communicating the terms of employment to your employees should be prioritized.
Set up systems for feedback and conflict resolution
It’s crucial to focus on creating communication channels that aren’t just about informing but also listen to the employee. Feedback is an important part of communication and it’s important to ensure your business pays attention to it. You want your employees to be honest and open about their jobs and the communication – open feedback can even boost innovation, as employees feel more able to share their ideas and this could have a huge impact on business success and growth.
The best ways of creating feedback systems are to focus on surveys and informal meetings. You should have different levels of management communicate regularly with different employees about what’s happening in the business and the employee’s work-life. It’s important this kind of feedback system and the loop isn’t restricted to the next manager or the closed team but runs across the organization so that everyone is able to talk to any manager or leader they want.
In addition to feedback loops, your company must also focus on ensuring conflict resolution is an organized practice and not something you do as an afterthought. There must be a plan to solve difficulties and this process must be known. Not only does it make solving problems quicker, but it also creates a system of trust and transparency.
Better communication leads to better results
The key is to acknowledge that your communication with the employees plays an important role in the success of your business. If communication is good employees will make fewer mistakes, be happier, and more satisfied, which in turn will lead to better business results.
Developing great leadership skills has the power to positively impact any organisation and amplify your career prospects. While there are tips for supporting teams to hone in on, following is arguably just as important as leading in order to become the best leader you can be. True leaders understand how to help support their teams by being respected followers at first. By listening carefully, asking questions, and actively engaging in conversation, followers can accumulate valuable knowledge that easily translates into being able to make informed decisions, direct teammates effectively, and build strong relationships throughout all levels of an organisation.
HR plays a key role in all of this and it’s important to arm the department with the right software solutions and communication tools. So take the above tips on board and create a more open and honest system of communication in your business.
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