When communication breaks down between employer and employee, many problems can result. You always want to be able to communicate with one another about everything that has to get done. Effective communication means effective workers, and effective workers mean more money in your pocket. If you establish a proper dialogue and a knowledge sharing network from the beginning, you’ll find that many projects will be finished in a more timely manner because everyone will always be on the same page.
Business Speed Equals Information Speed
Your business works just about as fast as information is exchanged between people at your office. For example, someone may have to run a piece of work through an editor before they can publish it, or a project proposal may have to get your final approval before it can go into full swing. Nothing can happen until that information has passed through the right hands. When information flows smoothly within an organization, decision makers will have the right facts they need to make an accurate call.
Pretty much every organization has a way they communicate, whether it’s through means like Cloud computing services or e-mail distribution lists. Having this can help everyone in the organization stay up to speed in a formal manner. However, real communication happens behind the scenes when people talk in more informal ways, such as person-to-person or through text messaging. Encouraging a casual and friendly work environment can help people feel like they can drop by anyone’s workspace at any time to ask a question.
How Do You Create an Efficient Information Exchange Network?
An easy way to encourage employees to talk to one another openly is to start a workgroup program. Have a list of questions everyone can ask one another to get to know each other on a more personal level. Knowing the people you need to work with on a daily basis makes it easier to talk to them, especially if something is needed right away to get a job done quickly.
If your employees are still having trouble communicating in an efficient manner, sometimes mapping out the way your office communicates can help find your barriers. For example, if a particular person or department seems to be holding up the line, then usually outlining the communication structure in a meeting will show you exactly where that holdup is. You could also be having a problem with communication only going one way; when the outline is finished, that communication hurdle should be clear as day.
Remember to Be a Good Example
Even if communicating with your employees is a weakness of yours, putting some effort into making sure you do your best will show them that they need to do their best, too. Even conducting daily huddles or talking to everyone in the break room can help break the ice and form a better two-way channel between you and your workers.