How well are you communicating with your employees? It might not be quite as well as you had judged. In one survey mentioned by Business 2 Community, 48% of employees said that they believed their employers needed to reconsider their digital communication strategy.
There are, of course, various ways for you and your workers to stay in the loop. The following tips could help you to enhance how people interact with each other in your workplace.
Cultivate a receptive atmosphere
This is imperative, as Small Business Trends cautions that “when you communicate in an overly tense manner, the message you are trying to share might not be well understood or retained.”
You could effectively defuse any tension by injecting some humor into proceedings, though you should be careful not to go overboard with it.
Be clear and get straight to the point
As you can’t expect everyone to quite have the same vocabulary level, it would be worth your while if you stick to simple, easy-to-understand words rather than descend into excessive jargon. Otherwise, you could too often have to spend extra time clarifying certain words or phrases.
When vocalizing, such as in person or over a video call, resist speaking too quickly, as your words could come out as incoherent.
Consider alternatives to email
Though emailing is a tried-and-trusted way of reaching out to people remotely, it could work better for you to instead make a video call or use a live chat facility. After all, it can be tedious for people to have to scroll and read through a long thread of emails.
You could even source a unified communications (UC) system from a telecoms firm like Gamma, enabling you to have a wealth of digital communication tools all integrated into one interface.
Is it very important? Then send it in a letter
For example, you might want to get in touch with a new vendor or customer and make a positive impression on them right from the start. In this instance, a business letter — complete with your brand’s logo and name at the top — can come across as more professional than an email.
Respond quickly to messages
You want to create a situation where employees feel comfortable with dropping you a message if they have any questions for you or simply need a little help only you can probably provide.
As a general rule, keep a close eye on your emails so that, if you are sent one, you can respond to it within an hour of its arrival.
Don’t be afraid to absorb feedback from employees
Those employees should be given clear avenues for not only giving you feedback but also, if they wish, anonymously.
Feedback from your workers should never be ignored, even if it is negative. Through addressing any concerns raised by your staffers, you can reassure them that you have their interests at heart.
It can also strongly incentivize workers to stay at your company and help to spread the word that the company genuinely looks after them.
