Communication impacts everything—how well your team members work together, how much they accomplish, how engaged they are, and on down the list. In a word, communication shapes your culture—so whether you’re looking to overhaul your company culture or simply improve what you already have in place, it’s never a bad time to review your workplace communication practices.
Here are a few recommendations for more effective communication.
Set the Standards
First things first: There should never be any question at your company about what is and isn’t appropriate workplace communication.
Joking around, informality, casual banter—if there are things that cross a line, that needs to be clearly set out in an employee handbook.
Don’t let there be any murky grey area about what’s accepted in terms of workplace communication.
Clarify the Terminology
Do you prefer the term clients, or customers? How about guests?
And are your team members employees—or would you rather them think of themselves as associates?
Once again, the employee handbook is an ideal place to clearly spell out the preferred terms you want to use in shaping your workplace communication.
Focus on Clarity
Defined terminology is one thing, but jargon is quite another.
In fact, overly technical language can impede your clarity and leave people confused—and that’s the enemy of clear workplace communication.
Keep your company culture as free of jargon as you can. Review your own communication habits for any vague buzzwords, and remove them from your internal communications.
Use Technology Intentionally
Want to adopt Skype, Slack, or some other instant messaging program within your office?
By all means, do so—just be clear about why you’re doing it, and how those tools are meant to be used.
Make sure technology has a clearly defined role within your company culture.
Workplace Communication Goes Beyond Words
Finally, remember that communication isn’t just about the words you write or speak. Body language and tone of voice can also convey deep meaning.
Be mindful of this, and think about ways in which you might need to modify your own approach to communication. Remember: As the leader, you set the tone.
Remember that successful companies have strong communication. I’d love to talk with you more about how you can improve your own workplace communication, and thus, your company culture. Reach out to me directly to start that conversation!
You can contact me at www.rickgoodman.com or call 888-267-6098. Let’s communicate together today!
