5 Simple Strategies to Improve Team Communication
According to statistics, 57% of employees report not being given clear direction, and 69% of managers are not comfortable communicating with employees in general. Yet, strong communication is the driving force for everything we do at work. It leads to improved decision-making, engaged team members, and successful projects. In addition, effective team communication is essential because it results in increased productivity. In fact, according to a McKinsey report, improved internal communication can improve organizational productivity by as much as 25%.
With so many people working remotely, implementing effective communication strategies is more important than ever. Here are five simple ways to improve team communication so you can experience increased collaboration, engagement, and performance.
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Schedule one-on-one meetings
Regular one-on-one meetings offer an opportunity to address issues and check in on the well-being of your team members. Your team will be more confident when you offer them space to talk freely. In regular meetings, you can:
Give and receive feedback
Get real-time status on projects
Discuss career growth
Get a pulse on job satisfaction
One-on-one meetings also help you get to know your team personally, which boosts trust. You can also encourage your employees to schedule one-on-ones with each other so they build collaborative relationships.
Be open to feedback
Whether they have an issue they want resolved or ideas to improve the company, workers just want to be heard. An open-door policy can help employees bring fresh ideas to the table and make you aware of minor issues before they become major problems affecting the entire team. By encouraging employees to discuss job-related issues with their immediate supervisor or other senior-level managers, you help them feel supported and valued, boosting morale and productivity. It’s also a good idea to proactively ask for feedback—and often. Seek out team members that are willing to share their honest opinions. Then actively listen to and process the input as objectively as possible. If necessary, ask for clarification, examples, and recommendations.
Embrace workplace diversity
Cultural diversity is about accepting people’s differences and understanding that everyone is unique. Given that more positions are fully remote, it’s likely that you’ll be interfacing with team members worldwide. That's why having cross-cultural communication skills is essential. Start by developing excellent listening skills. Every culture communicates differently, so it's important to ask meaningful questions. Encouraging positive self-expression also improves team communication by giving a voice to everyone. Then take the time to think about the variety of viewpoints and backgrounds of your team members and how they will receive your message. Finally, keep your language clear, concise, and straightforward when communicating with a culturally diverse audience. Avoid jargon, slang, euphemisms, and colloquial expressions. Seeing your message through your team's eyes will broaden your outlook and help employees feel valued rather than excluded or overlooked for their differences.
Resolve conflicts quickly
When team members don’t resolve conflicts immediately, tension builds, and work performance suffers. That’s why teaching conflict resolution strategies are valuable so the team can address issues quickly and respectfully. That way, small problems don’t turn into big ones. Some steps you can take are to:
Identify the source of the conflict: define the cause of the conflict so you can understand what the disagreement is
Find a private place to have a conversation: find a safe environment to have a constructive conversation
Listen actively and let everyone speak: give each person time to express their thoughts and concerns
Determine ways to meet the common goals: brainstorm ways you can resolve the issue
Agree on a solution: find common ground and determine how each person is responsible for resolving the conflict
Then once you arrive at a solution, keep an eye on the issue and discuss ways to prevent these types of conflicts in the future.
Make meetings more productive
Business meetings are often considered one of the least efficient business activities. In fact, research shows that only 50% of the time spent in meetings is effective and engaging. Even worse, over $37 billion is wasted annually on unproductive meetings. But effective meetings can have a very positive impact on team communication and overall business success.
Some ways to make meetings more productive include:
Defining the purpose of the meeting
Setting a clear agenda
Ensuring someone leads the meeting
Keeping meetings to a set amount of time
Inviting only the necessary team members
Ending each meeting with a clear result, next steps, and action items
Sharing meeting notes and assets following the meeting
How team members communicate with each other is directly related to the company’s bottom line. So rather than leaving it up to chance, it pays to be intentional. By implementing these easy strategies, you’ll be able to fuel innovation, boost productivity and reach the kind of employee engagement levels that lead to long-term business success.