An efficient
communication culture is one of the key ingredients to establishing strong
relationships, getting projects done faster and more effectively and building
successful, performing teams.
In this piece, we share
with you some important tips in creating a more organised workforce with the
system and quality of communication.
Keep Communication
Constant
Communication shouldn’t
be a one-off thing that occurs very occasionally such as at annual reviews.
Create a schedule of one-on-one meetings with your employees to
keep up to speed with their progress, job satisfaction level and needs to
perform at their best level.
Doing such chats on a
monthly basis and you may be surprised how much they are willing to say or
contribute to move the organisation forward.
Master Your Body Language
People who understand the
critical elements of communication know that non-verbal communication or body
language has important impacts on people around them. Therefore as organisational leaders or
managers, they learn to master the art of body language and ensure that at all
times they are giving of positive and motivational vibes to keep everyone in
the right spirit and the workplace vibrant and productive.
Mastering your body
language is basically about leading by example by keeping an open, upbeat and approachable appearance
at all times. Other tips include:
- Keeping your arms uncrossed
- Keeping an upright posture
- Smiling
- Maintaining eye contact, and
- Keeping your mobile phones and other work
gadgets aside when conversing with people.
Listen to What People Are
Not Saying
This is another key
aspect of non-verbal communication. You hear what people are telling you, but
can you also hear what they are not saying or are trying to hide? This could be
just as important — or even more. A business owner or manager must have emotional intelligence and
know how to ‘hear’ what workers are not saying and rummage through the debris
to find the truth.
Give Positive Feedback
Feedbacks are powerful,
and positive feedbacks even more powerful. It’s easy to spot and point out
people’s mistake to them, but how often do people do the reverse and praise,
even when an employee does something impressive or commendable?
Is a worker showing a
good example with work efficiency or customer care? Commend the person. Perhaps
it’s a worker’s good hygiene and general cleanliness
in his or her workspace. Give positive feedback. Never underestimate the power
of positive feedback in boosting employee morale and productivity.
Give Negative Feedback
Properly
Positive feedbacks are
great and can be an effective morale-boosting tool, so use whenever necessary.
But giving positive feedback when the appropriate feedback to give in a
particular situation is a negative one, will do more harm than good in the end.
Do not reward bad behaviour or unjustified low productivity or gloss over them.
Give negative feedback, but give it in an appropriate manner. Disagree without
being disagreeable.
Write Better Emails
Learn to write emails
that are clear, succinct and straight to the point. Don’t waste people’s time
and money with sloppily written emails. Writing better emails ensures everyone
understands and appreciates you better, and you don’t have to keep repeating
the same instruction or communication face to face or over the phone
later.
