Setting Standards For Your Internal Communication: 9 Tips For Maximizing Team Communication
There are two things about the functionality of an office that are certain: a business cannot operate successfully without effective internal communication, and the way an office communicates internally affects every single other aspect of the business.
Let those two thoughts sink in.
It’s a harsh truth, but that doesn’t make it any less true. And unfortunately, office communication can become such a habitual part of our day to day lives that we rarely stop to think about whether or not we are doing it effectively. With so many different projects to work on, people to communicate with, and channels to use, things can get a bit sloppy and less than ideal for the efficiency of a business.
How to Improve Internal Communication
As a leader, it is crucial to periodically check in on the current state of your team’s internal communication — how people are deciding to communicate, whether or not it’s effective, and if it can be improved. Even if everything seems as if it is going swimmingly, some consistently helpful actions can have a significant impact on your internal communication and business productivity as a whole.
Here are nine tips for setting internal communication standards and maximizing collaboration for your business.
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Implement or Revamp an Internal Communication Plan
You can’t just round up all your employees, say “communicate better,” and expect anything to change. To successfully maximize your team’s workplace communication, you need to come prepared with a plan for them to use.
Whether you are creating a new plan from scratch or revisiting an existing one, here are the included steps:
- Evaluate your current situation: Analyze the state of your current internal communication. Take a good look at the situation of the organization as a whole, current goals, why the plan is being created, how people are currently communicating, and how this new plan will help the organization achieve its goals.
- Consider your audience: Think about the people within the organization for whom the plan is being created. You can even break that group down into multiple audiences, all with different goals, backgrounds, and communication preferences. Think about their current mindset, what you want them to do with the plan, and how to help them get there.
- Establish goals: Set some expectations for the internal communication plan. What do you want the result to be? When doing this, ensure the goals of the plan align with the overall goals of the organization.
- Determine strategies: Identify actions that need to be taken to achieve the goals listed above. Give team members specific and observable actions that support the plan, so you can measure progress.
- Execute the plan: Implement the strategies and tactics listed above. Make it clear to your team what you expect and the possible benefits that can come from their participation.
- Evaluate the plan: After the plan has been implemented, compare the new situation to the goals you set when making the plan. Did you meet the goals? Are you not there yet, but getting close? This is also a good point to ask for feedback from team members — ask individuals what they liked, what they didn’t, and any other general comments that can help you modify the plan accordingly.
Employees might have already seen your internal communication plan countless times, but giving everyone a refresher can never hurt.
Another important part of having a plan is having a process for communicating, more specifically when employees are communicating with management. In a department with multiple levels of leadership, it is important to ensure that each team member knows who to reach out to first in the case of vertical internal communication.
Make Managers Act as Ambassadors
You can’t enforce an internal communication plan and then not live it yourself. That would make you a hypocrite, and nobody wants that quality in a manager.
When implementing and enforcing an internal communications plan, or any plan for that matter, it is crucial to get buy in and full participation from management. If employees don’t see their leaders abiding by the plan, they will go ahead and assume they don’t have to either.
Not only should managers lead by example by using the plan as instructed, but they should also be hyping it up. Make sure they embody the way you want the internal communication plan to be used and explain the associated benefits and perks the plan can bring.
Provide The Right Tools Across Different Channels
Scheduling a meeting to have a quick conversation or walking across the office to ask a question is not always the most efficient way to communicate. There are tools meant for situations like this, and they are the key to making your workplace communication more efficient.
Getting the various tools you need is crucial for your team to communicate conveniently (internal communication software, video conferencing software, and email software). To keep things consistent, designate each one for a specific type of communication. For example, you can use internal communication software for team member communication, email for external use, and video conferencing for any conversations with someone not physically in the office. If you’re not willing to get rid of email for internal communication, consider an email newsletter that will update team member of happenings.
Using multiple communication tools in the workplace will also suit the different communication preferences people have around the office. Not everybody is going to love the primary channel you have chosen for internal communication, making it that much more important to provide options. Communicating the same message across multiple platforms is made easy with the integrations that plenty of software tools allow as well.
Don’t Forget About Remote Workers
Remote work and businesses with multiple locations are giving internal communication a whole new meaning. With the popularity of scattered teams increasing, ensuring every single employee has the tools they need to contribute to office conversations will require a bit more work.
The way you communicate with local employees might differ from the way you communicate with remote ones. Finding the right technology and continuously asking for feedback from the remote employees themselves is necessary in finding the best way to maximize remote employee communication.
Create Open Dialogues
When updating employees on things like company changes, progress, and future goals, it can be easy to present it to the group and leave it at that. However, communication is a two way street, and if managers are closing the door on dialogue, that is not ideal for becoming a team of expert communicators.
Ensure that employees are a part of these conversations (conversations being the keyword there). Encourage questions, comments, and concerns. Not only will this give the entire team a better idea of where the company is headed, but input from people of all positions is valuable to leadership.
Encourage Information Sharing
Encouraging leadership to start dialogues about big picture items is a great addition to your plan to maximize internal communication. But what about when team members have an idea that doesn’t have an open dialogue?
For those that want to express their original thoughts or relevant industry news, make sure you are enabling knowledge sharing by creating a culture of open and judgement-free communication. Provide an online platform that gives an outlet for these types of conversations. Employees will be eager to become involved, and the insights shared can be valuable to the business. Having team members start conversations themselves is equally as important as having managers do so.
Embrace Team Bonding
Getting to know someone on a personal level makes it a lot easier to effectively communicate with them. You get to know their style, and having a conversation with someone you talk to constantly is more effortless than doing so with a stranger. And what better way to get to know someone on your team than with an external team bonding event?
Create optional opportunities for employees to get together outside of the office. It can be during the holiday season, a random day after work, or after a big project has been finished. Those events can get a bit awkward, so have some non-work related conversation starters ready.
Less formally, encourage water cooler talk. Provide spaces around the office where employees can take a quick break, sit down with a cup of coffee, and unwind with their coworkers. These non work related conversations are going to happen no matter what, and embracing that your employees are humans that need a break from work and work related conversations now and then creates a more positive company culture.
Note: Make sure these team bonding events are inclusive for everybody. When planning them, send a survey around with options for the event and take into account any concerns people might have about certain activities.
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Ask For Feedback
With any type of plan in the workplace, the best way to determine whether or not it is doing the trick is to ask for feedback from the team members who are using it.
These people are prime stakeholders in the operation of your internal communication plan. Their thoughts, opinions, and hesitations for the plan are just as important as the plan itself. If there is a consensus that the plan is ineffective and missing the idea, then it’s back to the drawing board. And that’s okay — so long as you ask.
Here are some open ended questions you can ask team members to start some productive conversations about the internal communication plan:
Gathering feedback from your team can not only assist you in revamping your internal communication plan, but it will also help you avoid mistakes in the future, promote personal and professional growth, and create a culture of open and honest communication.
Listen
Above everything else, the most important part of maximizing your internal communication is listening to your team members and absorbing new information. Emphasize the importance of listening to the information being shared and giving people the chance to communicate their thoughts.
No matter your level, experience, or role in the company, you need to listen. Communication cannot have its intended effect if nobody is listening. If your internal communication doesn’t encourage listening, every other tip listed above is worthless.
Conclusion
If your internal communication is struggling, you need to act now. As it continues to flounder, you and your team members could be missing out on valuable information and collaboration opportunities. Implementing an internal communication plan or revamping your current one is a great step towards allowing your team to collaborate, work, and grow together.
Author Bio: Mary Clare Novak is a Content Marketing Associate at G2 in Chicago. A recent graduate, she is happy to be back working in her favorite city. In her free time, you can find her doing a crossword puzzle, listening to cover bands, or eating fish tacos.
