Internal communication, how good is it in your company? In a time of crisis, internal communication can make the difference between sinking and swimming and on a general day, it can ensure everything is running to plan and nothing is being overlooked. Yet many business owners fail to recognise the importance of internal communications, 60% according to one study, and the need for it to be carried throughout the company, not just relevant to specific departments or people. If your team doesn’t have the necessary information to do the job, how can you expect them to perform at their best?
Apps, Not Intranets
Did you know that only 13% of employees use their workplace intranet? You might have spent time and money putting it together or thinking you are improving internal communications, but, if people bypass it for other methods, then chances are things aren’t being received, and communications are being missed. If you want to improve your internal communication, you must have the right apps and software in place. For example, Slack is a great way to keep everyone updated in real-time on collaboration wherever they are, be it working in the office or remotely, while field service management software can allow you to ensure everyone has the information they need when working on the go while giving you up to date records and data of an employee’s performance and activities. Out with the old and in with the new is a motto that will help you move with the times and ensure everyone is on the same page.
Improve Employee Culture
Over 70% of employees feel they aren’t included in or missing out on communications. And for those who think they are in the loop or being included, this can cultivate a toxic working environment. It’s not the sole cause, but it is most definitely a contributing factor in making people feel valued and supported at work. By improving your communication strategy to ensure everyone knows what they need to know when they need to know it, you can help to improve your company culture. At the same time, it doesn’t matter how good your communications are if you foster a toxic working environment. So you can use your improved communication strategies to help you eliminate anything that affects your team and ensure everyone can work easier without worrying about this aspect.
Ask For Feedback
You will never know what is working and what is working for most of your employees if you don’t ask them. You should remember that if you cannot run your company without them, then they need to have the opportunity to help shape how they work and improve positivity and efficiency at the same time. Talk to them collectively and individually to find out what they think is going well regarding how you operate, your current communication strategy, and what isn’t. Are they spending time talking people through new updates rather than getting on with their job roles? Are IT forever having to reset passwords or manually allow access and figure out issues between unintegrated systems? Then you need to know where you are failing to help you improve communications and internal processes and ensure
everyone is working where they need to be with as little getting in their way as possible.
These are just a few ways poor communication can impact your business and how you can look to improve what you are currently doing. Good communication is vital in all industries, and you need to look at how this works inside your company to improve your results.
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