8 Tips to Improve your Communication at Work

Even though 89% of people believe that effective communication is extremely important, 8 out of 10 people rate their business communication as average or poor. Considering organisations with connected employees show 20-25% productivity increases, it’s in every company’s best interest to start working on the effectiveness of their communication.

Why is good communication important in the workplace?

Increasing efficiency & productivity

Many companies strive to have a productive and efficient workforce, and it’s easy to see why. Miscommunication or bad communication costs companies an average of $420,000 per year (based on companies with 100 employees). Having a highly productive team reduces business costs, benefits customers, and contributes to greater revenue. 

When a task isn’t communicated effectively, the task takes longer to complete, the quality of work is lower, and more mistakes are likely to be made.

With better communication, employees can ask more questions and get the necessary answers to complete the task, reducing time, effort, and resources.

Increasing engagement

Good communication makes people feel part of a greater mission, which motivates them to work towards a team goal. Employees benefit from knowing what’s going on in the company and from being in an environment where their voices and opinions are heard.

According to Gallup, employee engagement is determined by factors such as feeling clear about your role, having the right materials to do your job, working with a common mission and having strongly committed co-workers, all of which are influenced by good communication. A similar Gallup study found that engaged employees are more likely to improve customer relationships, resulting in a potential 20% increase in sales.

Building stronger internal relationships

Honest and open communication helps bring people together. Employees should look forward to talking to their team and collaborating about ideas. Employees who enjoy communicating and collaborating are more eager to perform well because they don’t want to disappoint their colleagues.

Employees should also communicate openly with their managers and senior team members so they are more comfortable sharing thoughts or problems. Building stronger teams increases tenure and employee loyalty.

Strategies to improve communication

1. Have regular meetings

2. Always explain 'why'

3. Provide regular constructive feedback and reviews

4. Recognise great work

5. Listen

6. Be mindful

7. Share company insights

8. Ask for feedback

1. Have regular meetings

1-2-1 or team meetings are great opportunities to discuss changes, issues, or ideas. Having set times in the diary reassures employees of your dedication to them, allowing them time to ask questions and gain valuable information from you.

Diarising time to discuss issues allows them to be addressed before turning into bigger issues and allows time to discuss next steps, priorities, needs and happiness on a more personal level.

2. Always explain 'why'

Whether you're making structural changes within your company or designating a task, always explain why you’re doing it. Without the ‘why’ tasks, changes can seem pointless to those around you, leading them to question their position at your company. Explaining why things are happening or a task has been given to someone allows people to understand the greater picture and your way of thinking as a manager/leader. The ‘why’ shows you haven’t designated a meaningless task randomly. Good communication increases motivation and gets everyone on the same page to contribute to the company’s goals.

3. Provide regular constructive feedback and reviews

Feedback is only effective if it is constructive. People don’t know where to improve if they are not told how to. Criticising employees without constructive feedback is the perfect example of bad communication and can create a frustrating environment.

Feedback shouldn’t be a guessing game for the recipient. Tell them if you know where they should improve or what they need to do it.

Showing employees where they can improve builds trust and belief that open communication is important.

4. Recognise great work

Effective communication is not only talking about and listening to issues that can be improved. It also includes recognition.

Employees need to know they are doing a great job and that you appreciate their hard work to make them feel valued and engaged. Shine a spotlight on those that go the extra mile. Recognising employees publicly or in front of their teams encourages open appreciation, showing you see and acknowledge the efforts of the people around you.

5. Listen

Effective communication is a two-way street. Showing that you can listen to your employees shows them that you care about their opinions and take an interest in the things they choose to talk about, whether that be work-related or not. Listening to people increases trust, encourages people to be more open with you, and has the potential to transform your company culture.

6. Be mindful

Technology made for communicating is great. It has helped us stay connected wherever we are; however, it can be very difficult to digitally convey a tone of voice. Don’t rely on communicating online. Follow complex emails with phone calls to fully engage with the person you are communicating with. There are always ways to improve your communication.

Nothing quite beats communication like a face-to-face conversation; however, your body language must show you are listening. Don’t attempt to multitask; give your full attention to the person you’re with. Employees will only communicate honestly and openly with you if they feel they are being listened to in every capacity.

7. Share company insights

Company changes and updates are usually decided and implemented on a senior level and trickle down to affect every level of employee. Be open and honest with your employees about changes that you have planned and why you’re making them. Keeping people updated about changes makes people aware of them and sparks discussion and feedback, which could help improve plans further.

Don’t force changes on people and expect everyone to be fine with them. Communicate effectively to show that you respect and trust your employees.

8. Ask for feedback

Frequently asking for feedback from your employees is one of the best ways to improve and maintain open and honest communication. Although face-to-face communication is sometimes the most effective, criticism is sometimes difficult to give to senior team members. Instead, invest in creating surveys so people can maintain communication and feedback anonymously.

By gaining this feedback, you gain insights into real experiences, and you can find out what your employees really care about and what they think needs improving. By listening and acting on this insight, you show that you care about their opinions and that their thoughts are important to you.

According to the statistics, poor communication in the workplace typically leads to missed deadlines, lower employee engagement, and a lack of confidence in senior team members. Improving communication benefits not only you and your employees but also your overall company.