Lack of effective communication is one of the most common reasons small businesses fail. Miscommunication, problems, conflicts, and an unhealthy work environment all stem from the lack of proper communication which can ultimately drive your business to ruin.
To avoid problems and to save your small business from employee turnover and even from potential ruin, we made a list of tips that can help you improve communication within your business.
Meetings are not enough
It’s not a secret that many businesses think that a meeting or two, every now and then, is a great way to communicate with their employees. The truth is that meetings are the worst way to communicate with people.
Meetings are enough for sharing information everyone present needs to be informed about, quick briefings and if they are well-planned out and organized, meetings are a great channel for feedback and improvement.
But for more effective communication try not to rely on meetings. Instead, organize one-on-one meetings, open doors policy, or something similar that comes to your mind.
Be responsive
As a business manager or owner, you should be responsive. And we don’t mean to just respond to the emails you receive, which you should respond to promptly.
As a person in charge, you should have an open doors policy, where your employees will be able to come to you with their questions, problems, or requests. During this time, you should actively listen to your employees, provide feedback, respond accordingly and deter from judgment.
This type of policy shows your employees that you want to communicate with them and that you care about their needs.
Be an active listener
This leads us to active listening, which is a solution to many communication-related problems. Active listening, unlike passive is the process of actively listening and being engaged while someone else is speaking.
It’s a skill that all of us should learn, regardless of our position at work. Being an active listener can significantly improve communication within any business.
To hone this skill, you should remove all types of distractions from the conversation. This means turning off your phone, laptop, pc when someone is talking to you. Concentrate on the conversation at hand and listen to understand. If you need to, take notes.
Use technology for better communication
Businesses today are in a much better position than those from only a decade ago – they can rely on technology to do most of their job for them. Who would have thought mobile technology would advance to the level that it can be used in so many different ways.
And not just mobile, but pretty much every communication technology has advanced so much that it can be easily applied to most spheres of our lives, including business.
So, to improve communication within your business, you should consider investing in different types of communication technology such as mobile technology, video/audio conferencing technology, and other similar technologies.
Any of these technologies are bound to boost communication and collaboration within your small business.
If you’re struggling to manage your internal communication even though you’ve implemented different communication methods, don’t be afraid to seek help. Find out more here about how you can improve internal communication and in that way increase productivity within weeks.
Use feedback
Implementing a feedback culture has proven to be quite a success for many businesses. Giving and receiving feedback is an effective way to communicate with your employees, clients, and co-workers.
A feedback culture is a culture where everyone can share their feedback even anonymously if needed. The best thing about feedback culture is all the benefits that it brings. Feedback, no matter if it’s positive or negative, can help your business grow. Giving and receiving feedback can also be a great way to manage your remote team.
So, make sure you find tools and resources to collect feedback from your employees, clients, and partners.
Important documents and information should be always available
Certain documents and information play an important role in how a company or organization functions and how employees interact.
That’s why these documents and information that include operational workflows and processes, employee protocol and benefits plan, training materials and marketing collateral, and other similar information should be easily accessible and available to employees and even new hires.
If you aim to improve communication within your business, make sure your employees are well informed and this important information is readily available to them.
Communication is an invaluable element of a successful business. There are many benefits to effective communication and as an owner or a manager of a business, you have the opportunity to develop various practices that will increase communication within your small business.