Building a productive and cohesive team is one of the primary goals of any successful business. The more its employees are connected as colleagues, the more effective its team communication, cooperation, and workplace efficiency will be. And all that can be accomplished through open communication.
Effective workplace communication is the primary tool for increasing employee productivity and morale. It implies not only communication between departments but also among all employees within the company.
Implementing an open communication policy is one of the most effective ways to achieve such a multidirectional interaction.
What Is Open Communication?
Open communication in the workplace is more than just internal news and knowledge sharing. It is a communicative manifestation that indicates that the interlocutor is sincere, good-natured, and strives to speak honestly, regardless of his position.
Open communication does not create either a physical or psychological barrier between interlocutors.
For example, each participant feels safe and at ease when sharing his opinion, and discussing mistakes and lessons learned. Each participant in this process contributes to creating a psychologically safe environment in which any opinion is respected and can be expressed openly, even if it differs from that of the majority.
The Importance of Open Communication in the Workplace
Why is open internal communication so important? The issue is that different departments have different capabilities.
While some employees have specific knowledge that they do not put to use, others may put it to use for the benefit of the company and to promote new ideas.
Here are some other reasons why open communication is necessary for the workplace:
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It encourages new ideas;
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It improves employee communication;
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It boosts the company’s overall performance;
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It allows for effective knowledge management and sharing;
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It improves problem-solving processes and communication between departments;
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It encourages trust and loyalty;
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It allows employee engagement;
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It teaches employees that their opinions, ideas, and decisions are important to the company's success;
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It leads to greater job satisfaction;
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It reduces stress in the workplace and encourages mutual respect.
How to Create Open Communication in the Workplace?
Many factors influence how you implement open communication in your team. Consider how you can elevate team interaction to a higher level.
1. Invest in Smart Space
The communication tools used in the company have a direct impact on not only the workplace culture of employees but also overall productivity. Unauthorized applications and software frequently pose a security risk to your company's data and can disrupt workgroup synchronization.
Using multiple communication channels causes issues with access to documents and files, as well as situations where there is insufficient information for work. This causes not only project delays but also significant financial losses.
What is the solution? Choose a smart internal communication tool that combines all your company's platforms, applications, and content types, so that team members do not have to switch between tools while working on different tasks.
2. Establish an Internal Blog
To ensure transparent internal communication within large teams, you can start a blog for your employees. There are numerous ways to share information.
The internal blog is simple and easy to use, so it quickly becomes the central information hub that opens a new, transparent, two-way communication channel inside an organization.
The internal blog works well as a knowledge-sharing platform because everyone can quickly search for the information they need or ask a question to get the answer from someone else in the company.
You should use the most relevant content to inform employees to keep them engaged (short videos, stats, schemes, daily jokes to cheer up your teams, etc.).
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3. Practice Radical Honesty
Professional communication is built on frankness. It necessitates taking care of your employees and directly pointing out flaws in their behavior, ensuring the appropriate balance of aggression and empathy in the workplace.
According to some surveys, managers frequently feel uncomfortable when communicating with employees and are hesitant to make direct comments to the employees. Cultivating healthy trust relationships, on the other hand, may turn out to be the office communication strategy you're looking for to help you build a cohesive team.
4. Daily Standups
The daily standup is a 10-minute ritual for sharing information about work progress and roadblocks. It may become a daily habit over time.
As a result, your team will be able to more efficiently coordinate tasks, resources, and relevant needs. For example, visiting writing services reviews websites for assistance with writing.
You will also have fewer missed opportunities and duplicate tasks. In remote working environments, such standups can be held via video conferencing.
5. Practice Debates
The debate allows you to share unfinished project ideas with trusted colleagues. Furthermore, you can receive honest and adequate feedback on your proposals and solutions through this type of communication.
Remember that even in the hottest debates, you can uncover the truth that will allow you to achieve the best results in your project.
6. Start with Yourself
As a team leader, you can initiate new habits in your team that contributes to effective communication at work. For example, at the start of the workday, say “Good morning” to your team to cheer them up.
Aside from that, encourage social interactions, i.e., encourage employees to communicate with one another rather than surf the Internet or social networks. For example, if possible, arrange for your team to take lunch breaks together in a café or dining area that is located away from their workplaces.
Conclusion
If you notice that your company is experiencing an increase in difficulties and various types of failures, the first thing you should look into is internal communication. Using the practice of open communication will help lead to an increase in team and company performance.
Employees will be able to get assistance as soon as a problem arises. Managers, in turn, will be able to understand employees' problems more clearly and respond to them more quickly.
If your employees have no connection to your organization's values and company culture, it is time to consider why.
By encouraging your team to interact and communicate with one another, you can create more effective communication and succeed faster in both the project and the niche as a whole.