Simple ways to Improve your Team’s Communication

Misunderstandings happen. Sometimes they can lead to arguments and even missed deadlines, which can cause a lot of stress for everyone. If you want to stop this from happening, here are a few tips to help you smooth everything out.

Have an Open-Door Policy

An open-door policy will set a precedent. It will give everyone the chance to ask questions and let them voice their concerns. People will feel as though they can pitch their own ideas and this will build a huge degree of trust within the team.

If you make your management inaccessible, this will send the wrong message to your lower-level employees. It may even make them feel like they are not as valuable, which is the last thing you need. Removing physical obstacles like doors can create a sense of mutual trust, and it can also help people open up much more.

Be Open to Feedback

If you want to get the most out of your feedback, you need to be clear to all the parties involved. Try and be concise with the comments you make, and also make sure that you are willing to explain when needed. If you tell your employees to “fix this” without giving them a solution or even the support they need, then this won’t be doing them any favours at all, and it may even make it difficult for them to change their ways.

Of course, it’s also vital that you take the time to listen to your team’s feedback too. You need to make some changes to your personal attitude to benefit the workplace, and if this is the case, you should really take their comments on board.

Make Sure that Everyone Knows their Responsibility

Nobody can complete an assignment if they aren’t sure which tasks they need to do. You have to make sure that the entire team know the scope of the project, and you also need to make sure that they know what is expected of them. It also helps to get the team together regularly to check their progress, ask them questions, and even address any issues they might have.

Boost Morale

Team-building exercises have been used for quite some time. If you want to get the best result, you need to make sure that you do something fun. Have pizza after work, break out the board games once in a while or even have an informal get-together. This will help you connect with your team more, and it will also help make everyone much more comfortable. If you want to take things to the next level, investing in a corporate training platform is always a good idea.

Give Coffee Breaks a Purpose

Instead of letting your team take breaks whenever they want, try and make it so everyone can take a break together. When you do this, you give them the chance to interact informally, and you also give them the chance to catch up. Coffee is the fuel that happens to get most people through the day, and by arranging group coffee breaks, you can make the whole thing way more enjoyable. You might even want to make a coffee run instead of sticking with the instant coffee you keep in the office. When you do this, you can then help everyone have the best time while also boosting team morale.

Decide What Works Best

Different situations will require different methods of communication. If you have a team that works remotely, then a video conference is a fantastic way for you to keep everyone in touch. If you are operating a project in-house, then consider face to face. Sure, it can be tempting to send emails within the office, but they can get sent to the junk folder or even get lost in cyberspace.

Utilise Project Management

Everyone is turning to cloud-based storage, security and software. There’s an excellent reason for this. It’s a known fact that cloud-based management software will allow for a much higher level of transparency, and it also helps people meet their deadlines. If you can have one streamlined system, this will help everyone to collaborate, and it will also help them access the specifics they need.