10 Ways to Take Create Better Team Communication

Ever noticed that not everyone on your team is on the same page? You do your best to get the word out but the details never get to the employees that really need it? Or you actually find that too much communication is getting passed down that people are getting swamped with emails and are not even able to be able to figure out what is important or not important. There can be so many efficiencies in companies but most people just don't know where to start.

Today, I am going to walk you through 10 ways that you can achieve better communication with your team.  Why? So that your employees are efficient and not wasting time completing tasks and requirements that aren't required. These tips are from my experience working with companies over the last 7 seven years and the consulting work I have done to improve my client's communication.

1. Try Yammer.com. Yammer is a free, private social network for your company. If all your employees are on Facebook or Twitter all day, you definitely want to check this out!
2. Have an open door policy. Are your employees afraid to come talk to you? Or are do their managers even allow them to go directly to you? I constantly see organizational structures that don't allow employees to get information to the people that need to know. Make sure everyone knows that even though there are management levels, that you still want to hear everyone's thoughts and ideas for improvements and efficiencies. You may be surprised what you find!
3. Analyze your large deliverables to see how many review and approval steps there are. If there are too many, cut them out so that time isn't waiting getting everyone's buy in on projects. Learn to trust your employees so that you don't have to see every deliverable going out the door.
4. Happy hours. If your employees get to know each other better on a personal level, they will be more likely to ask questions and communicate better on the job as well. It may cost you a few dollars, but it will do wonders for the communication and job satisfaction of your team.
5. Create agendas and outlines for meetings so that you don't waste your employees time and so that you can communicate the really important items, not what you did last night. 
6. Learn to pick up your phone instead of sending an email. Not only will you be able to get your point across better on the phone, but you will also build a better relationship with your employee.
7. Don't expect your employees to read your mind. Be up front, honest and please make decisions quickly. Otherwise, your employers will be lost and incredibly frustrated.
8. Be proactive. If you need to address an issue, don't wait for your employees to come to you. Walk out of your office and address it. 
9. Read your email. Many managers feel like once they get to a certain level, that other people are suppose to give them updates of what is in their email because they are too busy to read it themselves. Au contraire! When you are a manager, you need to have emails read so that you know what is going on in your company and you can manage issues quickly and efficiently. Spend some time creating an email organizational structure so you can make sure you know what is going on in your company so that time isn't wasted briefing you on the status.
10. Watch your body language. When you call a meeting with a staff member, don't take that phone call and definitely don't check your email.  Care enough about your employees to give them your time and listen to them. Trust me, it will mean a lot to them!

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -George Bernard Shawn


How are you going to improve the communication on your team this week?