A lack of communication between team members can be harmful to your business. Important tasks may end up not being done and certain people may not receive important information that could lead to mistakes. If you’ve noticed that your team aren’t communicating, it could important to find the cause so that you can find a solution. Here are just a few possible reasons why your workplace may be having communication problems.
You’re not holding enough team meetings
Team meetings can help everyone to get on the same page. They’re a perfect chance to check up on everyone’s progress and share any important information or concerns. On top of this, they can build camaraderie – if you’re team work separate shifts or if certain members work from home, it could be a chance to get everyone together so that your whole team is more familiar with each other. Consider scheduling these meetings on a regular basis.
You’re not making use of communicative technology
Technology has helped to improve workplace communication. Company group chats are great for allowing everyone to share information and could serve much like a meeting. You could also use cloud-based software to keep a record on everyone’s progress and encourage employees to report all information they have learnt so that everyone has access to it.
Important information isn’t being written down
It’s vital that important information brought up in meetings and during phone calls is written down and shared with the team. This ensures that this information isn’t forgotten. You could encourage your employees to all take notes. Alternatively, you may be able to record audio of important meeting and phone calls and then get someone to transcribe the conversation (you can outsource transcription services to save you and your team the hassle of doing it).
Your office layout is stopping communication
A poor office layout can also affect communication. Having people work from separate rooms or cubicles could stop people freely speaking to each other. Consider finding a company that specialises in office interiors to redesign a layout that encourages communication. Open-plan layout tend to be best suited, but may not be practical for all workplaces.
You’re encouraging a blame culture
When mistakes are made, don’t put the focus on blaming and chastising individuals – put the focus on finding solutions. A blame culture can stop people owning up to mistakes or expressing concerns in fear of being reprimanded, which can lead to communication problems. Accept that mistakes will happen and encourage employees to discuss them, making it a team effort to fix them.
Employees aren’t being made to feel equal
If employees don’t feel equal, certain individuals may start to feel underappreciated and cliques can start to form. This can affect communication as people may feel they can only talk to those that they can relate to. Make sure that you’re giving all employees the same amount of attention of credit. Don’t neglect new employees or forget to show appreciation for older employees. Similarly, don’t create too much of a wage gap between employees if they’re largely doing the same job.