Did you know that one of the most common issues employees face in the workplace is communication? Whether they can’t come to an agreement with a colleague, or they’re having troubles communicating with a different sector, communication issues cause a lot of distress. 

Dealing with a colleague or a manager whose communication is hostile, confusing, or chaotic can decrease employees' morale and productivity, causing them to burn out faster. Such an environment isn't healthy for people working there. This can be stopped and prevented with a couple of tips on how to improve communication between employees. 

1. Get to know people on a personal level

Work ethics have changed over time. From professional, strict work environments, we've slowly sailed into friendlier workplaces with a laid-back atmosphere. However, due to the coronavirus, this trend was abruptly interrupted, which lead to impersonal workplace relations. Since most employees are working remotely, they are drifting apart, which causes troubles in communication. What is the solution to this problem?

Instead of forcing people to talk about serious subjects, allow the “unproductive chit chats”. Believe it or not, small talking with your colleagues helps your employees get to know each other on a personal level. This leads to team humanization, which is necessary for empathy and compassion within the team.

2. Hold communication training sessions

Soft skills training can be bothersome for some employees. However, the unwritten rule claims that those who resist them the most, need them the most! You can’t force a human to attend a course and learn from it. On the other hand, you can teach everyone around that person how to communicate with difficult communicators the best!

Communication training sessions can help your team learn a new skill, as well as bond and spend some time together. By teaching them how to handle people with different styles of communication, you’re boosting their skills and making it easier for them to interact with different people. 

3. Use the intranet

For easier communication and collaboration in the team, and also between the teams, having a certain platform, app or a cloud with shared files and information is crucial. That's why the intranet is a vital part of most organizations. It allows employees to collaborate, communicate and gain access to files and documents they need. Why would you need an intranet for your organization?

Besides the mentioned, using intranet increases productivity and engagement, which leads to better results. Better results create an overall better atmosphere which also results in easier communication. On top of that, with intranet employees can stay ahead of the game, be informed as well as chat whenever and where ever they are!

4. Give constructive feedback

Many employees crave feedback. However, if the supervisor or a team leader doesn’t know how to provide constructive feedback, which only leads to dissatisfaction. Also, there is a correct time to give feedback, so you should be aware of that too. Since there is always the right time and place for feedback, learn when to speak up and when to stay silent in the name of peace!

When offering feedback to colleagues, ensure it is directed towards their behaviour, not their personality. Actions and behaviour can be fixed, whereas criticizing someone's personality may be interpreted as a personal attack. Constructive, honest, and truthful feedback builds longer-lasting work relationships.

5. Schedule team meetings

Is your team having trouble agreeing and working together? This issue can truly jeopardize the entire business. In case they can't come to the middle grounds, the entire workflow is slowed down, which may affect other teams in the company! So, scheduling team meetings at least once per week is crucial for the sake of employees as well as the organization.

Did you know that good communication fosters good communication? While this is also inversely true, work on your team on open communication. The more they learn how to cooperate and communicate, the better results they will achieve. It's up to you as a leader to schedule team meetings and talk out any issues with your team. If you fail to do so, you can't expect your team to nurture such an environment!

6. Work on the body language

The coronavirus pandemic made us drift apart from each other. A lot of people forgot how it is like to communicate face to face in person, and without wearing a mask. This causes a lot of trouble when it comes to interpreting body language, the most important aspect of nonverbal communication.

As we’re still required to wear masks in public, practice body language in front of a mirror. Some poses may look threatening or unfriendly to people, which leads to misinterpreted communication. So, work on the body language and try to make some adjustments to your nonverbal communication to seem more open and friendly.

Final thoughts

Workplace communication problems are a frequent occurrence. Even though such issues may cause a lot of distress, they aren't unsolvable! So, try out some of these solutions which may help you improve the communication with and within your employees.