Internal communication is crucial for a company’s performance and the expansion of its bottom line. Poor workplace communication impacts businesses so badly that it could lead to bigger problems like low employee retention and unsatisfactory outputs.
To properly devise an effective communication plan, let’s go over five of the most common and critical communication pitfalls often overlooked by executives.
1. No explanation of the ‘why’ or the benefits of the message
Leaders must convey the “why” behind their decisions such as why a certain choice is right for the company’s future, how it fits with the company’s mission, and why it must be made right away.
Consistency in the “why” will permeate the culture over time and enable individuals at all levels to make more informed decisions.
Every message should always offer a benefit and relate to the wants or desires of the workers to engage them and persuade them to take action or view things your way.
2. Non-stop and excessive communication
Overloaded inboxes can quickly irritate employees. Executives must realize that employees get tons of phone calls, texts, group chats, social media, and internal meetings in a day, in addition to work emails.
Along with the frequent back and forth, responding to, or reading of messages that have nothing to do with them, important information could get lost, deleted, forgotten, or ignored among employees.
This consumes a great deal of time and energy and also lowers productivity in general. One simple solution to this is to combine current channels into one to reduce email overload.
3. Deflecting difficult conversations
Leaders avoid initiating difficult conversations because they believe that it is contrary to their perceived primary responsibility which is to motivate and inspire the team. Hence, they tend to delegate the delivery of bad news.
In cases where executives do transmit the message directly, it is often done through a bulk email or a general announcement that leaves no chance for feedback. This often comes off as inauthentic and just creates more gaps with the employees.
Matters, especially the unpleasant ones, that are left unattended could spill out and ruin workplace relationships. Leaders should have the guts to tell people where they stand and demonstrate how they will lead the team to success no matter the hindrances.
Learn more about how you can improve your corporate communication strategies at:
4. Assuming everyone understands the message
Many leaders fall victim to the misconception that their executive titles automatically turn them into excellent communicators and that their teammates can easily comprehend anything they say or write.
Regardless of how long the list of deals an executive has negotiated and closed in the past, anyone can still lack the fundamentals and necessities of communicating effectively. Leaders must understand that different individuals have different communication preferences.
To ensure that the message is understood, executives should adjust their communication style to accommodate any type of listener. Even simpler, leaders must always ask for feedback on whether their intended message got through.
5. Improper communications technology
The time when work could only be done at a desk in an office is long behind. Information is becoming more readily available as technology advances at a rapid pace. From a communication perspective, there is simply too much to keep up with, including desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and even smartwatches.
With all the technological advancements emerging, companies could often get caught up in the so many communication software that we have today. Most of the time, they do not pay much attention to going over these tools and just choose anything with the false promise of digital transformation.
The uglier part is, a software that does not match the organisation’s needs could not only turn out to be futile but could even further jeopardize the team’s communication. Thus, careful consideration must be given to choosing collaboration tools along with the specific needs of a team.
Related: Research finds workplace technology key to good customer service (commsroom.co)
Corporate workplace communication is an ever-developing process of constant oversight and improvement. There is no one size fits all.
Improving workplace communication takes a lot of effort and thought, whether it be strengthening a personal connection or making adjustments to the current plan. Like any other multi-pronged strategy, it takes understanding the needs of all parties involved.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
