Written by: Rachel Tomlin
In 2019, we are living in a world where communication and accessibility are more relevant and more important than ever. In the workplace, teams are having to navigate not only all the different forms of communication tools that are out there, but the different types of communication styles, practices, and techniques of their peers and managers as well.
Good communication is a key factor to a team’s success whether you are working remotely or in an office environment. This means finding the most effective ways to communicate with your team should be considered a high priority.
In the article 10+ Amazing Tools For Business Communication In 2019 the author dives into how communication for teams in the workplace is changing.
“The modern business world is evolving and so is the need of every modern workplace. With the increasing dominance of technology and automation in every industry, employees now have the freedom to stay connected to their work regardless of their actual location. Now a key effect of this modern workplace trend is that it has shown people the importance of team communication. It has made effective team communication an integral part of everything that we do.”
The focus on team communication continues to be a key factor in the workplace, and when you add in how the evolving methods of communication have now led to more questions than ever like “Can I use an emoji in that email?” Or “Should I add an exclamation mark over a period in order not to offend someone?” Or “Will this text get the same message across over a phone call?” we are now tasked with asking ourselves what the best practices are in 2019 to make sure a team is communicating effectively.
In the article 8 Simple and Effective Ways to Improve Team Communication, Mattis Le Cren, product owner at Azendo, lays out eight methods to create the best environment for your team’s communication efforts. These methods include fostering an open-door policy, encouraging two-way feedback, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, building team spirit, using time wisely, ensuring proper training, using the appropriate forms of communication, and utilizing online tools instead of having meetings.
“Communication is more than just talking face-to-face, although this form of communication should never be neglected. However, individual people and projects may dictate different types of communication. Technology plays a big part of our communication toolbox, and when used effectively, can save time and help team members work more efficiently.” Le Cren states.
He goes on to say “Normally a combination of methods works well on most projects, but the key here is how to increase the overall communication across the whole team. By implementing a few simple strategies, you should start to see an increase in team interaction.”
Identifying which of these eight areas need the most attention or may make the largest impact for your team is a good exercise to start down the track of better communication. For example, you may find that clearly defining roles and responsibilities may organically foster better communication through feedback and ensuring proper training for the roles affected. Training may then identify the proper tools needed to better collaborate across teams.
Katie Douthwaite, a writer for The Muse, lays out an approach in tackling the style of communication and how to be most effective in getting a message across in today’s workplace in this article. The strategies include using statements and not questions, maintaining confidence as you speak, giving clear directives instead of suggestions, adding deadlines, and repeating your requests. With many teams working remotely and generations sometimes feeling like they are speaking different languages to each other, these are clear and concise communication techniques that can be effective whether face-to-face or talking through email or an online messaging tool.
While we live in the ever-evolving, technology-driven world where new tools to solve our simplest problem tend to pop up every day, one thing remains clear; there will never be one answer or one tool to address communication across organizations. People will always be different, and tasks will always require unique approaches. As such, we will continue to rely on varying our types of communication through methods, styles, and technologies to connect with our teams in the most effective way possible.
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