Business Communication Procedure

Do you own a business or work in a business where you seem to hear important information about company policy or upcoming changes from Sally, who told Bob, that went through to Human Resources, only for you to maybe over hear it if you’re lucky (or something similar)? It may be that your workplace communication procedure is just not functioning well, and a few changes might be needed.  You can use the following tips to implement or suggest for your workplace, to improve  business communication.

Fortnightly or Monthly Meetings

Depending on the size of your business/workplace the frequency of meetings may differ, the point to understand here is that you must have regular meetings. Have the manager of the business compile a list of things to discuss or report, have a note taker to type the meeting minutes, and close with an open discussion so employees can express their opinion or update the business on anything they need to share. Regular meetings are a great way to ensure everyone in the business is on the same page.

Internal Communication

One company I work for use the program ‘Yammer’, it works and looks exactly the same as Facebook i.e. you have a ‘Wall’, you can ‘Like’ posts to notify the author you have read the message, you can make private ‘Groups’ (for Admin/ HR/ Management), and you can use the private message function or even upload tasks and files. In between meetings, the use of this program or similar is a quick way for your business to communicate with the entire team. You can check out the link to Yammer here (basic accounts are free).

External Communication

For correspondence with clients or customer’s you need to provide a simple and easy solution for communication. The most recommended way is to have an email for each team member, which is tied to the company’s domain name i.e. sam@businessdomainname.com.au and elise@businessdomainname.com.au. These email types are not only professional, but will be easy for your clients and customers to remember.

One-on-one

Often, particularly if a touchy subject, a team member may be hesitant to bring up an issue in an open group discussion at team meetings. Sometimes these individuals may not even want to bring up the issue because they ‘don’t want to disturb the boss’, or feel uncomfortable bringing it up. This problem can be minimized if the Manager/Owner of the business has a one on one, and welcoming conversation, where the employee feels comfortable enough to speak about his or her issues.

Casual Meet Ups

The way an individual acts at work may be completely different to how they present themselves in the real world. Casual workplace meet ups, for dinner or drinks, is just one way you can get to know your fellow co-workers more, and may even build a friendship that will make working with them a whole lot easier.

It is important to remember that communication is key to keeping a stable and happy workplace. Ensure a communication plan is set out, and everyone will be on the same page. You may even reduce the amount of workplace conflict, simply by implementing the above.

‘till next time,

Kimberly Maxwell