5 Realistic Tips To Seamless Team Communication In 2022

“Communicate unto the other person that you would want him to communicate unto you if your positions were reversed.” – Aaron Goldman

Timely and transparent communication is crucial to your business’s success. There’s no denying this universal fact.

You can say that communication is the glue that holds your team and business together.

It is also true that during this pandemic, many businesses and their teams have struggled to ensure good team communication. Remote work has become a new normal; teams are widely distributed, and reliance on technology is critical to achieving honest and open communication.

Statistics show a clear picture. A survey by McKinsey & Company found that employee productivity boosts by 20-25% in organizations where employees are connected.

Poor team communication can adversely impact various aspects of your business – low productivity, employee conflicts, increased employee turnover, negative company reputation, etc. 

Ironically, many teams may think that they have hit the sweet communication spot when it may be far from adequate. Again, statistics don’t lie but reveal the truth.

Research by Gallup found that 74% of employees feel like they’re missing out on company information and news. It can lead to employees feeling disconnected, isolated, and demoralized at work.

Why Is Potent Team Communication Vital?

Generally, the most successful teams have one trait in common – they communicate and collaborate to get the job done, on time and successfully.
Whether you’re managing a team of 50, 500, or more, the key to drive in good communication is to get each and every individual of your team to exchange information and collaborate easily.

Let’s find out why effective team communication continues to be of utmost importance in today’s dynamic work environment.

• Improved team bonding. Open communication among team members leads to good chemistry among team members. When your employees trust each other, it leads to enhanced productivity and morale, which shows in the efficient quality of work delivered.

• Encourages people to express themselves freely. Implementing open communication in your organization gives your employees the voice; they feel valued and being listened to. Whether it’s about sharing ideas, suggestions, or raising a complaint, every team member should be encouraged to communicate with their colleagues and superiors freely.

• Drive innovation. Many brilliant ideas remain in the bud because people feel uneasy about putting them forth. The fear of ridicule or retribution keeps people from confidently coming up with their ideas. An organization that values open communication has greater chances of being an innovation driver.
  Greater chances of successful project delivery. When all external and internal project stakeholders are on the same page, you have greater chances of completing and delivering projects on time. Strong internal and external communication lines ensure that every crucial piece of project-related information is exchanged timely, which further leads to timely action.

• Robust management. When leaders have strong communication skills, this reflects how they manage their teams and tackle tricky situations, like organizational conflicts. Task delegation, motivating teams, and relationship building become easier when you can clearly communicate the right things at the right time.

5 Golden Tips To Polish Up Your Team Communication In 2022

1.     Identify Your Team’s Special Communication Style

As a leader of the pack, you should understand that every team is different. Before you define communication lines for your team communication, you should first identify the unique communication style that works best for your workforce. For example, does your team get the most out of virtual meets or in-person meetings for group discussions and sharing ideas?

How can you find out how your team likes to communicate among themselves?

Here are some ways you can find out.

• What communication modes do they like to use the most?
• What communication channel does your team find most effective and easy to use?
• What communication channels do they think are least effective and least productive?

It’s important to take in the viewpoint of each team member before you go ahead with implementing a concrete communication strategy for your team.

2.     Invest On A Top-Rated Project Management Software

These are times when companies are switching between in-office and remote work. Working from home and office alternatively has necessitated using an easily accessible and powerful SaaS project management software like ProofHub, which can help all team members, clients, and stakeholders come together on a common platform. ProofHub offers a list of advanced features to encourage swift collaboration between users who can organize and monitor all their tasks and projects without switching various tools.

Let us see how ProofHub quickly connects various members of project teams irrespective of where they are working from.

• Group chat. Using ProofHub’s internal communication tool, you can have instant one-on-one and group chats with others within seconds. You can also make your conversation more expressive by adding relevant emojis and GIFs to make your point. You can also add images and files to your chat. Get notified as soon as you receive the message and also know when someone has read your message. You also get access to chat history and easily find information shared in the past.

• Discussions. Why use lengthy email threads when you can bring your team and client discussions at one place by creating discussion topis focusing on a particular topic. Share ideas by adding comments, attaching files and documents, and subscribe people to loop them in discussions.

• @Mentions. This communication feature allows you to Mention people and grab their attention right away as they get notified. Use this feature to quickly enquire about the current status of tasks people are assigned to or add specific instructions.

• Real-time updates. Get notified of all recent activities within a project through real-time in-app, desktop, email, and mobile notifications. Make sure you never miss an important activity and act accordingly without further delay.

3.      Pick The Right Communication Tools For Your Team

It’s your responsibility to ensure that your team has easy access to the right communication tools for easy communication among each other. As mentioned earlier, it’s critical to choose the team communication tools that meet your team’s requirements.

You also have to consider if some of your team members are working remotely across various timezones. The communication tools you choose should facilitate both real-time (synchronous) and asynchronous communication. Communication is not just limited to exchanging information in daily standup meetings or weekly group meetings. It is also about how you collaborate with each other daily on various tasks?

Using tools like Zoom, Skpye or Google Meet is good for enabling synchronous communication, but you also need to have an efficient tool for day-to-day collaboration. We’re talking about allocating tasks, adding comments to them, sharing files and documents. This is where using a powerful project management and team collaboration tool with inbuilt communication features can help you and your team organize various aspects of work easily.

4.      Start Off “Stay Interviews”

To make things clear, “stay interviews” are a simple yet effective way to improve your organization’s employee retention rate. This is a semi-formal interview that takes place between a manager and a high-performing employee. The objective of this interview is to identify some strong reasons for your top employees to leave or stay with your organization.

You can host stay interviews once every six months or annually. These interviews should be conducted with chosen employees within days of each other. This will help you to analyze the findings and execute the feedback without unnecessary delays.

Here are some good questions to ask during the interview.

• How’s your experience working here?
• Do you think that your organization is fully utilizing your skills and capabilities?
• If you were a manager, what are things you would do differently?
• If you were a manager, what are things you would stop doing?
• Where do you see yourself in this organization two years from now?
• Why would you consider leaving this organization and seeking a job elsewhere?

5.      Celebrate Special Days, Events, And Milestones

Teamwork is not all about collaborating to get things done successfully; it’s also about celebrating success and special days together. Also, the celebration is not always about going out for a meal with your team. Celebrating together has become problematic in days of remote work, but you can always host a virtual treat for your workforce. Little things can and do make a big difference.

Giving away a thoughtful gift on your employees’ work anniversaries, birthdays, or wedding anniversaries can make them feel valued and appreciated. You can also celebrate a special milestone by sending an email to all employees within the organization and mentioning everyone whose contributions have made it possible.

6.     Build A Positive Work Environment

Would you like to work in an office filled with people who have seemingly no interest outside of their job roles? Would you like to work in an office with zero stress on fun-filled, relaxing activities? We bet you know the answer already! The same holds true for your employees.

When people have to work hard daily without any respite or opportunities to relax and rejuvenate, they are likely to be less productive, efficient, and engaged. People need breaks; even robots do. Give them a little space of their own when they could discuss non-work-related things, crack jokes, and have coffee conversations.

At the same time, it’s important for you to let your team members know that they can have some moments of fun at the workplace, this doesn’t mean crossing the line. At the end of the day, they are supposed to get the work done albeit without overstressing and pushing themselves to the brink.

Conclusion

So, you’ve read how good communication drives employee engagement and improved performance. When you have a solid communication strategy that encourages honesty and transparency, you’re on your way to strong organizational culture and enhanced team bonding,

By implementing these five tested tips, you are likely to take your team communication a notch higher. This is something you cannot afford to ignore in times of increased employee retention. Good luck.

Author Bio:-

Vartika Kashyap is the Chief Marketing Officer of ProofHub — a project management software loved by thousands of teams and businesses across the globe. A noteworthy personality in the global marketing community, Vartika writes to create awareness about new trends in marketing and business management. She has been a regular contributor to platforms like Business2community, DZone, and Business.com. An undeniable ideal figure, Vartika has also been one of the most influential LinkedIn Top Voices for 3 years in a row. Her inspiring stories have generated a considerable following on these platforms. When she is not keeping busy with managing a talented marketing team, she likes to draft spirited write-ups that focus on building a winning team and using the team’s talents to run a successful business.

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