Communication is defined as the interchange of opinions, information or thoughts through speech, signs or writing. This is among the most important work ethics that can be utilized inside the workplace. It is true that employees communicate with one another at all times in order to make their jobs done properly and on time. Those working in a business also communicate with their customers so as to ensure that all client needs are met. Business that lacks proper communication will automatically fail. Indeed, there are a lot of positive aspects of communication within a certain workplace. Always remember that excellent communication skills go beyond conversations; however, employees must also learn how to communicate well in written reports as well as emails. Understanding the benefits of efficient communication will help organizations place a main focus on coming up with a workforce that is able to communicate in the company and with customers, international business partners, and vendors.

Employee Morale – Improved employee morale is a result of an efficient communication. Employees indeed appreciate great communication from the management as this will produce a very healthy environment. Know that if employees are very satisfied with their jobs, they are capable of efficiently performing their duties with a very positive attitude. Improper workplace communication will certainly lead to frustration as well as confusion among employees. Good thing managers can alleviate such problems by keeping all the lines of communication open always.

Team Building – Efficient workplace communication will help managers and employees form effective and productive teams. Also, it lessens unneeded competition in the department and helps employees work together. Understand that the result of a team working together is high responsibility, productivity and integrity. A manager who communicates well with his subordinates can promote positive relationships that will in turn, benefit the company as a whole.

Global Business – Because of the increasing demand for business transactions, the need for efficient communication to meet such global demands also increases. Both employees and managers must know how to efficiently communicate with the company’s international counterparts. Companies that prepare employees to excel both in verbal and nonverbal communication skills will certainly find it a lot easier to enter into the global marketplace as opposed to companies that will not give an effort to prepare its employees. Indeed, efficient communication is very important for businesses considering of expanding globally.

It Reduces Barriers – Excellent communication skills will help in reducing language and cultural barriers. Indeed, companies can avoid cultural confusion as well as miscommunication through training international employers early in their careers. With efficient communication, productivity will surely increase. For more info, click here.

Do you remember playing the “broken down telephone” game as a child? The one where a message was passed down a line of players, each one whispering the message to the next – and then laughing at how drastically the message had changed from the original? It’s not unlike what actually happens in the workplace. Each player in the game represents a different barrier to effective workplace communication.

There are probably as many different barriers to effective workplace communication as there are people trying to communicate. We are, after all, highly complex beings using very sophisticated language skills to duplicate concepts in our minds into the minds of others. Something is bound to go wrong.

In terms of different barriers to effective workplace communication, here are some of the main culprits:

Poor listening skills: It has been said that we listen in order to reply rather than to understand. We occupy our thinking with what we think is being said and what we think about what we think is being said, rather than what is actually being said. When you communicate with someone simply assume that they are not hearing what you are actually saying. Check out their understanding by asking for feedback. Ask them what they have understood you to say, and then correct the misperceptions.

Lack of purpose: You must have attended at least one meeting where you came away wondering what it was all about and what the purpose was? And after that meeting you decided that unless you were compelled by force, you would not attend any further meetings convened by that person. A major barrier to effective communication is that the person is not clear about the purpose of their communication. In effect, they don’t know what response they are looking for. In a busy workplace people do not have time for purposeless words. Before you call that next meeting, or write that email or have that conversation, ask yourself the question: “Why am I communicating this and what do I want this person to do as a result of this?” And then frame your words to ensure that response.

Low levels of rapport: Unless you have built credibility with your listeners, at the back of their mind is the question: “Why should I listen to you?” We are inundated with so much information that we become selective about what we allow in and what we notice. To be allowed into someone else’s thought space we have to build rapport with them so that they regard information coming from us as valuable, useful or credible. Why are you reading this article? At some point you decided that what I have to say here is useful and that I have some credibility – so you have continued to read. Others looked at the title and author name and moved on. We can’t have the necessary level of rapport with everyone. Don’t assume that because you are someone’s manager or colleague you have automatic right of access. Take time to show listening to you is of value, and others will begin to hear.

Workplace communication skills are not acquired in a day but it really needs practice and will to do it from inside. Effective workplace communication not only helps you in saying and expressing yourself correctly but also one of the ladders to grab higher position.

Effective workplace communication skills present you and your thoughts as a perfect person for the job. So communicating properly and in a right way is important in every sphere of life. All sorts of jobs these day like doctor jobs, airline jobs or IT jobs need employee who can communicate effectively. These employee also have bright chances of going to higher positions because they can say what is right or wrong in a very effective way.

Organize Your Thoughts

If you are not an organized person then before speaking it is better to manage and organize what your are going to speak. If it is an instant talk then you can speak at slow speed(but it should not be too slow) so that you can work on your thought. But if you have time then it is better to manage your thoughts first. Like you can pen down what you are thinking and then arrange them in an order so that it becomes an effective workplace communication.

Listen and Observe Things

Check the people around you who talk effortlessly and very effectively. Observe what and how they are presenting their thoughts while speaking to others both professionally and personally. Then ask yourself certain questions based on this whether you are confident enough to present your thoughts and ideas in a similar manner or not. Do not try to copy but find out the difference between and work on the gap.

Do not React Immediately

You are into a conversation and other person is saying something on which your reaction is required. Make sure that you do not interrupt in between the talk. Wait, manage your words and then speak. Think about positive as well as negative points.

Read a Lot

This is absolutely necessary and true that if you have knowledge then you can speak effectively and so reading should be considered as an important and effective workplace communication skill. By reading quality articles not only related to your job but also on other issues will help you a lot in gaining knowledge on diverse topics. Therefore after regular reading you will have so many things and thoughts to share.

Be Confident

It is your first time when you will be facing the audience while delivering a speech. You are nervous, which is obvious. But apart from this you will have to be confident. Think about all the positive points and person you think has a positive influence on your life. This will give boost to your confidence.

Have Right Body Language

Now you have all the above mentioned qualities but this one is missing. It means that you are destroying all other things as it is an icing on the cake. You body language must be parallel to your communication and this is also considered as an effective workplace communication skill. Maintain the right posture and stiff shoulders to show that you are ready for the conversation. At workplace never sit in a relaxed way.

Do you look for better workplace communication where you work? Is the information you need to do your job fully available, and does management listen to you? These issues are critical factors in workplace communication, which is about the channels and procedures that bring information to you and get your information to your manager; and it’s about management’s responsibility for it.

A few years ago the British Broadcasting Commission aired a series of unique business documentaries titled Back to the Floor. If you’re not familiar with the series, it featured real-life Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) who leave their comfortable offices and go work on the front lines of their organizations for a week. Cameras followed the CEOs and recorded their interactions with staff, and their responses to those interactions.

In one episode, the managing director of London’s Heathrow Airport took the plunge and worked in customer service for five days. That meant facing customers and dealing with their problems, including problems created by the airport’s own management team. Again in this episode, workplace communication turned out to be a key issue, as it so often does in business stories.

At Heathrow, we saw a CEO taken by surprise, over and over again, as he learned about work life at the front lines. The employees on the front line, and customers too, let the CEO know they were dissatisfied. The staff wanted to let him know about the trouble they had because the people at head office weren’t listening to them.

Over and over again, workplace communication, or a lack of it, came up as a key issue, as CEOs discovered they knew little, or less than they thought, about dealing with real customers and their problems.

Heathrow is hardly an exception. When I published a communication newsletter, the most frequent reader feedback involved management’s failure to listen. Readers made it clear that managers in their organizations did not know what happens in their world, and even more importantly, felt management did not care.

There was also a feeling that individual managers were to blame. However, in my research and experience, it’s not a ‘moral’ failure on the part of individual managers, but rather an institutional failure. In other words, the mechanisms that allow or facilitate workplace communication simply don’t exist.

To establish and maintain these channels and procedures, management must first take responsibility for them. Unless management takes the initiative, there can be no channels for workplace communication, whether up or down the hierarchy, to flow.

After all, employees can — and often do — express their ideas and emotions. But nothing can happen unless someone in management allows it to happen.

For example, in the Heathrow program, the managing director spots some trash in an out-of-the-way spot and calls in a cleanup crew. The customer service manager, who supervised the managing director for the week, chastised him for incurring an expense that wasn’t in the budget (an appropriate response because the customer service manager would be chastised by his immediate superior if he had done that). In response, the CEO made a key policy change on the spot (never a good idea); yet what he really needed were mechanisms to get and give information about such problems, and a then policy that stipulated when exceptions could be made.

Inefficient communication is one of the most frustrating reports in many businesses. Employees may feel they are taking on too much when others don’t pull their weight. It can be hard to get projects done due to differences in priorities and scheduling. Workplace communication apps can help with reducing such problems. There are more benefits than you may realise.

Location doesn’t Matter

Global projects, employees who travel for work projects, and even those that work from home can all connect. Location doesn’t matter when you have workplace communication apps in place. People can live anywhere and even be in different time zones. This is a great way to help from the technology offered today.

It can bring people together without scheduling expensive face to face meetings. The time involved for travel, paying for meals and hotels, and even securing a space for the meeting all add up quickly. Being able to stay in contact from remote locations and still complete the task is a huge benefit!

Important Updates Fast

When something important happens for the business, you need to spread the word quickly. Workplace communication apps make that possible. You can share information they need to do their job. Perhaps something has come up that shifts priorities. You may want to share the good news about a new relationship to help the business. No matter what it is, you have a means.

This real-time connection can bring everyone together. Maybe there is a decision that is important and it needs to be made soon. Sharing the scenario with employees and then getting their comments can help you to decide what will be done. If you waited for everyone to be in the office for a meeting, such comments couldn’t be collected before you had to make that decision.

Stay Informed

It can be difficult to stay informed and to stay in the loop when you aren’t all working the same shift at the same place. Workplace communication apps cut this barrier. Studies show employees who feel informed are more likely to take responsibility and to do well. They are going to go the distance because they feel valued and appreciated.

Getting help is also simple with this method in place. If one of your employees isn’t clear about how to do something, they can ask and get feedback from others. If they are stuck or need help with a given situation, they can get it even if they are out there on their own taking care of business. This can help to boost confidence and it can help to reduce errors/mistakes.

Accountability

If you do have employees not pulling their weight, you need to do something about it. They are going to hold back the rest of your employees. It can cause resentment and in-house friction. Workplace communication apps can be used to hold everyone accountable. It is going to be easy enough for you to follow-up and find who isn’t giving as much as they should.

With such a change though, many will feel renewed motivation. They won’t be frustrated that they have to wait for emails to be answered or for phone calls to be returned. They will be able to get results in far less time. As a result, they can get back to moving forward on projects.

Free

Most of the workplace communication apps out there are free. This means your business can benefit from them. Yet you don’t have one more overhead cost to worry about. Even though they are free, many of them offer plenty of benefits and features that allow you to get more done in less time.