10 Practical Tips for Prioritizing Workplace Communications

When you hear someone described has having “good communication skills,” what comes to mind? If you ask 50 people this question, you might get that many different answers. 

To some people, that phrase identifies someone who listens well and pays attention. To others, it might indicate that someone knows how to get to the point or is adept at not making things sound overly complicated. Or others might say that “good communications skills” typify someone who uses body language effectively and/or someone who does not have distracting or off-putting body language. And so on. 

Most successful workplace leaders I know strive to make communications a high priority. Obviously, as exemplified above, there are many ways to assess communication skills. 

So what should a business consider when prioritizing effective workplace communications for its employees? 

First of all, good workplace communications start with the business leaders of an organization, as they are responsible for creating and maintaining a respectful cultural environment. So a respectful attitude starts from the top and works its way down. Top management sets the tone and everyone looks to them for practicing respectful communications. 

Next, I think it’s hugely important that managers and supervisors are trained in effective communication methods. Not only that, but they should also be encouraged to use them all the time when dealing with both employees and upper management. 

Say what? It’s not what is said, but it is also important how it’s said.

In my experience, face-to-face communication is the ideal. When we talk with others in their presence, say in workplace meetings, we often communicate without words ever being spoken. We express how we feel through nonverbal expressions (i.e., body language). We’re all familiar with some of these: 

• Facial expressions, such as rolling the eyes
• Body posturing, such as turning toward or away from someone
• Eye contact, including little or no eye contact
• Listening, including refusing to listen to someone
• Acknowledging, or even disregarding, authority (sometimes we see people pushing those boundaries, for instance, by how they dress or wear their hair) 

Then, again, face-to-face communication opportunities are not always possible today. 

Many workplaces have employees who telecommute and/or employees who work from various locations, etc. So I think employers should stress the importance of paying attention to the other communication venues that we have in place. For example, how employers and employees communicate via e-mail these days is a major concern. 

To that end, here are 10 practical tips that businesses can consider when developing methods for good workplace communications: 

1. Establish an ‘open-door’ policy; sometimes this can mean that employees are allowed to bypass the chain of command, if necessary.
2. Implement a suggestion or employee feedback system.
3. Develop a policy for complaint resolution and encourage employees to utilize it.
4. Demonstrate a timely, responsible and responsive approach to employee feedback.
5. Avoid appearing to punish employees for participating in a feedback process.
6. Value opportunities for interacting with employees.
7. Show an interest in what employees are expressing either verbally or nonverbally.
8. Consider an employee’s feelings before communicating to him or her.
9. Refrain from communicating mixed messages; for example, a manager should not say to an employee, “Although you are supposed to be doing ‘x,’ and I have to write you up, I don’t agree.”
10. Re-evaluate or retool your workplace communications strategy from time to time. 

Remember, too, and studies point this out: Organizations with effective workplace communications are more likely to have increased employee productivity, higher customer satisfaction ratings and lower employee turnover rates.