Importance of Combatting Communication Breakdowns

Effective communication is the backbone of any business. It is critical to keep all members of an organisation aware of their specific duties and expectations as well as both internal and external developments.

Effective communication is essential to team building, employee growth and general motivation – all factors in long-term business sustainability. The need for effective communication in organisations has become so critical that the call to ‘adapt or die’ is the metaphor that best describes the situation. While this may sound harsh or even dramatic, it has been repeatedly proven that effective employee communication lies at the heart of all successful businesses.

Fostering Effective Communication through Leadership

Being an able and experienced communicator is one of the best traits that an organisational manager can possess.

Leadership is really all about building connections with those that you oversee. Mutual trust being a big factor in this regard, as it can help team members navigate challenges in a respectful and outcomes orientated manner.

Through meaningful communication efforts, managers are able to engage their staff and better address their concerns – creating an environment of trust and transparency, confirming they’re valued members within the business.

When it comes to employee productivity, being able to clearly relay the organisation’s goals (both long- and short-term) and its expectations of particular teams in achieving these goals, is an important leadership function. Effective communication is an important skill in this respect and the ability of business leaders to deliver strong communication is enhanced within companies that invest in and promote strong communication.

Ensuring Clear Effective Communication

Everyone’s work life experience is different, owing to both their own personality and individual role specifications and duties, which can vary significantly.

Differences in cultural approaches and perspectives to work, can also pose a challenge in the workplace. This can lead to tense situations that negatively impact staff productivity, morale and the engagement of certain employees.

These challenges can be overcome but it requires business leaders to be alert and avoid the pitfalls that can lead to communication breakdowns, these include:

Unclear Instructions & Misinformation

  • In these cases, a lack of clarity in relayed instructions and information leads to potential conflict on both ends of the spectrum when tasks are not properly completed.

Information Overload

  • Managers and team leaders sometimes misunderstand or are not adequately skilled in performing their filtering role in terms of communication. These leads to team members being burdened with information that is unnecessary for the work that they need to complete. The opposite may also occur where important communication is not shared with employees, potentially leading to underperformance on the part of the affected workers.

Feedback Issues

  • Feedback or criticism needs to be presented in a manner that is constructive. There are a range of techniques that can be used to avoid leaving workers demotivated after criticism and help them to focus on the growth opportunities that feedback provides.

Workplaces are becoming increasingly multi-cultural, bringing its own challenges related to various work methodologies, possible language barriers and misunderstandings. Companies seeking to avoid breakdowns in communication must prioritise efficient and effective channels for their internal leaders to communicate with and receive feedback from workers.

Effective Communication Strategies

Plans for Aligning Goals & Objectives

  • An effective communication plan encompasses the needs and concerns of both workers and managers. In taking steps to promote collaboration, companies need to identify problem areas and create initiatives that aim to address these issues. Important steps in this regard are:

Assess the Current Communication Approach

  • The first step in this process involves taking stock of current communication methods and policies. By utilising a digital solutions platform to gather relevant data, leaders are then able to note blockages in efficient communication throughout their workplaces.

Know your Communication Objectives

  • Before addressing employee concerns, it is vital for organisations to first properly identify its communication goals. Clarity of message and purpose is very important. If this is achieved team members are better able to follow and relate to organisational goals.

Employee-Centric Approach

  • Companies should strive to build working environments that promote communication for problem-solving. This enables staff to voice their concerns in ways that allow for managers to more effectively address them.

Leveraging Technology in Enhancing Collaboration

Nowadays, it’s all but required for successful businesses to make use of centralised communication platforms in the contemporary workplace. This is because digital collaboration tools create more opportunities for all team members to contribute to developing solutions to business challenges.

Especially for organisations active in industries where there is great reliance on frontline workers, the use of outmoded (or otherwise inefficient) communication mediums can lead to decreased employee engagement, productivity issues as well as lowered morale.

Wyzetalk’s digital employee engagement solutions provide leaders with the ability to analyse workplace data, promote effective communication and facilitate internal collaboration. This helps to combat all aspects of communication breakdowns, counter inefficiencies and avoid the build-up of negativity which can occur when internal communication is inadequate.

In addition to employee-related benefits, our digital solutions can also assist companies to better share their internal policies and structures, making these accessible to workers. When there is clarity in this area for workers, it also carries over to their general conduct and approach in the workplace.

By bolstering these (as well as various other organisational aspects), leaders can expect increased operational efficiency, productivity and better collaboration between employees and their managers.

Key Takeaways

Ensuring that there are no major roadblocks in internal communication and collaboration is vital to creating and maintaining a competitive advantage within your industry.

By taking practical steps to address any existing issues, leaders are able to bridge the gap between management and employees, both in frontline and traditional office environments.

Let’s connect to combat communication breakdowns in your organisation, talk to us for an expert opinion.