Articles : Learn the Best Ways to Improve Communication Between Managers and Employees

Managers and staff need to maintain open and clear communication to have a harmonious working environment. This is essential for employees to feel focused, happy, and motivated while working and for managers to support their team members when needed. When there is no good communication between managers and employees, serious problems will arise. And they’ll end up costing a lot of time and money in the long run. In this post, we are going to discuss the benefits of improving communication between managers and employees and the best ways you can use to achieve this goal. Let’s get started!

Defining effective communication
Effective communication is an essential part of a successful organization. It ensures that all employees understand their duties and responsibilities. And helps in keeping them productive and engaged during the workday. Business managers need to prioritize effective communication in the company if they want to boost employee satisfaction and performance.

Effective communication involves exchanging ideas and information effectively and efficiently. While ideas and information are exchanged frequently in the workplace, they can be sent and received inaccurately. Good communication does not just involve sending information but also being able to explain it clearly so that the recipient understands you. In the workplace, communication includes different ways to send and receive information. The most common communication forms in the workplace include:

• Oral communication: speaking to other people
• Written communication: emails and memos
• Non-verbal communication: nodding to show that you understand
• Listening skills: This involves active listening

Another critical ingredient of effective workplace communication is the employees feel heard and understood by managers. Employees who feel comfortable communicating with managers and supervisors are likely to understand their responsibilities and stay productive throughout the workday.

Benefits of effective communication in the workplace

1. Resolves conflicts
Effective communication in the workplace helps in reducing tension and conflict in the workplace. The majority of conflicts arise due to poor communication which eventually leads to team members misunderstanding each other. Misunderstandings can lead to feelings of being disrespected or disregarded.

2. Boosts employee engagement
Effective communication involves much more than ensuring that your information has been received. It involves keeping the lines of communication open between managers and staff. This ultimately leads to boosting engagement levels among employees. And this can lead to high employee satisfaction levels and healthy company culture. Communication boosts employee engagement by:

• Helping management to understand the needs and goals of employees and the things that motivate them
• Ensures that the talents and skills of employees are recognized and utilized effectively
• Improves the bond between employees thus creating a conducive work environment
• Creates long-term relationships between management and employees and vice versa

3. Boosts productivity
Employees who are connected to their duties understand clearly what’s expected of them and can easily improve their productivity and performance efficiently. When employees don’t know the expectations of their managers or don’t understand their role, they’ll have limited resources to do their duties. When information is communicated effectively, employees will have an opportunity to perform their duties effectively and boost their productivity.

4. Improves client relations
In the workplace, good communication is relevant to all employees. Effective communication affects client relations directly. Organizations that communicate with clients will easily build relationships and retain clients compared to organizations that don’t focus on client communication. Customers enjoy buying from organizations that value them and are loyal when they are connected to the organization.

Improving communication between employees and management
Effective internal communication is achieved when employees can smoothly pass information with each other regardless of their rank. The relationship between staff and management is an influential component in the workplace. Research studies have shown that 85 percent of employees are not engaged in the office.

Modern organizations are looking for ways to ensure that they remain relevant when providing support to employees. A common obstacle in big organizations has been the coordination and bonding between staff and managers. And this affects how people collaborate in the workplace. We have compiled a list of tips that aim at uncovering different ways to improve communication between employees and management in the organization.

1. Optimize the social tools of your organization
Organizations that invest in a social platform like intranet can help employees connect to different departments, roles, and seniority levels. Offering an intranet to your workforce gives them a center to share ideas, encourages those who feel less confident, and provides staff a base to boost engagement levels. Most organizations tend to be reluctant when it comes to investing beyond the technology they have at the moment. The boss can think that the organization has all it needs. However, failure to invest beyond the current technology prevents employees from connecting. When they fail short, their competitors gain an edge over them. With new technology, managers and staff can improve their accessibility within the organization.

2. Create an informal work environment
Most of the time, employees use office language to interact with each other. And this can greatly reduce the levels of communication between employees. This barrier is usually witnessed among employees and management due to their differences in the title. When management drops the levels of formality, employees will start feeling comfortable communicating. Making such a change takes time and effort.

However, when management takes the first step in implementing informal language, employees will follow their example. Change in language does not mean stripping formal language completely in the workplace. Instead, it involves using informal language from time to time. Project discussions, email, kitchen, and desk chats are all different types of communication where casual language can be exercised.

3. Work events
One of the best ways for employees to bond is by hosting out of the office events regularly. Most of the time, employees work from morning till late in the evening. And this can make them feel tired and overwhelmed. Moving away from the workplace from time to time can pay off in spades in the long run.

One of the common myths in the workplace is that the relationship between managers and employees should remain professional all the time. This myth can make employees avoid interacting with management. Employees can also fear that conversations that steer away from work might be seen as inappropriate. Management should avoid exaggerating this sense of etiquette by communicating with staff regularly about non-work topics.

4. Practice active listening
An integral part of communicating is listening. Research studies have found that less than two percent of the population have had formal training or education on active listening. The more you listen, the more you’ll understand the perspective and message of the other party. Encouraging your staff to practice active listening in the workplace will boost the organization’s productivity and performance.

5. Maintain contact
Most managers spend most of their time thinking about their to-do list and ticking the activities off. Completing these tasks is important. However, you must take time to support and connect with staff. Employees understand how management is busy. However, they’ll appreciate you taking a few minutes every day to talk to them and appreciate their efforts. If possible, it’s important to have an open-door policy with staff so that they can feel comfortable conversing with you. Also, encourage them to communicate with you via email and text message.

6. Speak at the right time
Choosing the appropriate time to converse with staff will help you achieve your desired goal easily. The time to avoid conversing is early in the morning or when your staff is preparing to go home in the evening. The best times to communicate with staff are mid-morning or early evening.

Conclusion
Effective communication is one of the key requirements for a business to succeed. Encouraging communication between employees and management will pay off in spades in the long run. By following the tips that we’ve discussed in this article, you will improve your productivity and performance easily.

Author Bio:
Emily Harrinson works as an editor in London. Her hobby is reading books. But besides that, Emily is fond of sports and music. She is a very positive person.