What we say matters. How we say it, where we say it, and when we say it matters just as much. For leaders, creating an atmosphere and setting an expectation on how to communicate clearly, respectfully, and professionally is critical in running an effective team and building a cohesive, high-spirited workplace, too.
It is easy for leaders to get stuck on creating systems and processes to keep their teams working together smoothly. Those are simple, tangible; if you can make a flowchart, you know how it is supposed to work. When it doesn’t you know where the ball was dropped. But what drives a system, what makes up its anchor points, are people, and moves projects along is communication.
Too often, we hear stories from clients about shouting matches, angry emails, disrespectful comments, and far worse. Every word, even every facial expression, influences what happens next; when that next step is your project or the success of an assignment, that’s a big deal.
It’s impossible to police every piece of communication between your team. More importantly, you shouldn’t need to play referee if you’d hired the right people. Still, having a guide on acceptable communication should be a priority for your business and an on-going project for your HR department. It makes a difference in performance, culture, and the bottom line; the average company with 100,000 employees or more loses an average of $62 million per year due to miscommunication. Even if you have ten employees, it costs you, and odds are you don’t have the same room for error.
We’ve put together a few places to start when it comes to talking about communication with your team, but remember, this should be an on-going action item for yourself or someone in your organization you trust to handle it.
Who. Everyone. We’ve all had that one employee that is notoriously bad at being slow to respond to calls or emails, if they do at all. This is not acceptable. Set a standard that emails need to be handled in an appropriate and timely manner within working hours. No one is saying employees need to be able outside of work, but an email at 9am should see a reply within an hour or two. If your company uses tools like Teams or Slack, make logging in mandatory and using it required; it’s the digital equivalent of being at your desk.
What. We already eased into ‘what’, but there’s plenty here. In fact, there are almost too many ways to communicate, and that can cause just as many problems. Designate two or three ways for your office to chat. We recommend phone, email, and a platform like Slack or Teams. Avoid personal communication platforms like Messenger or texting as much as possible; these can lead to distractions, plus it blurs the line of personal and professional contact.
When. Especially with more and more people working remotely, establishing acceptable working hours and putting expectations on when we call, email, or message matters. Set clear and defined times that your team needs to be reachable as well as what sort of expectations might be deemed acceptable in the case of a work emergency. It’s also good to create a sort of communication triage; emails can usually wait a bit longer, while calls are obviously more immediate. Ask that everyone respect each others’ working hours, and as a leader, take it seriously.
How. Professionally. Every time. There is never an excuse for swearing, name-calling, or shouting-matches; if meetings or interactions reach this point, everyone has already failed. If a hot-tempered employee consistently has a problem discussing challenging topics, work with them on handling the situation without being overrun with emotion. Offer to sit in on a tense or important meeting or when resolving issues and encourage all parties to ask questions rather than make accusations.
How do you set expectations on communications with your teams? Let us know what works well for your company.