Every now and then, we all struggle with how to accurately communicate with each other. Miscommunication can lead to misunderstanding. This in turn can lead to the end of otherwise good relationships. The stakes are clearly high.
This is also true for businesses.
Your team’s ability to effectively communicate with each other and with the rest of the world is an important determinant in your growth as a business. For example, in order for a task to be properly executed, you have to be clear about what you need the team to do. Furthermore, your knowledge of what needs improvement will come from honest feedback from your team.
So what exactly is business communication? Is it really that important for the growth of your business?
Business Communication defined
According to Nextiva, “Business communication is the process of sharing information between people within and outside a company. Effective business communication is how employees and management interact among each other to reach organizational goals and be more aligned with the core company values.”
In short, it is the way we communicate with each other within and outside an organization.
This article will focus mainly on how we communicate with each other within an organization. We discuss storytelling and outside communication in this article.
Effective business communication is one of the most important roles of the management team of a business. What you say and how you say it will contribute to the quality of the decisions you make and builds (or tears down) morale.
The Importance of Effective Communication within your Business.
Whether it’s from a manager to a subordinate, employee to employee, subordinate to manager, effective communication decides how far your business will go. Below are some reasons why;
1. For Efficient Business Operations
Instructions need to be clearly communicated in order for a task to be properly carried out. Be honest about the times poor communication on your part led to your team wrongly executing a task. Find out how you could have communicated better in order to avoid making the same mistake in future.
2. For Decision Making
In order to make good business decisions, you need accurate information. This is mainly gotten from your team. These decisions are communicated back to the team for implementation.
Honest conversations with your team will give you a clear picture of your business.
Honest conversations with your team will give you a clear picture of your business. You will find out what’s working and what isn’t. Consider how comfortable they are to give you honest feedback. How can you improve this?
3. For Bringing Everyone on the Same Page
Clearly communicating your company’s values, vision and goals helps the team move in the same direction. Share why you started the business and what you are trying to achieve. This ensures that they buy into your vision.
Additionally, everyone should understand their role. They should know why its needed for the success of the business. This helps them feel more engaged with the growth of the business. It also helps them take ownership as they represent it wherever they go.
4. For Internal Collaboration
Smooth communication between departments helps everyone know what is going on in the rest of the company. As a result, there are more opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing. This helps the team work together towards a common goal.
5. For Building Company Culture
You won’t know what’s going on in your business if the team isn’t able to speak up. Open channels of communication create space for honest discussions. Be transparent with your team. This isn’t only when things are going well, but when they aren’t.
Pay attention to how you communicate to the team. This is both when they make mistakes and when they do a good job. This affects their morale and their willingness to try new things.
While working remotely, we need to make sure we can still effectively communicate with each other even when apart. This determines how engaged the team is.
We need to pay attention to how we communicate to each other today more than before. This is because of the increase in remote working as a result of the Pandemic. The focus of most businesses is on making sure their operations continue despite this change. However, we also need to make sure we can still effectively communicate with each other even when apart. This determines how engaged the team is. If engagement is low, this will be seen and felt by your customers. This in turn, will affect your ability to sell and grow.
What are some of the ways you have kept your internal business communication channels open? Let us know in the comment section below!