Consistent, transparent, and informed communication is vital to a healthy workplace. Whether the team is working on a long-term project, arranging a short meeting, or preparing for a client call, it’s essential that every team member is clear about each other’s goals, communication styles, and capabilities.
For a functioning, synergized workplace, it’s important to note that perfect communication is not the goal, but stable communication is. This way, any grievances can be reliably solved by a pre-established set of cultural practices. Here are some of the most common workplace miscommunications, and how organizational members can work together to reach understandings and create effective communication solutions for long-term success. Whether you’re using headhunters to staff or working with a recruiter staffing agency, it’s important that you know the following information to fine-tune your workplace for potential new employees.
A Lack of Direction
A team of workers collaborating to achieve one goal needs direction. Group synergy is only achieved by a team of people who understand what they’re working towards and what everyone individually brings to the table. A team leader that provides thorough, clear direction will be instrumental to everyone being on the same page. Metrics, a set of questions answered, or a due date are all examples of tangible goals that help create a shared understanding of the team’s goal. Though it may seem repetitive, it’s ultimately useful to remind the team what the overall objective is to help reinforce everyone’s understanding of their efforts.
Furthermore, it’s crucial that those in leadership positions make it clear that any time is a good time to ask questions and give suggestions. Allowing space during each team meeting for someone to ask clarifying questions, make support requests, and alert others of roadblocks to take care of will be instrumental to the group’s success. Remember that word choice, tone, and language play a large role in how much employees can trust their leadership to compassionately listen to and understand their needs.
Limiting Hierarchies
One glaring limitation to an organization’s communication system is hierarchies that limit the flow of feedback. Employees who do not feel like their feedback or opinions are valued by higher-ups will likely feel underappreciated. This is an issue embedded into the workplace’s culture, though a solution can be facilitated by leadership so that every individual feels heard and valued by their organization.
There are multiple ways a company can solve this. Creating blocks of time for one-on-ones between managers and employees will create a space for reaching understandings, solving miscommunications, and establishing a sense of trust. Effective communication goes both ways, and it’s vital that every party feels like their thoughts and opinions are equally valued by the other. If your company has hired staffing agency services to find full-time employees, then make sure you’ve detailed your company’s priorities of working as a synergized unit where every member’s voice is heard.
Little to No Communication
Of course, an obvious communication error in the workplace is a complete lack of communication! These can be simple slip-ups or individual choices to not bring an issue to others’ attention. However, these occurrences are not solved as easily as they happen. The company culture should encourage that important information is readily and happily given to others who need it. If it’s commonplace for members of the workplace to withhold helpful information from others, this could be indicative of a deeper cultural shortcoming. Competitiveness between collaborators is disruptive of a team’s synergy, ultimately hampering their ability to work together, meet deliverables, and achieve business objectives.
While it helps to have a leader or supervisor of some kind to direct the group’s efforts, it’s ultimately up to each individual to communicate what they’re able to or willing to contribute to the group’s efforts. This trend of miscommunication can begin to be amended by strong leadership that emphasizes transparency, consistency, and compassion. Managers should consider creating settings where their employees can bond and understand one another outside of work. The staffing agency services your company has chosen to work with can thoroughly detail the various events and traditions your workplace holds for people to get to know and understand one another.
Channels of Communication
Effective management of multiple channels of communication is crucial to keeping others informed, asking others for support, or communicating agenda/objective changes. With email, messenger apps, and Zoom calls, it’s easy for certain messages to get lost and slip through the cracks. This especially applies to companies where most or all employees work from home.
Multi-channel communication can seem scattered, though there are ways to organize and clean up message delivery. Creating group message spaces for specific teams or projects allows employees to collaborate in a channel dedicated to the progress of specific tasks. Using a calendar app to track and schedule company-wide or team meetings will help organize communication and schedule important content in advance.
Though the use of multiple communication channels may seem redundant, it’s up to the employer to establish communication guidelines for everyone to follow so that each channel’s functionality is maximized. Important messages can be delivered and emphasized across each channel so that every member of the organization is made aware of important company happenings or project milestones. The nature of these channels also allows for quicker forms of feedback and support. If you’re a work-from-home company using staffing agency services for your company’s upcoming hiring round, then be sure you let the agency know of your organization’s communication standards so that candidates fully understand your company’s policies.
Navigating Different Communication Styles
Of course, each employee will have their own communication style that is compatible with some and incompatible with others. It’s important that leadership prioritizes a cultural style of communication that allows every employee to feel supported and valued. Adjusting language to be more positive and compassionate is a widespread goal that can take time, though it will have long-term benefits in the workplace.
Prioritizing Compassion in New Hires
If you’re using staffing agency services to find promising new hires, then your company should clearly express how your culture handles miscommunications and roadblocks to your organization’s success. Job seekers spend on average 11 hours per week searching for the perfect job, according to Capterra, and their dream job is likely one that they will feel heard, valued, and supported by management and their fellow co-workers.
To learn more about how staffing agency services can help your company find talented, full-time hires, contact Kane Partners today! We’re happy to provide you with our in-depth, top-tier recruiting and staffing solutions.
