Effective team communication is an essential requirement for workplace productivity. Successful team collaboration is a result of how effectively a team communicates with each other to get the work done.
Here are seven tips for increasing your team's productivity by communicating effectively.
1) Make your team feel comfortable and included
Building rapport with your coworkers will make them comfortable voicing their opinions and more open to listening to what you have to say.
Whether it's a one-on-one conversation or a team meeting, making the other party comfortable is the first step towards having an effective conversation. One of the best ways to build rapport is with small talk. Initiate casual conversations with your coworkers about your lives and daily activities. This personal connection not only opens door for healthy discussions among the team but also makes them more likely to listen to what you have to say and gives them the confidence to pitch in their opinion.
In a team it is very important that you give your coworkers the space and comfort to approach you. This is essential because as a team when you have the ease to reach out to each other, you can have constructive conversations and discussions over varied opinions and ideas.
Another way to make your team members feel included is by making simple gestures. If your team adds a new member, welcome and initiate conversations with your new teammate through team communication tools such as Cliq. Use your team's chat platform for more than just work conversations: create dedicated channels to share appreciation and to celebrate victories.
2) Have focused discussions to be more productive
If you're a manager or a team lead, you know how important it is to keep your team's conversation on track. Though casual small talk is a great ice-breaker, everyone must be mindful to not get carried away. Especially when your team is working remotely, it's best to have concise, to-the-point conversations to avoid messing with anyone's schedule. When you need to communicate new information without a scheduled meeting, make sure you communicate your message clearly and efficiently to avoid repetitive calling and checking in. A good idea for efficient communication is jotting down main points and streamlining your thoughts before reaching out.
Communicating effectively is even more important while working remotely. Hold weekly round-up video calls to discuss your team's productivity and talk about ways to improve it. During your discussions, make sure you listen to any pain points the team has and work on necessary changes.
3) Aim for a positive outcome in every conversation
If your team consists of highly passionate individuals who share the same goal, it's natural for them to agree and disagree with each other to arrive at the best possible approach or solution. However, sometimes the process of choosing the best idea among varied suggestions may lead to a competitive atmosphere and even outright conflict between coworkers.
Here are some suggestions on how to keep your emotions in check and avoid any unhelpful disagreements.
In situations of tension, slow down and consciously choose how to respond.
- Think about how you can respond to create a positive influence in the given situation.
- Avoid making any negative comments.
- Be an avid listener and appreciate good ideas.
- When presented with an opportunity, work on your idea and persuasively communicate your thoughts through a presentation or your chosen creative outlet.
4) Choose your team communication software and use it wisely
With rapid evolution of technology, communication is agile. Choosing a team communication tool that helps your team have organized, streamlined conversations is crucial for successful communication.
While you choose your team communication software, make sure it first and foremost allows your team to have streamlined, focused conversations. Features such as user-friendly search abilities and simple, easy-to-create automations are a plus too. A good communication tool should be intuitive and allow you to communicate without having to switch between tabs to find the relevant file or information. In Cliq, you can access files stored in third-party applications from the chat window with the help of simple commands. This helps you to focus on the task at hand and saves your time.
If you are a manager or a person in a leadership position, it is very important to keep your team in the loop on the project updates, deadlines, and any changes. One way to communicate these changes is by updating them in your team calendar and setting reminders to alert your team about the upcoming meetings
5) Encourage transparency
The more transparently you communicate as a team, the more trust you build. With more trust, you don't need to monitor and nudge a co-worker to get work done.
Transparency in your team allows you to have an overall understanding of how and what your team is currently working on. This openness is particularly helpful in teams who collaborate and have dependencies.
Say your team updates its tasks and dependencies via project management tools. As a manager, these tools should help you have a bird's-eye view of how your project is going and who is working on what. When you have this data, it's easier to assign or split tasks based on dependencies and workload.
As a team, it is always better to have inclusive conversations. If you're sharing information, make sure you do not compartmentalize what you communicate and create information silos. Keep access to information open to all team members unless there are confidentiality constraints. You can promote transparency by making good use of your team communication tool as well. Create channels to share general information and eliminate ambiguity. Keep your team informed about your current availability by updating your status.
6) Motivate your team
Recognition and appreciation are keys to productivity. Being recognized makes one feel valued and motivates them to go the extra mile.
Team productivity is more than simply the sum of individual productivity within the team, and whether you're in a central workplace or working remotely, it's important to keep each other motivated. Sometimes simple gestures like showing appreciation for your team by giving them a shout-out for their performance on a team channel and assuring your team you have their back during tough times will develop a sense of belonging, mutual trust, and shared responsibility among the team.
Try to make time at least once a month to bring your team together, in your office or over a group video call, to share your gratitude for them, recognize everyone who played a part in recent successes, and motivate them to push boundaries.
7) Open doors to feedback
How you deliver your feedback influences how your team perceives it.
Feedback is a powerful tool but use it mindfully. Your constructive feedback often can be misunderstood as criticism depending on the tone of delivery, so communicate your feedback carefully. Be specific in your comments to help the person you're giving feedback to analyze and understand your perspective better. Always try to end on a positive note to reassure the listener that you think that they are capable of improvement.
We hope you found these communication strategies useful! Let us know how these tips helped you improve your team communication in the comments below.
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Watch this video to see how you can effectively communicate with your team.
Good read
Glad you found it useful.