When employees talk about the qualities they value in a leader, “great communication” is always on the list. You can’t lead people-or work effectively with them-without good communication.
But is good communication limited to the speeches of a CEO? Or can your organization have a culture that encourages effective, timely, and high-quality communication between all employees?
In Good to Great, author Jim Collins stated that the best CEOs don’t want to be “a genius with a thousand helpers.” They’d rather create systems and cultures that will outlast their tenure. Below are three benefits of adding great communication to your culture. We’ll then explore four tools that can enhance your internal communications.
Benefits of a Culture of Communication
If you make “great communication” part of the habits and norms of your corporate culture, these benefits can come to everyone in the company:
1. More Employee Loyalty
Feeling left out of important communications is a frequent cause of employee complaints. When employees can count on internal communication being consistently high quality, though, they’ll be less likely to be frustrated. That could increase their loyalty to your company and decrease costly turnover and absentee rates.
2. Better Productivity
Great communication helps employees get better job results. How many times have you seen work slow down because an employee was waiting for an answer? Also, people need quick feedback to improve at any skill, and good internal communication can provide that.
3. Higher Employee Morale
If your culture allows your employees to talk to upper management, it could the employees feel happier about their jobs. Employees feel that they matter more when they know their voices can affect the direction of the company feel.
Tools of a Culture of Communication
The quality of employees’ communication is determined by their habits of communication and the tools that they’re supplied with that enhance communication. Your culture can encourage them to communicate more, and then you can multiply the effectiveness of that communication through technological tools like a mass texting service or the others below.
Slack
Slack is enterprise software that gives employees internal electronic chat capabilities. On their computer screens or in a smartphone app, they can send ideas and updates to a whole team or to individuals. Slack encourages close, effective collaboration focused on specific assignments.
Google Suite
Google Suite allows much more rapid collaboration than we could have imagined in the days of sending printed documents through interoffice mail. It integrates email, online chatting with individuals and teams, and cloud-based files that team members can work on together.
Mass Texting Services
A mass texting service allows managers and other leaders to communicate with employees on the devices they all carry almost all the time: cell phones. Even very basic cell phones can receive SMS texts, with no downloads or Internet connection required.
Companies can send mass texts containing productivity reminders, emergency updates, changes of plans, survey links, and much more, which employees are very likely to see and read at those times when they might miss an email.
Video Messaging
When your employees are traveling, or if they’re in different offices, video messaging can make communication much more personal. It allows employees to see each other while they’re talking, share their screens, exchange files, schedule meetings, and more.
Remember, your goal is to build a culture of communication that will last for many years. Use one or more of the tools above to increase employee productivity and work satisfaction-and to know that you’ve permanently enhanced your corporation’s culture.