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Effective Communication in the Workplace

Source: https://pixabay.com/vectors/social-media-connections-networking-3846597/ is in the Public Domain at Pixabay.com. Retrieved 07.05.2022.

Effective workplace communication helps maintain the quality of working relationships and positively affects employees' well-being. This article discusses the benefits of practicing effective communication in the workplace and provides strategies for workers and organizational leaders to improve communication effectiveness.

Workplace Communication Matters

Effective workplace communication benefits employees' job satisfaction, organizational productivity, and customer service (Adu-Oppong & Agyin-Birikorang, 2014). We summarized Bosworth's (2016) and Adu-Oppong and Agyin-Birikorang's (2014) works below related to the benefits of practicing effective communication in the workplace.

• Reduces work-related conflicts
• Enhances interpersonal relationships
• Increases workers' performance and supervisors' expectations
• Increases workforce productivity through constructive feedback
• Increases employee engagement and job satisfaction
• Builds organizational loyalty and trust
• Reduces employees' turnover rate
• Facilitates the proper utilization of resources
• Uncovers new employees' talents

Strategies to Improve Communication Effectiveness

Effective communication is a two-way process that requires both sender and receiver efforts. We summarized research works and guidelines for good communication in the workplace proposed by Cheney (2011), Keyton (2011), Tourish (2010), and Lunenburg (2010).

Sender's strategies for communication planning

• Clearly define the idea of your message before sharing it.
• Identify the purpose of the message (obtain information, initiate action, or change another person's attitude)
• Be aware of the physical and emotional environment in which you communicate your message. Consider the tone you want to use, the configuration of the space, and the context.
• Consult with others when you do not feel confident or comfortable communicating your message.
• Be mindful of the primary content of the message.
• Follow-up previous communications to verify the information.
• Communicate on time, avoid postponing hard conversations, and be consistent.
• Be aware that your actions support your messages and be coherent in your verbal and behavioral communication style.
• Be a good listener, even when you are the primary sender.

Receiver's strategies during a conversation

• Show interest and attitude to listen.
• Listen more than talk.
• Pay attention to the talker and the message, avoiding distractions.
• Be patient and allow the talker time to transmit the message.
• Be respectful and avoid interrupting a talker.
• Hold your temper. An angry person takes the wrong meaning from words
• Go easy on argument and criticism.
• Engage in the conversation by asking questions. This attitude helps develop key points and keep a fluid conversation.

Effective communication practices are essential for any successful team and organization. Organizational communication helps to disseminate important information to employees and builds relationships of trust and commitment.

Key points to improve communication in the workplace

• Set clear goals and expectations
• Ask clarifying questions
• Schedule regular one-on-one meetings
• Praise in public, criticize in private
• Assume positive intent
• Repeat important messages
• Raise your words, not your voice
• Hold town hall meetings and cross-functional check-ins.

Adu-Oppong, A. A., & Agyin-Birikorang, E. (2014). Communication in the Workplace: Guidelines for improving effectiveness.  Global journal of commerce & management perspective ,  3 (5), 208–213.

Bosworth, P. (2021, May 19). The power of good communication in the workplace . Leadership Choice. Retrieved May 18, 2022.

Cheney, G. (2011). Organizational communication in an age of globalization: Issues, reflections, practices . Waveland Press.

Keyton, J. (2011). Communication and organizational culture: A key to understanding work experience . Sage.

Tourish, D. (2010). Auditing organizational communication: A handbook of research, theory, and practice . Routledge

Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Communication: The process, barriers, and improving effectiveness.  Schooling ,  1 (1), 1-10.

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MASTER OF COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT ONLINE

Why Is Effective Communication Important to Career Success?

November 15, 2023

View all blog posts under Articles

Effective professional communication is about conveying important information from one source to another. If that information is communicated clearly and effectively, businesses are more likely to run efficiently.

An advanced degree such as a Master of Communication Management (MCM) can help business leaders foster an environment driven by effective communication and a workforce that works toward common goals . While this skill can take effort to develop, the benefits are apparent across every industry.

Why Communication Skills Are Vital to Career Success

Nearly every job posting contains the words “strong communication skills” or “effective communication skills.” Good communication improves clarity in the exchange of concepts, knowledge, and ideas while reducing ambiguity or misunderstanding. This can affect businesses in a number of ways. For example, knowing how to communicate in the right manner to the right audience in a company can help create a more cohesive workforce. Communicating honestly and transparently can also foster a sense of trust and positivity, which increases work satisfaction and improves morale. Additionally, creating a culture of strong communication can help improve the exchange of ideas, potentially leading to increased creativity and innovation.

Effective communication is important to career success because leaders who build a culture of positive communication can help a business reach its goals with greater efficiency, produce satisfied workers and improve brand identity — all of which can translate to their own success.

Communicating With C-Level Professionals

In any position, a professional may find themselves in a position that requires communication with members of the C-suite. Although each C-level executive may have a preferred method of communication, knowing how to connect with someone in this role is vital to success. For some, the thought of presenting to or even chatting with the CEO, chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), chief information officer (CIO), chief technology officer (CTO) or chief marketing officer (CMO) is overwhelming. However, being able to effectively and comfortably communicate with these high-level executives can help individuals build trust in the C-suite, something that could lead to career advancement and success.

Learning effective communication skills can extend to communicating with C-level executives. Students in the online masters in Communication Management can gain the knowledge and tools to identify better communication strategies to apply to their audiences. For example, speaking to the CEO of a company should involve a different approach than speaking to an employee in that same company. A C-level professional likely has a lot less time to devote to a lengthy email, conversation or presentation, so conciseness is key.

Speaking the language of an executive is another facet of good communication that is important to business success. C-level professionals tend to focus on the bottom line, the potential for growth in the company, the metrics used to measure business progress and the goals, rather than the smaller picture. Speaking in terms of metrics and goals is a skill that can help a professional get the green light on a project they are working on when seeking approval from the executive team.

Mitigating Conflict

Good communication skills can also help professionals mitigate conflict in their careers. Every workplace will have some type of tension or conflict at some point, and these issues are nearly always traced to poor communication. If someone feels misunderstood, conflict tends to bubble up beneath the surface. In any type of management or leadership role, having the ability to communicate effectively, get to the root of the issue and resolve conflicts is extremely important.

Creating an environment that reduces conflict can have a positive impact that goes beyond internal issues. By nurturing an effective communication culture, leaders can help others cultivate communication skills that can be applied to diffuse potential external conflicts. For instance, a customer service team trained to deliver positive communication even in difficult situations can help de-escalate short-term conflicts. In the long term, this can help to build a stronger sense of customer loyalty.

Identifying and Building Specific Communication Expertise

Learning to communicate effectively is more than just knowing how to convey a message. Professionals must understand how to listen and respond to their audience, as well as communicate with respect in all situations. Cultivating these skills can help others be more receptive. In business, this can lead to being more accepting of new ideas that can in turn lead to innovative thinking and creative problem-solving.

In the online MCM program through the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, students have access to a world-class educational experience that can help them make their voices heard. This program applies data-driven strategies and real-world applications to help students gain experience in specific areas of communication. Students can learn how to balance the science and art of communication that can help them gain an edge in a competitive job market.

This higher education program helps students gain versatile skills like creative thinking and analytical processing, as well as the ability to convey a message in a manner that is effective and easy to understand. Those in the program may be looking to advance their careers, or they may be just starting out in the professional world and find it difficult to get ahead without effective communication skills.

Implementing a Communication Plan

Communication is more than just discussing day-to-day business processes. Communication should be incorporated into the company culture. When employees at a company feel like they can share their feelings and receive effective communication, they are more likely to enjoy their work and feel like valued team members.

Implementing an open-door policy is a good start, but leaders must take a more active role. They can start by delivering messages in a clear, concise manner while listening to feedback from the team. Doing so can create a sense of community and collaboration. The coursework and focus of the online MCM program can help an individual understand the importance of a communication strategy that impacts every department and employee.

Communication and the Bottom Line

Ultimately, stakeholders and business leaders must see the value of effective communication in order to implement strategies and policies that will improve it. Those who study communication in a higher education program can learn how it impacts the bottom line. For example, internal communication can impact the productivity of employees. When employees do not know where to turn for support or the resources they need to do their jobs, productivity suffers, resulting in a loss for the company. On the other hand, effective internal communication gives employees access to the tools needed, boosting productivity.

The company can also react more quickly and effectively to changes and shifts in the marketplace or industry when the leaders are aware of those changes and how they impact the business. As a result, a company can achieve or retain a position as a market leader when its executive team members stay aware of any major shifts in its industry.

The Importance of Communication for Remote Teams

Remote, work from home and telecommuting employees are becoming more common in many businesses across the globe. This was accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic, as COVID-19 forced businesses to adapt to lockdown orders. Research indicates that remote work will continue to be popular in a post-pandemic world. Because of this, communication becomes even more vital for those who may be disconnected from the company’s physical office or other employees. Offering employees the opportunity to work remotely can lessen the financial burden of maintaining a brick-and-mortar location, as well as provide a beneficial and appealing work atmosphere for a potential employee. However, it is easy for remote and virtual employees to be forgotten team members.

Studying communications can help professionals understand how to better keep their virtual employees in the loop, feeling like part of the team. Digital and video communication methods have grown in popularity as remote workers have become more commonplace, and these methods are covered in the coursework of the online MCM program from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The curriculum mirrors the interconnectivity of online and in-person communication strategies, connecting research to real-world settings for more hands-on learning opportunities. It is also a group-based learning atmosphere, helping students learn to communicate effectively with one another as they dive into areas of strategy and theory that they may not have explored in the past.

Develop the Skills That Lead to Success

The online MCM program from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is designed to help students gain the skills they need to communicate more effectively and succeed in their chosen career paths. The benefits of the program include the opportunity to learn from faculty members with extensive experience in the communications industry and academia and the ability to connect with alumni across the globe. The program also ranks among the top in the nation in the QS World University Rankings.

The courses and real-life applications will explore current trends in communication, with a special emphasis on the importance of social media and digital communications. The program is meant to teach students how to think so that they can thrive in an analytics-driven and data-focused workplace. Businesses today need more than just strong communication plans. The leaders of successful companies need clear data that is driven by results and that shows how clients and employees perceive their businesses.

Theory is the foundation of the online MCM program, but it is not the destination. Through the study of a blend of theory and real-world situations, students can achieve a learning experience that goes beyond the textbook. They can study the objectives of communication, learning how to ask the right questions and what to do with the answers they receive. The importance of communication extends across every department, and students will take courses designed to help them learn how to speak and listen to managers, customers, stakeholders, the media and executives.

With an online MSC from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, a professional may have more opportunities to design and implement effective strategies that will benefit every department of a business.

Recommended Readings

Crisis Communications: 2021 and Beyond

How Business Communication Rules Have Changed (And Stayed the Same)

13 Careers in Communication

Bizfluent, “The Importance of Communication in Customer Service”

Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness, “Team Leadership: Why Effective Team Communication Is So Important”

Entrepreneur , “How Effective Employee Communication Boosts Productivity”

Forbes , How to Promote Company Culture Through Your Internal Communications

Houston Chronicle , “Importance of Good Communication in Business”

Leadership Choice, “The Power of Good Communication in the Workplace”

McKinsey & Company, The Future of Work After COVID-19

Real Business, “Don’t Get Your Wires Crossed: Why Good Communication Is Key for Growing Businesses”

The Muse, “The Right (and Wrong) Reasons to Get a Master’s in Communications”

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• Aug 31, 2023
• 11 min read

The Importance of Effective Communication in the Workplace

Effective communication > ineffective communication.

Joanna Zambas

Content Manager and Career Expert

Reviewed by Chris Leitch

Communication plays a fundamental role in our daily lives. And yet the  art of communication at work  is somewhat of a mystery to certain people.

But if you fail to communicate effectively, you could end up missing your chance of securing your  dream job , closing a life-changing deal or  advancing in your career .

For some, good communication comes naturally, but for others, it can be hard to articulate their thoughts and feelings in conversation, often leading to conflict and fundamental errors.

So, whether you’re an effective communicator or not, it’s essential to understand the importance of good communication and how it can help you  become more professional at work  to move forward in the working world.

What is effective workplace communication?

Effective communication in the workplace is an integral element of a business’s success; it enhances relationships within the company and with clients, and it increases  employee engagement  and the overall effectiveness of a team.

On the other hand, when teams fail to communicate effectively, the results are detrimental to the business. In fact, research by US firm Gartner shows a whopping 70% of business mistakes are due to poor communication. This statistic proves just how critical communication is to job training and why more emphasis should be put on clear instructions and conversations to prevent mistakes from happening within the workplace.

Types of communication

Communication can be divided into different categories, all of which can be harnessed in different contexts to make collaboration between team members more efficient. These types are:

• Verbal: The ability to speak out loud in a clear, structured and respectful manner is vital in conveying information within a team.
• Written: Written communication is just as important and frequently used in the workplace as verbal communication. It needs to be clear, concise and mindful of the receiver.
• Visual: During presentations , pitches and brainstorming sessions, images can be used to capture and convey ideas. It’s not just designers who can (or should) master it!
• Non-verbal: Non-verbal communication refers to body language , gestures and facial expressions. Team members must pay attention to the signals they might be sending unknowingly!

Why is effective communication important?

To demonstrate just how important good communication is at work, we’ve listed some of the benefits it can have on your professional life:

1. It improves team building

Honest and effective communication can  create a strong team . When staff consult with each other, consider other opinions and discuss their progress, they’ll be more enthused to  collaborate . As a result, the strong unit that they create makes the workplace more enjoyable, and they’ll be eager to perform well so they don’t let their teammates down.

Indeed, communication helps solve employee morale issues by keeping entire teams in the loop, making all team members feel useful within the workplace. This lack of secrecy not only boosts team spirit but also has a positive effect on staff attitudes.

2. It boosts growth

Great communication contributes to the growth of the business, which goes hand in hand with your career. It eliminates uncertainties and speeds up the process of policies to ensure there is a smooth delivery of projects.

Take eCommerce website Zappos, for example: their ethos relies on great communication within the organization and with their clients — something that earned them a spot on  Fortune  magazine’s 2015 list of the  100 best companies to work for .

3. It increases innovation

If employees won’t communicate their thoughts and ideas out of fear of being rejected, then they’re likely to become  stagnant in their career  and only contribute the bare minimum. However, if there’s an open line of communication between supervisors and staff members, they’re encouraged to be more creative and  innovative within the workplace , and they’re likely to put forth new and creative ideas.

In today’s fast-moving workplace, most ideas are likely to be pushed under the carpet due to a lack of communication. As Cisco managing director Alex Goryachev writes on  Forbes : “People listen mostly to respond rather than to understand. However, digitization demands  active listening  to the ecosystem in order to survive and develop collaborative strategies with startups, partners and customers around the world.”

4. It improves productivity

Being able to communicate tactfully and effectively at work can help increase overall productivity , especially for small businesses . Managers can understand their employees’ talents and skills, and will then give clear directions to the people that are best suited for the job, thus increasing the overall turnaround time of any given project.

For example, one coworker may be faster and better at using Excel than others; therefore, through communication, a manager can identify this and task them with managing the spreadsheets. If there was a lack of conversation, meanwhile, the project would suffer, and the entire process would slow down, negatively affecting the goal of the company as a result.

5. It increases efficiency

Poor communication compromises efficiency , as well as the overall quality of work. When instructions aren’t provided clearly, mistakes are bound to happen. On the other hand, clear instructions eliminate the need to clarify and correct any issues.

Think back to a time where you didn’t communicate well with a coworker. It probably resulted in wasted time, effort and resources. So, if you happen to have a manager that doesn’t communicate effectively, make sure you ask the right questions to get the information that you need to successfully complete a project. Over time, they’ll understand what they should be supplying you with so you can start working on your tasks.

6. It increases loyalty

When you have a  good line of communication with management , you’re naturally going to be more loyal to the organization. You’ll feel comfortable discussing any professional or personal issues, and you’ll be more committed to the company.

This free line of communication also builds trust between a manager and an employee, which results in a loyal relationship. A two-way line of respect ensures there’s no micromanagement involved and that an employee is trusted to get on with the job that they were hired to do.

7. It reduces mitigation conflict

Two people in the workplace may feel that they’re communicating well, but because they both have different methods of communication, they’re  misunderstanding each other . Therefore, working with different personalities requires excellent communication skills to limit any conflict in the workplace.

If you’re experiencing conflict at work, it’s important to look beyond the issue at hand and identify the other person’s thought process. You need to consider the communication pattern of the receiver to get a better understanding of what they’re trying to say.

8. It increases employee engagement

Good communication goes far beyond talking; it’s more about connecting and engaging with others. When  teams are engaged , they’re more aligned with the company’s goals and generally more motivated to work towards the set targets.

It’s also easier for managers to identify what makes a positive and satisfying working environment, allowing them to work towards achieving a  balanced working life  for their employees.

9. It resolves problems

There’s bound to be characters that clash and opinions that differ within any working environment. And what’s the best way to  solve those problems ? Clear communication!

Effective communication isn’t about who’s right and wrong; it’s about having open, honest and positive discussions to ensure everyone’s needs are met! You’re not always going to see eye to eye with your work nemesis, but if you can find a way to work well with them, you’ll make the environment much more enjoyable for everyone around you!

10. It enhances skills

Managers can identify hidden talents when they communicate clearly with their employees. By doing so, they can tap into these skills and help enhance them, which will contribute to the overall success of the business.

For example, John may be hired as a customer service representative, but through conversation, his manager identifies that he has previous experience in marketing. John is then transferred to marketing and is much better suited to the position. If the lack of communication were there, however, John would have become stagnant later down the line, and the business would have lost great talent.

Signs of ineffective communication

Much like poor leadership practices, ineffective communication can have detrimental effects on company finances and employee morale. More specifically, it can result in:

1. Compromised productivity

Coordinating team members so that company processes run like clockwork requires exceptionally good communication skills. Both written and verbal, that is! You simply can’t be productive as an individual or a department unless you know what you’re meant to be doing and when you need to have completed it by — as well as how it all fits in with the efforts of coworkers or other teams.

2. Poor-quality work

If employees don’t know how to communicate effectively in writing, this can cost them (and their organization) their credibility. Poor email etiquette , badly written “About Us” sections and error-ridden social media posts are not a good look.

Plus, if information doesn’t get passed on right between workers, it will show in other ways: missed deadlines, too many last-minute changes, rushed work, and so on.

3. Wasted time

When colleagues struggle to communicate, information doesn’t get passed on right. If you need someone to complete a task, if you (or they!) are not clear when communicating, you’ll lose time in the back-and-forth.

If this is further exacerbated by a lack of tools in the office, such as project management or contact management software , then more time will go towards looking for things or revising existing work than actually being productive.

4. Bad interpersonal relationships

Communication is one of the core pillars that all healthy relationships rest upon. Take it away, and interpersonal relations suffer.

When team members don’t know how to listen actively, ask or give help, navigate confrontations and set boundaries when they need to, trust goes out the window. This, needless to say, is bad for employee morale and productivity.

5. Higher employee turnover

When an employee is frustrated over receiving inadequate or inaccurate information repeatedly, unfulfilled by their work relationships, and also feeling like they’re wasting their time, what follows is typically their resignation.

According to Gallup , replacing a single employee costs companies one-half to two times the employee's annual salary… And that’s a conservative estimate. Ouch!

Tips to improve communication at work

Miscommunication costs businesses upwards of $12,000 per employee each year. That’s how much significance good communication has! To improve it, try doing the following:

1. Make use of tools

There are countless tools you can use to encourage better communication between your team members. For example, if you don’t already use instant messaging over email where you can, do so to save time. And, if your team isn’t too confident in their written communication skills, get an AI-powered writing assistant to provide instant feedback and recommendations so that they build their skills over time.

2. Sign up for seminars

If miscommunication is causing you and your team to lose precious time and fall out with one another, you might want to consider signing up for a communication skills seminar. That could be in the form of an online course or a series of in-person workshops.

3. Lead by example

As a boss or manager, leading by example can be a great way to motivate your team because it shows that you hold yourself to the same standards as you do everyone else. How can you expect your team members to avoid one-word responses to emails when all you’re sending out to them are hurried “OK”s?

4. Follow up meetings with notes

Whether it’s one-on-one meetings or larger ones, it’s a good idea to follow up what’s been said with meeting minutes. Going over your plan of action both verbally and in writing can eliminate misunderstandings and save you precious time that you would otherwise spend answering questions.

5. Invest in team building

Think of your friends and how well they “get you” even when you’re not necessarily articulating as well as you could. They can simply read your tone and body language and add it to what you’re saying to gain a sense of your experience. Likewise, the more comfortable and familiar team members are with one another, the easier it becomes to understand and be understood.

Key takeaways

Ineffective communication makes it near-impossible for employees to work closely with one another as part of a team. Not only that, but it can also lead to a lack of direction or purpose, which increases employee disengagement and dissatisfaction , thus boosting turnover rates. Whether employees stay at the company and work at decreased efficiency or throw in the towel and find work elsewhere, the result is the same: it wounds the company’s profits and reputation.

Therefore, bosses and managers who hope to retain their best talent and preserve their profits must remember the following:

• Common types of communication in the workplace include verbal and written, with non-verbal also being essential to building and maintaining trust.
• Efficient communication translates into increased efficiency and productivity, as well as improved employee relations . This saves companies thousands each year.
• There are many tools and software that can enhance coordination between team members and help them develop their communication skills in the long term.
• Leading by example is a great way for leaders to inspire their team members to invest in honing their soft skills , including teamwork and communication.

Can you think of any other benefits that come with great communication in the workplace? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

Originally published on January 5, 2015. Updated by Electra Michaelidou.

Communication Skills

Workplace Relationships

Soft Skills

Effective Communication in the Workplace: 11 Tips

A guide to improving employee connection and collaboration.

Effective communication is the foundation of successful organizations and human relationships. Leaders need to articulate their vision so that managers and teams can work toward the organization’s mission and goals, and team members must express ideas clearly and listen actively to prevent misunderstandings and foster collaboration.

Tips for Effective Communication

• Stay clear and concise.
• Practice active listening.
• Keep your audience in mind.
• Show appreciation.
• Offer and receive feedback.

Communication in the workplace can be complicated, though. Each person brings different experiences and perspectives to the table. In this article, we offer several tips you can use to improve your communication skills, collaborate more effectively and grow as a professional.

Why Communication in the Workplace Is Important

Communication is a two-way street on which employees brainstorm, resolve conflicts, build trust and offer constructive feedback. It ensures everyone is on the same page.

“Communication is crucial,” Brittany Barhite, vice president of communications and brand experience at workplace communication platform FirstUp , told Built In. “We sometimes take it for granted because we communicate every day, but that doesn’t mean you’re good at it.”

According to a 2024 study by Grammarly, environments with effective communication have more productive and satisfied employees — and better team relationships. This is especially important in hybrid and remote-work environments, where employees rely more on text-based communication.

By contrast, poor communication is often what plagues low-performing teams. In a 2024 survey by Lucid Software, 75 percent of workers polled said either ineffective communication or collaboration is a barrier to innovation in their organization.

Related Reading Employee Communication: What It Is and Why It’s Important

11 Tips for Effective Communication in the Workplace

1. think about your audience and format.

When you plan a conversation, think carefully about who should be involved and how that conversation should take place. Loop in relevant stakeholders and consider if it’s a topic that requires real-time discussion. Your coworkers will appreciate you knowing when the occasion calls for a meeting, a one-on-one conversation or an email.

Scheduling lots of meetings is a telltale sign that you’re “compensating for ineffective communication,” Kat Judd, chief people officer at workplace collaboration platform Lucid Software , told Built In. But by communicating effectively, you save time that would otherwise be spent on unnecessary meetings.

2. Accommodate Different Communication Styles 

Everyone communicates differently. Learn how your colleagues communicate — their style, format and frequency — and adapt accordingly. If an employee tells you they find it easier to refer back to emails instead of Slack messages, respect their preferences.

“I think the key is to understand how team members prefer to collaborate and communicate so you can best leverage the team’s strengths — and not limiting or favoring a certain group,” Judd said.

In some cases, managers or employees might have to change their communication style . A quiet, introverted employee may have to make an effort to speak up and make sure their perspective is considered in meetings. Or an early-career employee might have to change their tone to adapt to a multi-generational workplace.

“If you’re talking to your boss, you may want to strike a different tone than if you’re talking to your fellow assistant than if you’re talking to your CEO,” Oren Margolis, an executive coach at Pinetree & Palm Consulting , told Built In. “Being aware of your audience always goes a long way.”

3. Be Clear and Concise

Try to be as straightforward as possible in your communication, leaving little room for ambiguity or misinterpretation. Avoid vague statements and aim for more specific details, including examples when necessary. Being direct doesn’t mean being rude or stubborn, though. You should still leave room for questions and suggestions after making your point.

4. Practice Active Listening

Everyone knows how to listen, but they aren’t always good listeners. Too often, they’re planning what they’re going to say next. You can get more out of your conversations with people by practicing active listening . When you actively listen, you are fully engaging with what another person is saying, and you are withholding judgment, summarizing the speaker’s thoughts and asking follow-up questions. When employees feel heard, they are more likely to trust you with important feedback and feel engaged at work.

5. Be Open and Honest

Strive to be transparent with your coworkers. That includes good news, bad news and the rationale for how decisions are made. There may be times when it doesn’t make sense to share information with everyone, of course, but generally speaking, transparent leadership builds trust with employees and makes them feel like a valued partner of the organization.

“A great rule of thumb is to ask ‘If I told them everything I know, would they still agree with me?’” leadership coach Michael Gerharz told Built In. “Ultimately, it means to stop persuading your teammates and start resonating with what matters to all of you so that you can work toward a common goal.”

6. Facilitate Two-Way Communication

Talk with , not at , your coworkers. Value what others think about any given topic, and encourage them to ask any questions they might have. Whether it’s a one-on-one conversation or a meeting, make time for questions, comments and concerns during every discussion.

“You can’t always change the trajectory of an organization,” Barhite said. “But you can listen and say, ‘I hear you. Here’s what I can do. Here’s what I can’t do.”

7. Promote Team Building

Non-work conversations and activities might seem unproductive, but they can help teams feel more comfortable with each other, which improves communication and collaboration. You can facilitate team building by asking ice-breaker questions, playing group games or organizing social events .

“Well-bonded teams tend to work better together and more cohesively,” Caitlin Wehniainen, owner of staffing firm On Cue Hire , told Built In. “They are more likely to be understanding when mistakes occur and more supportive when celebrating successes.”

8. Show Appreciation

If you’re a leader, take time to recognize employees who go above and beyond. Some employees might appreciate a public shout-out at a companywide meeting, while other employees might prefer something more discreet. Either way, when employees see that their hard work is recognized, they feel more engaged with their work and connected with their team. 

To make sure she doesn’t forget about employee recognition, Barhite said she keeps a checklist to make sure she is regularly checking in with employees, recognizing them and sharing team communications.

9. Have One-on-One Conversations

If you have employees reporting directly to you, schedule one-on-one conversations with them once a week. Setting time aside for these meetings gives you time to talk about deeper issues that they probably won’t raise in casual office conversation or in a group meeting. The meetings don’t have to be formal, but it’s helpful to create a shared agenda where both parties can contribute conversation topics. That way, your reports are encouraged to talk about what they want — not just what you want.

“Leaders should take the time to ask questions, like ‘How are you?’ or ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ and then leave pauses that can open the door for more authentic communications,” Barhite said.

10. Offer and Receive Feedback

Feedback contributes to the evolution of a company and its workforce, so if you’re a manager, make a habit of welcoming input and offering constructive criticism . 

Not everyone appreciates negative feedback , but it’s a necessary part of growing professionally. While hard truths might be interpreted as rude, Margolis said it’s actually more compassionate than withholding information that could help them become a better professional. In fact, a Pew Research Center survey found that workers who receive regular feedback have a better relationship with their supervisor.

11. Practice Emotional Intelligence

At the core of effective communication is emotional intelligence , which is the ability to recognize your emotions, read others’ emotions and use that awareness to inform your communication style. It’s a key leadership skill that requires empathy, self-awareness and the ability to regulate one’s emotions. A leader who strives for emotional intelligence will have healthier relationships, happier employees and more impactful communications.

Related Reading What Are Interpersonal Skills?

Benefits of Effective Workplace Communication

Increased productivity.

When leaders and managers communicate effectively, teams align on a shared vision and avoid being slowed down by misunderstandings. Each employee understands what they need to do and is able to work collaboratively to help the company reach its goals.

“If you have departments that are running in silos or opinions that are diverging from one another … you’re going to have a super fragmented and unproductive workforce,” Margolis said.

Higher Employee Engagement

When employees know how their work connects to a higher purpose in the organization, they feel more motivated and engaged in their work, leading to higher employee retention , productivity and customer satisfaction.

“If you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, it generally results in a lack of trust, a lack of motivation and a lack of understanding,” Margolis said. “We’re motivated when we understand the bigger picture that we’re striving for.” 

Fewer Conflicts

Effective communication skills help prevent and resolve misunderstandings that lead to workplace conflicts . People are bound to have different experiences or opinions, but effective communication skills can help them understand each others’ perspectives and reach a mutually agreeable solution.

Contributes to Positive Company Culture

Communication is at the heart of a positive company culture . When employees feel like their voice matters, they have the psychological safety to share honest feedback and innovative ideas. They feel like they belong , and they are more likely to stay and make the company a great place to work for future employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is communication important in the workplace.

Communication is important because it can help align teams around a shared goal. It’s also critical for collaboration, as effective communication is needed to coordinate efforts, share ideas, build relationships and prevent misunderstandings.

How to improve communication in the workplace?

To communicate effectively, leaders should think about the format and audience of their message. They should also be clear and concise, practice active listening, be transparent, have one-on-one conversations, show appreciation and offer and receive feedback.

Recent Employee Engagement Articles

10 Strategies to Improve Communication In the Workplace

Radical candor.

• Building a Team , Driving Results , Featured , Giving Feedback , Radical Candor , Workplace Wellness

By Suman Agarwal , an image evangelist, author, TEDx speaker, and Image Management Professionals Association president. Edited by Radical Candor Director of Content Brandi Neal.

It probably comes as no surprise that effective communication strategies in the workplace are crucial for ensuring everyone understands the company’s goals and how to achieve them.

What’s more, the benefits of these strategies include increased employee engagement, motivation, productivity, fewer conflicts, and more. 

On the other hand, communication failures, such as assuming communication has happened when it hasn’t, or hoarding information people need to do their jobs successfully, cause a lot of unnecessary chaos at work.

Fortunately, numerous strategies within the framework of Radical Candor can help improve communication in the workplace. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

Why is Effective Communication Important in the Workplace?

@radicalcandorofficial Radical Candor emphasizes the importance of giving sincere and specific praise, helping your team understand exactly what they’re doing well. Generic “good jobs” don’t carry as much weight as detailed feedback like, “Wow, your presentation was really great. It’s clear you put in a lot of work. I especially liked X, Y, and Z.” Who agrees?!? #WorkLife #CorporateLife #OfficeLife #9to5 #WorkplaceCulture #WorkLifeBalance #OfficeHumor #CareerAdvice #BossLife #WorkHumor #TaylorSwift #Overthinking #Funny #BossLife #Feedback #FeedbackMatters ♬ tell me everything is about me but what if it is – babyloncowboy 🍉

Communication is the cornerstone of success in the workplace. A staggering 86% of employees attribute company failures to poor communication, while 74% feel left in the dark regarding important news and information. These statistics highlight a critical issue: without effective communication strategies, businesses are set up to fail.

Effective communication not only fosters collaboration but also nurtures a thriving workplace culture. When communication channels are efficient, it ensures that information flows seamlessly, reducing obstacles and creating an environment where individuals and teams can perform at their best.

Effective communication is a linchpin for teams needing to increase productivity and performance . It allows teams to coordinate their efforts, share progress updates, and identify and address challenges promptly. Clear communication also helps people prioritize tasks and manage time effectively.

While the importance of communication may seem obvious, knowing how to implement effective communication strategies is less straightforward. That’s where the principles of Radical Candor come into play. Kind, clear, specific, and sincere communication is the secret to building successful teams.

When people learn to have open, honest dialogues, it strengthens the organization as a whole, improving employee engagement, job satisfaction, and retention.

What is Effective Communication?

This dual approach fosters an environment where everyone feels respected and valued, and where feedback — both praise and criticism — leads to growth and improvement.

A crucial aspect of effective communication is timeliness. As Radical Candor author and co-founder Kim Scott points out, saving up feedback for formal meetings can lead to missed opportunities for immediate improvement and can dilute the impact of the message. Instead, providing feedback quickly and consistently ensures that it remains relevant and actionable. 

Clear and direct communication prevents misunderstandings and helps resolve issues before they escalate into larger problems. Moreover, leaders play an essential role in modeling effective communication.

When leaders demonstrate excellent communication practices, such as providing kind, clear, specific, and sincere feedback, they set a standard for the entire team, fostering a culture of open and honest dialogue.

Ready to get started? These 10 workplace communication strategies can help you harness the collective expertise of your teams, drive innovation, and achieve outstanding results together.

10 Effective Communication Strategies in the Workplace

@radicalcandorofficial Get curious, not furious! Feedback can feel scary, but getting curious about it can turn it into a manageable challenge 🧡✨ Who else finds feedback a bit scary at first? How do you turn it into a learning opportunity? #RadicalCandor #BusinessTips #Tips #Guides #WorkLife #CorporateLife #OfficeLife #9to5 #WorkplaceCulture #WorkLifeBalance #OfficeHumor #CareerAdvice #BossLife #WorkHumor #WorkplaceCulture #Feedback ♬ MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman

Communication strategies are vitally important because they align the organization, enhance collaboration and performance, and are essential for long-term success.

Prioritizing effective communication should be a top priority for any business that wants to thrive. Here are some of the most effective communication strategies you can apply in the workplace.

1. Adopt Two-Way Communication

Effective workplace communication requires soliciting feedback , active listening, and giving feedback . Mutual understanding is key. Here’s how to achieve it:

• Engage in active listening : Instead of listening merely to reply, focus on truly understanding your colleague. Make eye contact, jot down thoughts as they speak, and use appropriate gestures to show attentiveness.
• Encourage feedback: Request feedback on your communication methods from your team, noting their suggestions and concerns. This feedback can be gathered during meetings or anonymously through suggestion boxes. When providing feedback, do so thoughtfully, avoiding harsh or public criticism.
• Practice Radical Candor: Adopt Radical Candor to ensure your workplace communication strategy is focused on kind and clear criticism so people understand what isn’t working and how to improve, and specific and sincere praise so people know what they did right and why so they can easily repeat that success.

Effective communication strategies in the workplace, like two-way communication, are not just about passing information to a colleague. An effective workplace communication strategy involves explaining it in a manner that is easily understood. 

The receiver must grasp the full context of the conversation, ensuring that both parties feel heard and understood. Or as Kim says, “Communication isn’t measured at the speaker’s mouth but at the listener’s ear.”

Here are some specific examples of two-way communication in the workplace:

When you are talking with your employees, use “check-in” language and then be quiet. An example of this would be “I would love to hear your thoughts about X, Y, Z.” Give them the space to gather their thoughts and share. This acknowledgment of and respect for communication styles will only help to build trust with your direct reports and pave the way for stronger collaboration, innovation, and team unity.

Another example is when you notice a new direct report doesn’t seem to love getting direct feedback from you. To create an open relationship, you can ask them to share feedback on how you’re doing after every meeting you’re both a part of, including one-on-ones and then actively solicit that feedback. Slowly, the dialogue can evolve into two-way feedback, where you have more frequent and explicit conversations about feedback than with your other direct reports.

Insisting that people communicate issues directly with their colleagues, rather than reporting the issue to a boss, is another way to promote two-way communication. This type of peer feedback helps build workplace relationships and encourages people to address problems directly with the person involved.

The key is to create a culture of feedback ; an environment where employees feel empowered to share their thoughts, feedback, and concerns openly and directly, rather than relying solely on top-down communication. This two-way dialogue builds trust, collaboration, and stronger workplace relationships.

2. Sign Up for Team Communication Apps

Seamless team communication is necessary to ensure everyone is aligned. There are several communication apps or platforms you can use to help employees communicate and collaborate effectively on projects.

As a team and as an individual, the first step is to identify the essential communication apps that you need for your work, and then eliminate the rest of the nonsense. Just because it’s possible to send a notification through a certain app doesn’t mean that’s the best way to communicate.

It’s really important to set boundaries and establish designated times for checking and responding to messages that you receive in the communication apps you agree to use. Don’t feel like you need to be constantly available to everyone at all times.

Talk to the folks you work most closely with, and your team, and share how you like to use various communication tools. This will help establish norms and expectations.

When choosing communication apps, look for an interactive channel that everyone on the team agrees on, like Slack. This gives you a designated place for team communication.

3. Organize Communication Training Sessions

Additionally, consider workplace communication training from Radical Candor. Implementing the principles of Radical Candor in the workplace can have a transformative impact on communication and culture. By fostering an atmosphere of open dialogue, caring personal connections, and direct feedback, organizations can unleash the full potential of their teams.

Radical Candor’s feedback training serves as a powerful catalyst for success by cultivating an environment of transparency, trust, and continuous improvement. When people feel empowered to communicate openly and receive feedback constructively, it unlocks new levels of collaboration, innovation, and growth.

One recent attendee of Radical Candor’s feedback training said: 

I do not usually like to role-play or practice skills in public, but it was very well supported and set up, and I actually found it helpful and will be having that conversation in real life soon.”

Providing communication training to employees at all levels can equip them with the skills needed for effective interaction. Training can cover various aspects, such as active listening, clear and concise messaging, and managing difficult conversations . 

Incorporate communication training feedback workshops into the onboarding process for new employees and provide ongoing training for existing team members. This ensures that everyone understands and adheres to the communication norms, promoting a cohesive and well-functioning team.

4. Establish Clear Communication Policies

Clear guidelines on how and when to communicate can prevent misunderstandings and ensure consistency. Start by outlining which communication tools should be used for various types of interactions. For example, use email for detailed or formal communication, chat applications like Slack for quick questions and updates, and project management tools for tracking tasks and progress.

Clearly defining these channels helps team members know where to go for different kinds of information and reduces the clutter of mixed messages.

Establish norms around response times for different communication channels. For instance, emails might require a response within 24 hours, while chat messages might expect a quicker turnaround. This helps manage expectations and ensures that urgent matters are addressed promptly without overwhelming team members with the need for constant availability.

Develop policies that promote open and transparent communication. This includes sharing important updates and decisions across the team to keep everyone informed and aligned. Encourage team members to document their work and decisions in shared spaces where others can easily access and reference them.

Having a well-defined communication policy helps set expectations and provides a framework for employees to follow, fostering a more structured and harmonious workplace environment.

5. Conduct Team Meetings

To enhance communication within your team, organize meetings that provide employees with a platform to express their thoughts. During these sessions, team managers should review the past week’s achievements, challenges, and concerns with their members. Additionally, they can outline objectives and tasks for the upcoming week and discuss broader strategic ideas. 

To further support clarity and retention, consider documenting critical conversations and sharing summaries, ensuring everyone remembers important recommendations and action items.

The type of team meetings you should have really depends on the size of your team. If you have a smaller team of 10 or fewer people, you probably don’t need to schedule a separate meeting just to make sure everyone is on board with the decisions being made.

However, as your team gets bigger, you’ll want to start thinking about how to bring everyone along and make sure the decisions you’re making don’t start to seem mysterious or even nefarious to people who weren’t close to the process. That’s where all-hands meetings can be really helpful.

These all-hands meetings usually have two main components:

• Presentations to persuade people that the company is making good decisions and headed in the right direction. These presentations typically focus on one or two especially exciting and important initiatives, to inform everyone of the broader priorities and get their buy-in.
• Q&A sessions where leaders can hear dissent and address it head-on. The answers the leaders give to challenging questions are often more persuasive than the presentations themselves.

All-hands meetings are really common in Silicon Valley — companies like Apple, Dropbox, Google, and Twitter all have regular company-wide meetings like this. There’s a lot we can learn from how they structure and run these meetings to build broad buy-in.

The key is being thoughtful about how you structure meetings for your specific team. What works best for one person on your team might not work as well for another. The goal is to find the right cadence and format that keeps everyone informed and aligned.

6. Have Regular 1:1 Meetings

These meetings provide a dedicated space for employees to discuss their progress, share concerns, and receive feedback in a personalized setting. 

They also allow managers to better understand their team members’ motivations and career aspirations, facilitating more tailored support and guidance.

Importantly, these meetings should be driven by the employee’s agenda to ensure that their most pressing issues and topics are addressed.

7. Prioritize Solution-Focused Communication

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Efficient and effective exchange of ideas and information fosters better collaboration on tasks. This approach enables teams to determine the necessary steps to achieve their objectives effectively.

One of the easiest ways to make sure your communication is solutions-focused is to use the Radical Candor CORE Method .

C — Context (Cite the specific situation.)

O — Observation (Describe what was said or done.)

R — Result (What is the most meaningful consequence to you and to them?)

E — Expected nExt stEps (What are the expected next steps?)

When delivered thoughtfully, CORE feedback can be incredibly powerful in driving growth and development.

Here’s an example of how to use CORE to make sure your communication is clear and actionable:

C: Your latest report was really compelling and I appreciate all of the research you did to drive your points home. O: I did notice several typos. R: Small mistakes can take away from what should be a great success for you and the company. E: Going forward, don’t be afraid to ask someone to proofread your work.

8. Facilitate Cross-Functional Collaboration

Breaking down silos and encouraging collaboration between different departments can significantly improve communication. When employees work together across functions, they gain a better understanding of each other’s roles and challenges, which can enhance empathy and teamwork. 

Foster a culture where team members feel comfortable voicing their ideas and concerns. Encourage healthy debates and discussions to explore different perspectives and find the best solutions.

Implementing techniques like brainstorming sessions, design thinking workshops, and collaborative planning meetings can help generate innovative ideas and drive effective problem-solving.

Leadership should actively promote a culture of collaboration by recognizing and rewarding teamwork. Highlighting successful cross-functional projects and the contributions of diverse team members can reinforce the importance of collaboration.

9. Share Information Proactively

@selenarezvani How else have you seen information hoarding show up at work?😳 Comment below! #informationhoarding #toxicworkplace #toxicworkenvironment #redflags #workplaceredflags #corporatetok #corporatetiktok #leadershiptips #leadershipadvice #careeradvocacy #selfadvocacy ♬ Hip Hop with impressive piano sound(793766) – Dusty Sky

Proactively sharing information in the workplace is a cornerstone of effective communication and collaboration, and there are several compelling reasons to make it a regular practice. First, it builds trust within the team. 

When you share information openly, it demonstrates transparency and honesty, which are key factors in fostering a culture of trust. Team members are more likely to feel valued and respected when they are kept in the loop about important developments and decisions.

What’s more, proactive information sharing enhances teamwork and collaboration. When everyone has access to the same information, it levels the playing field and allows for more informed decision-making. This transparency encourages team members to engage in meaningful discussions, contribute their ideas, and work together more effectively toward common goals. It also helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that everyone is aligned and working towards the same objectives. 

Another significant benefit is increased efficiency and productivity. When information is readily available, team members can spend less time searching for answers or clarifying misunderstandings, and more time focusing on their tasks. This can lead to quicker problem-solving and a smoother workflow, as everyone knows what is expected and can anticipate potential challenges. In addition, sharing information proactively can stimulate innovation and creativity. 

By openly discussing goals, challenges, and opportunities, team members are encouraged to think outside the box and propose new ideas. This collaborative environment can lead to innovative solutions that might not have been discovered in a more siloed, information-restricted setting.

Finally, proactive information sharing facilitates better decision-making. When decisions are based on comprehensive and up-to-date information, they are more likely to be sound and effective. It ensures that all relevant perspectives are considered and that the team can move forward with confidence, knowing that their actions are based on a clear understanding of the situation.

10. Utilize Visual Communication Tools

Visual aids, such as Kanban boards, flowcharts, and mind maps, can significantly enhance communication by providing clear, visual representations of information. These tools help team members understand workflows, track progress, and identify bottlenecks at a glance. 

By incorporating visual elements into meetings and presentations, you can make complex information more accessible and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Visual communication tools are especially useful for remote teams, as they bridge the gap created by physical distance and promote a shared understanding of tasks and goals.

Benefits of Effective Communication Strategies in the Workplace

Now that we’ve covered strategies for implementing effective workplace communication, let’s cover why these strategies are so important. 

When companies struggle to achieve effective communication in the workplace, the result is in poor organization, bad management, and quiet quitting .

This tampers employee experience at the company and may even become an operational hassle as achieving goals becomes difficult.

Effective communication within the workplace significantly boosts employee engagement , motivation, and satisfaction, leading to fewer conflicts and enhanced productivity. 

Effective workplace communication is a strategic imperative that motivates employees by creating a positive, transparent, and collaborative work environment where people feel valued, engaged, and empowered to contribute to the organization’s success. 

Investing in workplace communication strategies is not just a good practice, but a key driver of long-term organizational performance.

Here are a few benefits of effective communication in the workplace.

1. Employee Engagement

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Effective communication fosters stronger workplace relationships between management and employees and among employees themselves, thus promoting engagement. 

When management acknowledges employee needs and motivations and communicates effectively, employees are more likely to align their skills and talents toward shared goals.

Engaged employees feel heard, valued, and supported, which leads them to go above and beyond.

On the flip side, disengaged or “quietly quitting” employees can be a major drag on the business. Ignoring people at work and not providing regular communication and feedback is a terrible strategy.

Employees who feel ignored and disenfranchised are much less likely to be engaged and productive.

Fostering a highly engaged workforce through effective management , communication strategies in the workplace, and radically candid feedback is absolutely critical for driving business performance and results.

It’s a key competitive advantage that all companies should prioritize.

2. Work Motivation

@radicalcandorofficial and that’s on team work 🧡 #MemeCut #Meme #MemeCut #RadicalCandor #workbestie #workbesties #workbestiesbelike #WorkLife #CorporateLife #OfficeLife #9to5 #WorkplaceCulture #WorkLifeBalance #OfficeHumor #CareerAdvice #BossLife #WorkHumor #FYP #Funny ♬ original sound – Terry Chatwin

One of the key benefits of an effective workplace communication strategy is that it motivates employees in a range of ways. Open and transparent communication fosters a positive and inclusive workplace culture, where employees who feel informed and involved are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and satisfied with their work.

It also builds trust and a sense of belonging — when people trust their leaders and believe they care about them, they are much more likely to embrace their role on the team and focus on getting results.

Effective communication enables social wellness by helping employees build stronger bonds with colleagues, reducing stress, and improving overall employee engagement.

Importantly, communication ensures everyone understands and aligns with the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic goals, which is crucial for overall success and sustainability.

It also supports a culture of continuous feedback, which helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement, fostering personal and professional development.

When employees clearly understand their tasks and the impact of their roles on the team’s success, they become more motivated to perform.

This not only improves employee retention, strengthening the organization but also keeps employees motivated, which is crucial for overall success.

3. Productivity

Effective communication is a linchpin for increased performance and productivity in the workplace. Teams can coordinate their efforts, share progress updates, and identify and address challenges promptly.

This ensures information flows seamlessly, reducing obstacles and fostering collaboration so individuals and teams can perform at their best.

Clear communication also helps people prioritize tasks and manage time effectively. By understanding priorities and having visibility into the work of others, employees can focus on what matters most and avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary tasks or miscommunications.

However, the benefits of effective workplace communication go beyond just operational efficiency. It also supports a culture of continuous feedback, which helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement. This fosters personal and professional development, empowering people to continuously grow and improve their productivity.

4. Fewer Workplace Conflicts

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Given the diversity of cultures and beliefs in workplaces, conflicts are inevitable. However, many conflicts arise from poor communication. Organizations that embrace open and effective communication can expect reduced conflicts between managers and employees and among employees themselves.

An effective workplace communication strategy can be incredibly helpful in reducing conflicts among employees. Conflicts are inevitable in any workplace – it’s simply part of having a diverse group of people working together. But how you address those conflicts is what really matters.

By fostering a communication-rich environment that encourages feedback, you’re providing the platform for employees to promptly address and resolve conflicts. Open dialogue allows individuals to express their concerns, find common ground, and work collaboratively towards solutions.

When communication is highlighted as a core team value, you’re essentially giving your employees permission to work things out between one another using the kind, clear, specific, and sincere communication that we know is so important. This helps nip conflicts in the bud before they have a chance to fester and escalate.

And it’s not just about creating an environment that encourages open communication — you also need to make sure your management styles are fostering that kind of communication as well. Implementing management approaches that provide constructive feedback without destroying confidence or making employees feel overlooked is crucial.

When the tone is set from the top that communication should be kind yet direct, it empowers everyone to engage in the kind of dialogue that resolves issues rather than sweeping them under the rug.

The Bottom Line

  Effective communication strategies in the workplace allow tasks and projects to be executed more smoothly, teams to coordinate their efforts, and individuals to prioritize and manage their time effectively.

When communication channels are efficient , it ensures that everyone within the organization understands and aligns with its mission, vision, and strategic goals. This alignment is crucial for the overall success and sustainability of the business. 

Remember, collaboration, conflict resolution, and innovation all flourish when human relationships replace bureaucracy and control.

Suman Agarwal is an image evangelist, author, TEDx speaker, and Image Management Professionals Association president. She is the co-founder of Image Consulting Business Institute, holding a master’s award in Image Management Consulting from the Federation of Image Professionals International, United Kingdom, and the senior-most Image Consultant in the Indian Subcontinent. Get in touch with her at [email protected].

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Do you want to fix communication issues in the workplace? Then you need The Feedback Loop  (think  Groundhog Day  meets  The Office ), a 5-episode workplace comedy series starring David Alan Grier that brings to life Radical Candor’s simple framework for navigating candid conversations.

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10 Tips For Effective Communication In The Workplace

Updated: Jun 17, 2024, 12:08pm

Table of Contents

What is effective communication, benefits of effective workplace communication, 10 tips for effective communication in the workplace, frequently asked questions.

Ineffective workplace communication costs U.S. businesses $1.2 trillion annually, according to a report by Grammarly . Not surprisingly then, it is a top concern among businesses–including the most successful businesses. But getting communication right can be a challenge between people with varying backgrounds, vantage points, and cultures. So the experts at Forbes Advisor detail the top tips for effective communication in the workplace to help.

Communication in the workplace is the exchange of ideas and thoughts concerning work, but effective workplace communication is more than that. Effective communication is clear, and the receiver understands its purpose. So, both the sender and receiver of the message are satisfied.

Two-way Communication

Effective communication in the workplace is not just relaying information to a team member, but explaining it in a way they understand. The receiver also focuses on gaining the entire meaning of the conversation and makes the other person feel heard and understood.

Solution-providing Communication

The exchange of ideas and information is done efficiently and effectively, enhancing collaboration on given tasks. So, teams can better come up with the required steps to achieve their goals.

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Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report reveals that out of the 31 million employees interviewed, only 13% of their leaders practiced effective workplace communication. Yet, if you can’t communicate organizational goals and operational changes, convey culture and values to new hires or those crossing teams or share business updates properly, it becomes challenging to achieve set goals.

Effective communication in a workplace will boost employee motivation, engagement and satisfaction, which will reduce workplace conflicts and enhance productivity.

Increased Employee Engagement

One of the benefits of effective communication is that it creates better relationships between management and employees as well as amongst employees, and promotes employee engagement. When the management considers employee needs and motivations and speaks to them correctly, it’s easier to get them to use their skills and talents toward the same goal.

Enhanced Motivation to Work

Nearly 30% of the time , organizations experience low retention because of ineffective communication between management and staff members. But when employees understand their tasks and how their roles affect the team’s overall success, they’re motivated to take necessary steps. Not only will your organization enjoy longer employee retention, which strengthens your company, employees will stay motivated, which makes all the difference.

Improved Productivity

By ensuring that information is communicated in the right manner, employees understand their roles better and perform their functions competently. That will increase productivity throughout your company.

Fewer Workplace Conflicts

Since workplaces have persons of various cultures and beliefs, conflicts will naturally arise. Still, most conflicts are from ineffective communication tactics. Workplaces that embrace open communication and refined communication styles should therefore expect less conflict between managers and employees, and even among employees.

With a solid understanding of how crucial effective communication in the workplace is, let’s look at the top tips for effective communication, including the key communication skills you need to adopt, how to prioritize two-way communication, how to organize communication and more.

1. Communicate the Right Way

For more effective communication, first, ask these questions.

• What is the goal?
• Who needs to hear this?
• How should I pass the message across?

Ineffective communication often occurs when managers talk to the wrong employees or share information in the wrong workplace setting. So, make sure the communication purpose directs you to relevant recipients. Also, choose the most appropriate communication method out of the different communication channels for the employee and situation. For example, an employee may prefer email , while another person likes a physical interaction, where there’s eye contact, and they can read your body language.

Generally, though, you should communicate urgent information or instructions, major news or sensitive news such as a promotion or transfer face-to-face.

2. Prioritize Two-way Communication

Effective communication in the workplace involves speaking, active listening and feedback. Both parties need to understand each other. Now, how can you make that possible?

• Practice active listening: To avoid missing important information, don’t listen to a coworker just so you can reply. Instead, listen to understand them. Maintain eye contact with the speaker, jot down whatever comes to your mind while they’re speaking, and respond with relevant gestures to show you’re listening.
• Embrace feedback: Ask your team members for feedback on your message and communication style, and note their comments and concerns. They can share such information during meetings or drop them anonymously in suggestion boxes. You can also offer feedback, but do it thoughtfully. Just don’t do it harshly or in public.

Also, adopt constructive feedback by first appreciating their work and then pointing out how to improve. Allow them to share their thoughts on your feedback, too.

3. Build Your Communication Skills

Effective workplace communication starts with you developing good communication skills. Here are the vital ones.

• Be clear: To communicate effectively, be clear about your goal, use easy-to-understand words and avoid incomplete sentences. Also, provide context when communicating with your team. For example, when setting expectations, share samples and highlight the groups that should be involved and those that will be affected by the output. Also, encourage employees to ask questions to minimize errors and maximize productivity.
• Remain courteous: To enhance effective communication in the workplace, you need to practice respectful communication and work through differences positively. Even during disagreements, try to stay polite, avoiding offensive words. Also, watch your body language and facial expressions, and use the right tone, so you don’t give off unintentional cues.
• Stay open-minded: Make sure your employees feel comfortable approaching you with ideas or concerns. That means you must keep considering their thoughts and attending to them respectfully, even when busy. And if you have concerns about an employee’s behavior or performance, discuss it with them instead of making assumptions.

4. Embrace the Uniqueness of Each Employee

One of the most important things to improve communication and employee engagement at your workplace is embracing each employee’s unique communication style. That means you need to learn about their preferred communication channels and style. Then, tailor your communication methods to their select style. While the sales team seeks endless data analytics , the analytics team might not want detailed stories about how to land clients.

5. Have One-on-One Interactions

To improve workplace communication , you need to be intentional about relationships. Schedule one-on-one meetings with your team members. These meetings show your employees that you value them and are willing to connect with them more personally. Plus, the timid or reserved ones tend to be more open and share valuable information and feedback in private settings.

6. Schedule Weekly Team Meetings

To foster good communication amongst team members, schedule weekly meetings where employees can speak their minds. Team managers can meet with team members to review each week’s accomplishments, challenges and concerns. They can also set goals and tasks for the following week and even discuss big-picture ideas. You can also take a step further by documenting important conversations and sharing recaps to clarify points and help the team remember recommendations and action points.

7. Make Time for Team Building

Team building activities often create a dynamic working environment, where people feel safe and build their confidence. So, get creative—offer employees an escape from usual activities by promoting casual interactions such as nonwork Slack channels or out-of-office events. Let them socialize and collaborate through activities such as icebreaker games, puzzle-solving games, fitness sessions, team lunches and movie dates. Team members will loosen up and improve communication and team collaboration, promoting employee retention .

8. Show Appreciation

Businesses with engaged and happy workers make 23% more profits than those with miserable employees. To move closer to achieving your goals as an organization, you need to appreciate employees and show you care. Thank them for their brilliant ideas or for completing a task quickly. And that includes zeroing in on exactly what made you happy. It will show that you’re genuine, and they can replicate it, too.

For instance, you can say, “You did great highlighting the customer segmentation steps in your presentation. The examples you gave helped the team understand the process.”

9. Get a Team Communication App

Without good team communication, there will be miscommunications, especially since many organizations are now hybrid or remote. But with team communication platforms, whether UCaaS or CPaaS , employees can communicate, stay up to date and collaborate on projects. They can meet to carry out their tasks, share relevant information and discuss upcoming tasks. Communication apps include project management tools , video conferencing tools and voice-over-internet-protocol services.

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10. Organize Communication Training Sessions

Consider holding regular communication training sessions so that both team leaders and employees can grasp basic communication skills that improve workplace communication. Hold training sessions physically or meet online over Google Meet or Zoom or any other communication platform. You can also use webinar tools for training so that old and new employees can always access them.

Bottom Line

Communication in the workplace should exceed exchanging information. It should include intentional communication exercises that enhance confidence, promote engagement and improve an organization’s overall productivity. So, use the given tips to retain your best employees and nail your goals.

Why is it important to have effective communication in the workplace?

Without effective workplace communication, there’d be confusion and conflicts. But with effective communication in the workplace, you’ll enjoy benefits such as enhanced employee motivation, engagement and productivity.

What are the seven Cs of communication?

The seven Cs of communication are:

• Conciseness
• Concreteness
• Correctness
• Completeness

What are good communication tools in a workplace?

Good communication tools include:

• Project management tools
• Business phone systems
• Video conferencing tools
• Emailing software
• Webinar tools

They’ll help you communicate with team members without issues.

How does communication affect teamwork?

Communication enables team members to know the tasks they need to perform and why and how to do them so they can achieve set goals.

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How to Communicate Effectively

Seeing the world through another's eyes can help with communication..

Posted July 22, 2024 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

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• There are deeper levels of communication than verbal and body language.
• A higher level of communication is seeing the world through another's eyes.
• There is a way you can put yourself in someone else's shoes, which will elevate your relationship to them.

We all live in relationship with many others at any given time, from our romantic partners to our children, our extended families, our close friends, other acquaintances, and work colleagues, to name a few. Meaningful relationships depend on effective communication and where relationships often fail is in a failure of communication.

There are many levels to communication, the most obvious being verbal through the words we speak. A deeper layer of communication is through body language , and it has been estimated that 95% of all communication happens in this manner.

Words can often get misconstrued and body language misinterpreted, so the question arises, how do we effectively communicate with each other? I do not have a simple answer to this question and all I can say is that it takes much patience and a willingness to listen deeply to the other person.

There is, however, a deeper level of communication that few of us ever venture to explore and this is becoming the one you are communicating with. What do I mean by this?

When we are engaged in communication with another, there is usually a reason behind it, whether we need something from them, we are trying to help or guide them or we are catching up on lost time. What most people fail to do when connecting with someone else is to put themselves in that person’s shoes.

What do I mean by this and why does it matter? I can best illustrate this with an example. I am a critical care physician and communicate a lot with nurses in the intensive care unit. Nurses come to me with many concerns about their patients who usually have multiple issues at any given time.

Early on in my career , I often did not take some of their concerns seriously, as I did not understand the importance of what they were trying to convey. One common nursing concern is a low urine output. When the cause of this is not obvious, it is easy to blow it off and ignore it at that moment. Sometimes, this is the right call, as I’ve seen this issue resolve with no specific intervention. More times than not, however, a low urine output is a sign of low blood pressure, sepsis, severe heart failure, medication side effects, or a number of other issues.

The cause is not as important as acknowledging it as a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed. I did not understand this until I was able to put myself in the nurse’s shoes. I started to realize that they are not only concerned for their patient’s well-being, but their license is on the line, which is why they must report every concern, even if I see it as insignificant. I was only able to do this by putting myself in the nurses’ shoes when engaging with them.

So how does one go about seeing a situation from another individual’s perspective?

This is a multi-step process, which proceeds as follows:

• You must first seek to listen to the other person not only with your ears but with all your faculties, including your eyes, because body language and facial expressions communicate a lot that words often do not.
• You need to ask clarifying questions in a compassionate and understanding manner when you don’t understand what the other person is trying to communicate to you.
• You then reframe the other person’s ideas and concerns in your own words to affirm whether you understand them correctly.
• You ask them how they are feeling about what they are conveying to you and try to discern this through scrutinizing their body language.
• Express to them that you are trying to understand their point of view and ask them to help you do that.
• Communicate what action you are going to take with the information that has been shared with you, and then act.
• Follow up with the individual who originally communicated with you to see if their concerns have been adequately addressed.
• If this is not the case, regroup, reframe their concerns and readdress the issues at hand until you reach a mutual understanding.

Communication is a two-way street, which is more effective when you can put yourself in the other person’s shoes by following the steps outlined above. This will help to enhance all of your relationships, personal and professional, and take them to a higher level of understanding and empathy, two qualities that are severely lacking in our disconnected world.

Nauman Naeem, M.D., is a pulmonary and critical care specialist, author, mentor, and speaker in the intersection of flow, awareness, peak performance and optimizing physiology.

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The Importance of Effective Communication: Some Food for Thought

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Nikola A Baumann, The Importance of Effective Communication: Some Food for Thought, The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine , Volume 1, Issue 4, 1 January 2017, Pages 460–461, https://doi.org/10.1373/jalm.2016.021865

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Having been active in the Society for Young Clinical Laboratorians (SYCL) 2 for several years, the opportunity to give something back as a speaker at the SYLC Workshop preceding the 2016 AACC Annual Meeting was an honor. The SYCL workshop centered around the theme of communication and leadership, and I was asked to provide insight into effective communication with staff and trainees—a rare chance to reflect on the soft skills that we all use every day. These are the skills that some believe can't be taught. This may be true, but time spent on thoughtful contemplation of what we do and how we do it is usually time well spent. Researching and reflecting on this topic has raised my awareness of the importance of communication, including communication challenges such as providing constructive feedback and listening. Below, I attempt to share my findings and my experience.

Mind the say-do gap.

Make the complex simple.

Find your own voice.

Be visible.

Listen with your eyes as well as your ears.

Notice that these 5 habits have little to do with what one says but rather how one says it. Keeping your message simple and genuine will go a long way. In addition, more than half of communication is nonverbal including body language, gestures, and eye contact. It is important to be aware of what you are saying nonverbally. Even a brief moment of checking your email during someone's presentation conveys a nonverbal message. Styles of communication vary. An excellent article by Mark Murphy distills communication into 4 styles: analytical, intuitive, functional, and personal ( 2 ). Although no style is superior, effective communicators know how to recognize and match their communication style with their audience whether it be their boss, peers, direct reports, or trainees.

As leaders and educators, some of our most valuable and formative communication will be in the form of feedback. Statements such as “great job” and “well done” are easy to give and are certainly well received. However, the receiver may be left wondering what specifically they did that was great and wondering if there are areas that could be improved. When giving feedback, it is important to be positive (if it is genuine), be specific, be immediate (or at least timely), and be tough if needed, but not mean (or rob the recipients of their dignity) ( 3 ). In many cases, the person receiving the feedback recognizes what is going well and what is not, so start by asking for his or her perspective. Ask them how they feel they performed or if there are areas they want to improve upon. This step opens the door for constructive feedback without a defensive atmosphere. Formative feedback should be given in private and not in the hallway or in front of peers. And although it is often a delicate process, honest assessment of a person's progress can lead to substantial growth and improvement.

In my experience, the most underused and least perfected communication skill is listening. In professional settings, individuals with authority should listen more (i.e., talk less). I have a favorite quote: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply” (Stephen Covey). To illustrate the truth of this statement, I asked the SYCL workshop attendees to pair up and do an exercise in listening. Each pair chose one person to be a speaker and one to be a listener. The speaker was asked to talk about any topic they wanted to for 2 minutes. The listener's job was to listen and not say a word. Just listen. As I watched this exercise unfold, I observed listeners who were struggling not to speak, desperately wanting to share their own story, offer their advice, and provide their feedback. On discussing the activity, attendees felt that “just listening” was difficult and far more challenging than speaking. This is more food-for-thought in our daily interactions.

Finally, it was indeed a rare (and somewhat terrifying) opportunity to stand in front of the next generation of leaders and be asked to provide them with a few personal golden nuggets of professional advice. Initially, it was overwhelming, but once I really thought about what I have found to be important in my professional interactions, the following came to light: ( a ) Say what you mean and mean what you say (even when it's easier to say what you think people want to hear). ( b ) In leadership and management relations, a “unified front” will make your job easier and your team more confident. Conversely, a “divided front” will do the opposite—create division in the work unit and drain positive energy from the team. ( c ) Don't tip-toe around the hard stuff, it won't go away. ( d ) Be real. And perhaps most importantly, ( e ) wrap it all up in a package of kindness.

Society for Young Clinical Laboratorians.

Author Contributions:   All authors confirmed they have contributed to the intellectual content of this paper and have met the following 4 requirements: (a) significant contributions to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (b) drafting or revising the article for intellectual content; (c) final approval of the published article; and (d) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the article thus ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the article are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Authors' Disclosures or Potential Conflicts of Interest:   Upon manuscript submission, all authors completed the author disclosure form.   Employment or Leadership: None declared. Consultant or Advisory Role: None declared. Stock Ownership: None declared. Honoraria: N.A. Baumann, AACC. Research Funding: None declared. Expert Testimony: None declared. Patents: None declared.

Forbes /Leadership, Susan Tardanico. 5 habits of highly effective communicators [internet] . http://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/11/29/5-habits-of-highly-effective-communicators/#428f682225fc (Accessed July 2016).

Forbes /Leadership, Mark Murphy. Which of these 4 communication styles are you?   http://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2015/08/06/which-of-these-4-communication-styles-are-you/#6dd000f11ecb (Accessed July 2016).

Entrepreneur. www.entrepreneur.com (Accessed July 2016).

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5 Tips to Foster Effective Communication in the Workplace

Senior Marketing Manager at Loom

If you find coworkers don’t receive your messages as intended or that you’re not getting the information you need from others, you’re not alone. Thirty percent of employees reported increasing challenges when communicating with coworkers and clients, and 70% say they’ve wasted time trying to mend communication issues at work. 

Even if your teams communicate well, setting policies and providing training to improve team-wide communication is worthwhile. Let’s take a look at real-life examples of great workplace communication, plus helpful skills and tools you can use to improve team alignment through clear communication.

What does effective communication in the workplace look like?

When strengthening your workplace communication skills, it helps to understand the basic principles:

Active listening: You actively listen by giving the speaker your full attention, making eye contact, not interrupting, and asking clarifying questions or summarizing what they’ve said to confirm you understand.

Clear and concise messages: When you share a message, use simple language and keep things straightforward. This includes clearly stating the purpose of your message and any key points.

Appropriate channels: Choosing the right communication channel, like email, Slack, or Zoom, is even more important when working remotely or in a hybrid environment, because it helps teams prioritize and share information.

Open dialogue: Your teammates should feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns—even if they disagree with the majority or offer a new perspective.

Constructive feedback: Teams deserve to hear constructive feedback so they can pinpoint areas for growth. Feedback needs to be specific and actionable so employees can immediately take steps toward improvement.

Emotional intelligence: Communication requires awareness of your own emotions as well as the emotions of others so you can adjust your communication style as needed.

3 examples of effective communication in the workplace

Check out these three real-life examples of effective workplace communication.

Weekly standups are less time-consuming when teammates can share async video updates

Weekly standup meetings are a helpful way for teams to sync, but as you add more coworkers, keeping standups short becomes difficult. Loom’s design team brainstormed a creative solution and now shares weekly updates via video recordings.

Every Monday, designers record a quick Loom video that highlights what they’re working on that week. Loom’s former Senior Director of Brand Stewart Scott-Curran said the updates “spark cross-functional curiosity, lead to more frequent, collaborative communication, and create opportunities for the wider design team to work together.”

2. Automattic

Automattic, creators of WordPress, structures its communication around the needs of its worldwide, remote workforce. This includes being intentional about offering social opportunities that strengthen bonds between coworkers:

Employee-driven activities: Anyone can propose an activity that coworkers—and sometimes family members—can attend, ranging from adult coloring time to a toddler-led show-and-tell series.

Distributed postcards: Worldwide coworkers send each other postcards from their local area along with a thoughtful note.

Fireside chats: Employees are invited to discuss topics ranging from company goals to brainstorming ideas to tackle current challenges. Automattic seeks to make these Zoom chats a safe space where any idea or concern is welcomed.

Fostering a welcoming environment across many areas of its employees’ lives enriches Automattic‘s internal social structure for stronger team connections and better communication.

3. NerdWallet

NerdWallet’s CEO and co-founder Tim Chen finds feedback essential and actively seeks ways to gather and take action on quantitative data. To do this, NerdWallet introduced NerdPS, an internal survey that asks employees how they feel about company leadership, the product, and their teams.

NerdPS has also helped Chen gather feedback on how well other leaders are doing as managers. The survey provides insightful data points, and Chen says these “ground my skip-level sessions in a more specific reality, rather than a looser ‘How is the team feeling?’ kind of discussion.”

What does poor workplace communication look like?

Miscommunication and certain interpersonal communication styles like these create a negative work environment:

Passive-aggressive communication: This is when someone indirectly expresses negative thoughts instead of openly presenting and addressing them. They may even leave a teammate out of important communications without explanation.

Intimidation tactics: Someone may try to intimidate others by speaking loudly or talking over them, dismissing or belittling their ideas, or using aggressive or negative body language.

Failure to take responsibility: When coworkers fail to accept responsibility or admit their mistakes, it damages team trust and collaboration.

Lack of clarity: Instructions or goals become unclear when teammates don’t provide details or don’t include specific, clarifying information.

One-way communication: Some workers may default to communicating “at” their teammates rather than fostering open dialogue and allowing others to ask questions or provide feedback.

To meet or not to meet? Atlassian found that 54% of employees leave meetings without clarity about the next steps. Learn how to reduce meetings and use async communication tools like Loom to improve clarity and productivity.

What causes workplace communication to break down?

We’ve all experienced poor workplace communication, but the causes may look different. Some common offenders include:

Ineffective channel selection: Choosing the wrong communication channel for urgent, complex, or sensitive messages can reduce clarity.

Poorly written communication: Typos, poorly structured messages, missing information and context, and even jargon can lead to mistakes and delays.

Language and location barriers: Cultural nuances and language differences can cause misunderstandings. These can especially affect deadlines, as some cultures prioritize punctuality while others are more relaxed. Time zone differences can also cause confusion about teammate schedules and deadlines.

Insufficient feedback: When teams don’t receive feedback, including context from nonverbal cues, they may not know if they’re heading in the right direction or meeting expectations. This can lead to future mistakes and inefficiencies as well as decreased motivation. Gallup found that meaningful feedback is four times more effective at improving employee engagement than working in the office.

Information overload: Too much information causes misunderstandings just like too little information. Teammates may struggle to prioritize different messages or could get distracted by constant Slack notifications.

Building collaboration skills, using tools, and streamlining information flow can help teams reduce communication breakdowns and improve their overall productivity.

5 ways to communicate more effectively in the workplace

Start building a company culture focused on good communication with these five tips:

1. Establish clear communication guidelines

Teams should create clear communication guidelines that:

Define expectations around communication frequency, response times, and even how often workers should check certain channels.

Select appropriate communication channels and recommend which ones should be used in certain situations.

Regularly train teams on how to engage in open communication, including active listening skills and how to handle different communication styles.

Outline opportunities for formal feedback, such as performance reviews, as well as what channels coworkers can use to share informal feedback.

You should also review and update your communication guidelines regularly. This should be a living document that grows with your team and its evolving needs.

2. Encourage open dialogue

Create a space where everyone feels like their feedback and ideas are welcome:

Create an environment where teammates are comfortable expressing ideas, concerns, and feedback without ridicule or fear.

Host regular meetings structured around employee questions and suggestions.

Implement an “open door” policy where employees can approach leadership to ask questions and learn.

Open dialogue will help you identify trends, whether good or bad, earlier rather than later. You can stay on the pulse of your team’s progress and make space for them to resolve any issues that arise. 

3. Implement effective communication tools

Use the right tools, like remote work software designed for distributed teams, to streamline teamwork and problem-solving.

Create a central communication platform like ClickUp, Google Workspace, or Trello that integrates various information in one place.

Use instant messaging and screen recording apps like Slack and Loom to quickly communicate feedback, ask and address questions, and share updates.

Use project management software and online collaboration tools like Airtable or Asana to promote visibility into project statuses and progress.

Additionally, you should create how-to guides and best-practice documents for each communication tool and save them in a central team-knowledge hub. Using a tool like Loom to do this is helpful since it captures both your audio walkthrough and on-screen details.

4. Build team relationships

Avoid poor communication by strengthening team relationships:

Organize team-building exercises and informal social events where teams can bond.

Ensure each employee understands their individual role, expectations, and how they contribute to the team’s and company’s goals.

Encourage cross-functional collaboration and knowledge-sharing between different teams.

When your teams feel connected and safe, they will feel empowered to take on new challenges and opportunities, and drive business growth cohesively.

5. Foster a culture of feedback

Creating a feedback-friendly team culture increases the likelihood that coworkers will share innovative ideas, contribute diverse opinions, and help each other grow.

Create opportunities for anonymous, candid feedback without fear of retaliation.

Aim for the “magic” ratio of five positive interactions to every negative interaction .

Approach feedback with empathy, acknowledgment, and action to make team members feel heard and valued.

Connect feedback to specific goals and performance metrics to demonstrate its importance and encourage action.

These workplace communication strategies help you create an environment where open and meaningful communication is actively lived out every day.

3 workplace communication tools to clarify and share messages

These three unique employee communication tools help hybrid and remote teams foster open dialogue, collect candid feedback, and collaborate effectively.

Loom’s screen recorder captures your voice, face, and screen to create asynchronous video messaging. These video recordings are a great way to support clear communication while replacing lengthy and confusing written explanations. Teams can easily swap unproductive meetings and instead record a Loom update, introduce a new employee to team processes, and share helpful feedback on a design project. 

Best of all, Loom recordings are viewable at any time, so your coworker in the Philippines gets vital updates on their time rather than staying up late for an after-hours meeting on Eastern U.S. time.

Worry-free recording: Built-in editing tools like auto-filler word removal and Live Rewind let you record a crystal clear message in a snap.

Two-way communication: Viewers can use emoji reactions and comments to share feedback or ask questions about Loom recordings.

Automatically create documentation: Loom AI lets everyone from dev teams to customer service reps turn video recordings into Linear or Jira bug tickets and text documents like standard operating procedures.

One-click messages: Spend less time worrying about writing a clear email message—Loom AI summarizes your video and writes a message for you.

Instantly shareable: Finish your recording and share it right away with an instantly generated link that you can post to Slack or embed in an email.

Loom’s versatility makes it an effective communication tool that works with a variety of different approaches. For example, even if you still host team meetings, recording a Loom preview of the agenda ensures coworkers come prepared.

Did you know? 88% of Loom users saved 30 minutes or more each week by replacing meetings with Loom recordings.

2. HubEngage

An employee engagement platform, HubEngage streamlines team communication through structured content, social interactions, surveys, and instant messaging. The platform has an HR focus, with multiple features geared toward different stages of the employee journey.

Features:  

Consolidated communication: Employees can view emails, notifications, and messages on their dashboard so no important details are missed.

Audience segmentation: Larger companies can send communications to specific employee groups, users, or teams with the segmentation feature.

Searchable knowledge base: Create a single source of truth for all team documentation inside HubEngage—it supports a variety of file formats so you don’t need to re-create PDFs or slideshows.

HubEngage’s real-time messaging and central communication hub make it an effective tool for improving communication clarity, especially for larger teams and businesses.

3. Superhuman

An AI email assistant, Superhuman helps teams communicate through email without compromising on speed. Numerous features help teams clear out clutter and reach inbox zero, and efficiently communicate both internally with coworkers and externally with clients.

Text snippets: Automate your typing and insert phrases, paragraphs, or entire email templates with shareable snippets that speed up your team’s response times.

Send later and team scheduling: Respect teammates’ schedules by scheduling emails to send later. Or, if you need to schedule a meeting, quickly view their availability without opening a new window.

Teamwide read statuses: Get insight into who’s caught up on project handoffs or updates by checking who’s read an email—even if you’re not the sender.

Superhuman empowers teams to be more responsive, promoting open and respectful communication while providing clarity.

Get every message across clearly with Loom

Simplifying your communication process is one way to help teammates get on the same page. Tools like Loom help teams share critical messages without losing valuable context or burning out in a week packed with Zoom meetings.

Loom makes communication efficient with features for fast recording, easy editing, and straightforward video sharing. Discover how Loom helps teams get every message across clearly —without interruptions or misunderstandings hindering productivity.

Jul 29, 2024

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Jeong Lee works in Marketing at Loom.

Home / Essay Samples / Business / Organizational Culture / Communicating for Success: The Vitality of Workplace Interaction

Communicating for Success: The Vitality of Workplace Interaction

• Category: Business
• Topic: Corporate Culture , Organizational Culture , Workplace

Pages: 2 (884 words)

• Downloads: -->
• Workplace communication improves productivity.
• Workplace communication can increase employee job satisfaction. 
• Workplace communication can have a positive effect on absenteeism and turnover rates.

How to Communicate in the Workplace? 

• Value all individuals and treat them with respect, courtesy and sensitivity.
• Recognize cultural differences.
• Communicate in a way to develop and maintain positive relationships, trust and confidence. 
• Make an effort to use basic strategies to overcome communication barriers.
• The way that you communicate impacts your ability to get along with people and get the things that you want/need done.
• Speak clearly and listen carefully to ensure information is understood.
• Ask questions and confirm the meaning of information to avoid misunderstandings. 
• Let others talk – a conversation is a two-way event at a minimum.
• Engage in difficult conversations when necessary – not saying something to avoid a difficult conversation usually makes things worse. 
• Ensure the tone you use is open and non-confrontational and encourage feedback.

Effective Communication in the Workplace

• Always read, then re-read an email before sending to check spelling, grammar and tone. 
• Ensure that the content of the email is relevant and has an appropriate subject heading. 
• Ensure that contact details are appended to the email, so that those reading it can contact the sender if required. 
• Be polite, concise, use valid points and avoid lengthy ramblings.
• Don’t cc the email to anyone to whom it is not relevant.
• Avoid using email to discuss confidential information.
• The workplace is always a professional environment. 

How to Communicate with Clients & Customers 

• The words you are speaking being misinterpreted.
• Your body language sending a message that is different from your words.
• They are not listening to you properly or you are not listening to them properly.

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