It is said that everyone in the workplace is a continuing project. This is proven by the employee communication training programs that many employers send their workers to.
Employers may have differences in policies when it comes to screening potential applicants, although there is one thing that is usually demanded by businesses regardless of the industry — and that is a prospective employee having good communication skills.
This only goes to show how important it is for companies to have employees who can express themselves well. Employers love to have people who can get their message across. In contrast, individuals who are prone to hesitant and garbled language are frowned upon for their tendency to create confusion and frustration in the workplace.
Many companies spend a considerable sum sending their personnel to employee communication training. These training programs are intended to improve the communication skills of employees such as:
Public Speaking:
Not all people are blessed with the gift of gab. Not everyone is also comfortable to being in the spotlight. But public speaking is an important skill that employees ideally must learn. Good public speaking skills can enable them to communicate important messages inside and outside of the organization.
For example, employees can use their public speaking skills when they attend an industry event. They can also rely on their ability to speak in front of many people when they present a proposal or initiative in the boardroom or before the senior management. Good public speaking skills can also be utilized by employees to express themselves clearly when dealing with customers and suppliers.
Employee communication training on public speaking skills usually teach workers on the basic of public speaking, as well as tips on how to do voice modulation and catch the attention of the audience.
Writing Skills:
For most employees, much of their time in the workplace is spent composing letters, memos, and e-mail messages. This only goes to underline the need for employees to be good in writing.
Above-average writing skills can benefit an employee as he or she is perceived to be more credible and capable than another worker who frequently commits typos and grammatical errors.
Poor writing skills can also cost companies a considerable amount in losses. In 2003, a report by the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges bared that remedying inconsistencies and mistakes in writing cost American firms as much as $3.1 billion yearly.
Cross Cultural Communication:
Companies that have offices in various locations around the world usually send their employees to cross cultural communication training. This type of employee communication training usually offers practical programs for participants who work in multicultural working environments, or those who regularly travel abroad.
Cross cultural communication training won’t provide participants with knowledge of a new language. Instead participants are taught the concept of cultural intelligence and diversity so they can have an easier time understanding cultural differences. Culture after all can affect many areas such as communication style and work habits of employees.
Customer Service:
Customer service skills are important for businesses as these skills can empower their workers to serve the needs of their clients, and build better relationships with them.
There are many things that employees can learn when they undergo training on customer service. Despite the widespread use of customer relationship management (CRM) software in many businesses, the truth is that customer service begins with having a group of employees who understand and satisfy the needs of clients.
Customer service training usually focuses on key competencies like consistency, communication and work ethic of employees. Consistency pertains to providing the same level of service all the time regardless of how irate or chatty customers are.
Good communication skills are also important in customer service, as the use of positive language and positive disposition will help personnel in dealing with an irate client. Meanwhile, work ethic can be exhibited by employees who will go the extra mile in assisting customers.
Interpersonal Communication:
Interpersonal communication skills training would help employees learn how to deal with different personalities in the workplace and perhaps most importantly, how to resolve conflicts.
In this type of training, role-playing exercises are usually conducted to teach participants the right behavior in resolving problems. Conflict resolution is important in the workplace because conflicts can cause employees not to work well together, and prevent team goals and objectives from being achieved.
A key skill that is taught in interpersonal communication training is active listening, which is needed in conflict resolution as employees need to hear another person’s point of view. Active listening is also needed by employees and executives in gathering feedback from their colleagues.
Business executives know that improving the communication skills of their workers would translate to a more harmonious working environment, increased engagement and productivity, both of which can have a positive effect on the company’s bottom line.
