As a business owner or manager, you need to constantly communicate not only with the management team, but also with the staff, investors, customers and your other stakeholders. This communication includes a lot of information about many things, from the company’s vision-mission, to business news and policy updates, down to marketing messages. Becoming an effective communicator does not just involve an earnest desire and commitment to share information; you also need to develop and use different strategies for effective communication.
Communicating Internally
Every day, you communicate with the management, the staff and your partners in the workplace. Therefore, you must be able to communicate well and properly by tailoring your message to your recipients. Avoid jargon in your emails, bulletin boards and other announcement channels. Take into consideration your recipient’s knowledge level and adjust your language accordingly. Set up a system where employees can reach out to you for feedback and questions regarding business policies or other issues that do not seem clear. This will ensure that communication in your organization is two-way and not merely a trickling down of information from the top management.
Communicating with Stakeholders
Who are your stakeholders? A stakeholder is anyone who affects and is affected by your business. This includes investors, lenders and consultants, among others. Make sure to regularly communicate with them the state of your business. Do not forget to solicit feedback. Not only will their feedback help you make important decisions about your business and how it is run; showing that you value their feedback will also help you build a community that will continually support you and your business.
Nonverbal Communication
Communication does not only involve talking; it also refers to body language, the way you conduct yourself, your appearance and even the way your desk is organized. Inconsistency in what you preach and what you show will send out confusing signals. One of the best strategies for effective communication is matching your nonverbal messages with your verbal ones. If you send out a directive about dressing more smartly in the office, make sure that you set a good example.
The Best Communication Strategies
There is no single strategy that can make you (or anyone, for that matter) an effective communicator, as people have different communication preferences. A strategy that has worked for another manager may not work for you; as such, you should be able to work out which strategies you can use to facilitate effective sharing of information. Here are some strategies for effective communication that you can follow:
- Set clear communication goals. Whatever your chosen strategy may be, make sure that it is SMART, and has a clear start and end. These goals would help you evaluate whether or not your strategies have been effective or not.
- Listen and observe. Nobody appreciates hearing from someone who does not know how to listen. Before you deliver your message, make sure you are fully aware of not just your audience but also the situation of the company. Listen to the key issues and respond accordingly.
- Be transparent. While reporting negative results like missed targets and decreased efficiency levels may seem counterintuitive and demotivating, it pays to be honest about both the negative and positive aspects. Glossing over mistakes might give your employees the impression that they can turn in substandard work, since you do not seem to mind. In the same way, your stakeholders will not appreciate incomplete reports from you.
- Communicate regularly. It pays to communicate your achievements and issues regularly, to make sure that everyone in the organization knows exactly how the company is doing in terms of its goals. The information will serve as a motivation and a challenge for everyone to perform better.
- Move with the times. Outdated systems and methods of communication should be pushed out the door. Instead of using the traditional paper-based system of communication, use automated and cloud-based electronic solutions that not only saves costs, but also improves communication and increases productivity.
The DeskAlerts Solution
Nowadays, the challenge of coming up with strategies for effective communication is bigger than ever. Both management and staff are bombarded with phone calls, emails and meetings that they tend to miss important announcements, especially when they too busy accomplishing tasks at hand. Business news and issues, policy updates, scheduled system maintenance, and even urgent meeting notifications tend to be ignored or set aside.
With DeskAlerts, you can send out notifications and alerts in various formats like rich text, graphics, videos, PDF documents and even flash presentations to multiple locations within the organization. Since these alerts cannot be ignored, deleted or set aside, DeskAlerts makes for an effective communication tool. With its easy to administer and customizable features, you can target specific audiences with tailor fit messages and announcements. With its reporting and tracking feature and its various channels, DeskAlerts is sure to reach your intended recipients, giving them the important information you wish to communicate.
Deliver critical information straight to your employees’ desktop, improve communications and reach your company goals with DeskAlerts.
