What Should Managers Know About Communication in the Workplace?

Effective communication between managers and employees is necessary to build trust and improve employee morale and motivation.

Employees are more likely to be satisfied with their job if they are kept updated on what is going in with the company and if they know they will be heard and respected whenever they speak to their manager.

Likewise, managers will benefit from being able to communicate clearly with their employees. But what should managers know about communication in the workplace? Here are seven things you should keep in mind as a manager.

1. Clear and specific communication is essential.

Managers need to communicate with their employees regularly. But this communication should always be clear and specific.

When presenting an important goal or a new project to your employees, avoid vague or technical terms that could create confusion. Know what you want to say, say it clearly, and get to the point quickly.

When writing messages for your employees, ensure your sentences are easy to read and free of grammar and spelling errors. Work on improving your writing skills and speaking skills if necessary.

2. It’s impossible to build trust without transparency.

It’s never a good idea for managers to hide something from their employees. They will eventually learn the truth and learn that they can’t fully trust their manager to be honest with them.

If you want your employees to be able to trust you, you need to always be transparent with them. Even when there is something you know your employees won’t be happy to learn, you have to let them know the truth openly and honestly.

Without transparency, it’s simply impossible to build trust in the workplace.

3. An employee communication software helps communicate in real-time.

Using employee communication software is a good way to ensure important information reaches every single one of your employees.

A digital workplace solution allows you to communicate with everyone in real-time. It keeps your employees connected to you and one another. The software could also allow employees to easily collaborate on projects, even working from home.

Make sure it is user-friendly, so it will improve your workplace communication instead of making it more complicated.

4. It’s a good idea to prioritize one channel of communication.

Do you sometimes share important information with your employees via email or messaging apps? It would be best to prioritize only one communication channel to simplify things and ensure everyone stays updated.

Every team member should be able to access important information at any given time, and it would be much easier for them if this information was available on one platform.

This way, you will not have to repeat yourself or follow up to ensure everyone has seen your posted message through a messaging app you rarely use.

5. Managers should work on building relationships with their employees.

Even the greatest employee communication software in the world will not do much to improve workplace morale if your employees think you are unapproachable or that you don’t care about what they have to say.

Be honest and authentic with your employees. Don’t hesitate to discuss with them things that are not work-related from time to time, as this will help you get to know each other.

They will be more motivated to get to work and communicate openly with you if they feel like they know you and have a good relationship.

6. It’s important to make sure no one feels left out.

Do you have employees who never seem to get the memo? Or perhaps some of your employees never say a word during work meetings and never seem interested in sharing their ideas or giving feedback about a project.

As a manager, you must make sure no one feels left out. You need to be able to reach everyone with your chosen channel of communication and let everyone know that you are available to listen to them if they have something to say.

7. Effective communication should go both ways.

As you improve your communication with your employees, you must also improve your listening skills. Show your employees that you want them to communicate clearly and honestly, just like you do, and make sure you truly listen to what they say.

Effective communication should go both ways. Give feedback to your employees, and let them know they can also give you feedback.