What Are the Easy Ways to Improve Team Communication?

Team communication is the interaction between all team members in any company. Effective communication is vital to the team’s success in performing its role as well as to the work enjoyment of its members.

Usually, team communication begins with task assignments and directives from management and team leaders. Unfortunately, there are many workplaces that do not operate quite that smoothly. Missed deadlines, misunderstandings, arguments, and other reasons add stress to everyone involved.

Are there effective and quick ways to improve communication and get your team to act as a dream team?

Workzone team has shared advanced tips that aimed to help teams communicate better. The article on their blog describes 15 communication strategies that you can begin using right now.

1. Have an open-door policy. This is an important part of building trust within your team.
2. Be open to feedback. Constructive criticism is meant to help get better communication results. To be effective, feedback needs to be clear and detailed.
3. Be clear about tasks. Everyone should know their responsibilities. Make sure that the entire team knows the scope of the project and that each team member is clear about exactly what is expected of them.
4. Have fun to boost morale. It’s about team building exercises and problem-solving activities that may be used to improve communication among team members.
5. Add coffee breaks. Coffee is the fuel that gets most people through the day, so why not make drinking it enjoyable and productive at the same time?
6. Train communication. Communications training doesn’t just cover basic conversational skills. Depending on the course, it could include presentation skills, instruction on business writing, and managerial skills training.
7. Decide what form of communication works best. Different situations require different ways of communication.
8. Apply project management tools for more transparency. Cloud-based PM software allows for transparency across the board, giving team members the ability to track their progress, collaborate with other members, and check details and due dates.
9. Identify leaders. It’s a good idea to have a strong leader and several mid-level leaders that take charge of smaller groups.
10. Understand diversity issues. When people of all nationalities, races, ideologies, and languages collaborate, unique ideas come together to create something truly special.
11. Use strengths. Realizing that everyone is different not only allows for better communication, it sends the message to your team members that you value them as individuals and recognize which form of communication works best for them.
12. Be open and honest. Transparency is key here. Mutual trust is important in any relationship, including a professional one.
13. Take advantage of mobile. The need to have information instantly available is something we are all familiar with. Certain project management software solutions may offer a mobile app for team members to stay on top of project developments on the go.
14. Make surveys to truly understand the needs and concerns of your fellow employees.
15. Take ownership for mistakes. The best managers are the managers that can relate to their employees. That includes owning up to the decisions (and errors) that you make and admitting when you could have done something differently.

How do you find these tips?