Every team, no matter the size, has communication problems from time to time. It might be challenging to stay in sync with so many tools, schedules, projects, duties, and different personalities at hand. Simple changes towards how everyone works as a team and as individuals can improve their productivity and willingness to contribute correctly. We have the drive to speak and interact as people. Some of us wait for the right moment to communicate, while others can’t wait and offer inappropriate suggestions at the most unexpected times.
Most managers and team leads want to figure out the perfect moments for everyone to share ideas, talk about work, and get essential information efficiently. Despite their best efforts, most businesses operate in divisions which makes it hard to manage. If you are struggling with this, check out these tips to get your team synchronized and more productive in no time.
Avoid Abusing Emails by Sending Short, Irrelevant Responses
Do you recall the glory days of office memos? Most likely not, because that was a very long time ago! There was no such thing as an instant email response back then. You have to read the memo and then call or meet with the person one-on-one to follow up. In some ways, those were the good old days because it needed active involvement to begin a discussion, offer an idea, or settle a problem.
While using electronic mails is more convenient, its convenience also became a channel for email abuse. We now misuse email by sending brief, irrelevant responses, responses to messages that have 16 replies earlier in a thread, and so on. Because of this, people might become frustrated, lose interest, and just delete messages without ever discovering the meaning of the email somewhere in a long thread.
If you find yourself emailing crucial ideas back and forth, you may want to reconsider how you use email. Why? Because when you’re busy, email discussions may become lengthy, difficult to read, and difficult to understand.
Make rules for how you use email at work or don’t use it at all. Use a communication tool to categorize and archive discussions as an alternative to email. These features also make viewing an online chat visually simple. Alternatively, go old school and hold a weekly meeting to cover all updates, announcements, and discussions.
Organize Effective Meetings
To keep on a successful track at work, many tasks and people require communication. To keep things going, you should always encourage those conversations. But be careful because some people will take advantage of the “Can I run this through you?” request for a meeting. It can happen in many ways:
- They bother a coworker who is working on something else and is getting a lot of work done.
- They hold too many meetings and invite too many people (or the wrong people)
- They schedule meetings that are far too long for the necessary discussion.
- They don’t set agendas for meetings and squander time.
You may also save your team hours of wasted time by creating an essential list of meeting standards. You can also cut down on the amount of time spent on these “got a minute” meetings by requiring all unscheduled meetings to be held standing up in a shared space (this will keep participants from getting too comfortable and wasting time). Take it further and only conduct planned weekly meetings in a conference room.
Because every company’s meeting culture is different, you’ll have to use your best judgment when creating standards for your team. Regardless of the criteria, the best thing you can do is tell your staff that you’re more interested in giving them the time and space they need.
Encourage The Use of Real-time Information Sharing
If you’re concerned about your team’s ability to stay in sync, there are a few apps, such as Itrezzo Software, that can help you and your team stay synchronized. Also, the following are apps you can utilize to ensure that they have constant access to the correct information and people:
Slack
Slack is a real-time chat and notifications system that runs on the cloud. For team communication, Slack offers persistent chat, which is a more engaging alternative to email. You can connect with your coworkers on a specific channel or a group of channels linked to your work.
Wiki
If your team needs access to baseline information, you should consider building a basic, accessible, and readily updateable wiki for them. This site can host a wide range of content, including business rules, meeting guidelines, courses, human resources information, contact information, and more. Like every team communication tool, wiki keeps the team on the same page.
TeamGantt
Say goodbye to the project plan that is only updated once. When it comes to projects, you want to keep track of where things are at all times. If you’re using TeamGantt, you can use the commenting tool to keep track of tasks, deadlines, and other vital details.
You can also consider using contact management software to improve the efficiency and success of your team’s workflow. It’s a tool that lets you keep track of all your interactions with your contacts, including clients, coworkers, business partners, vendors, and anybody else you could work with during your planned project.
Emphasize The Significance Of Communication
Whatever you do as a manager to keep your team on track, emphasize the significance of communication in running an efficient and happy workforce. The more your team knows why you’re establishing guidelines, experimenting with new tools, and working to improve communication, the more likely they’ll join in.