Effective communication can be the key to success for any team or organization. As humans in the workplace, communication is all we can rely on to interact with our employees and within teams. Many managers take it for granted but being clear and concise about every aspect of a job and its expectations is what separates teams who thrive and those that falter.
Not only does effective communication enable massive success for your team but it keeps employees engaged and can inspire them to perform at their highest levels yet. Honing the art of communication should be mandatory for every manager. Here are three methods to maximize employee engagement using communication.
Optimize for Speed
While e-mail has been an effective mode of communication for decades, times have changed rather quickly. With the fast-paced evolution of digital communication e-mails are relatively getting slower and slower. This is especially the case for the Gen-Z population who is used to instant gratification on a massive scale.
The benefit to the massive evolution of technology is the ever-expanding options for quick communication. There are tons of apps available like slack and skype for business. It’s time to update the approach and get communication out fast and efficiently. Employees no longer have the patience to wait for e-mail back and forth to get valuable information.
In order to execute this effectively, the apps must not only be available to employees as an option but rather, the apps should be promoted by the company to be utilized over email communication. This is especially the case if there is no paper trail required. Paper trails can easily be created after the information has been passed along and the project continues to move forward.
Eliminate the Fluff
We’ve all been there. You have a plate full of tasks that are stacking up taller than you. You just got into your focus space when all of a sudden, you get called into a meeting by your manager that was urgent. An hour later the meeting comes to an end and nothing is resonating in your head more than how you really didn’t need to attend.
Unnecessary meetings, especially when they are at a high frequency, can be incredibly draining for employees. Not only does it interrupt what may be an incredibly productive day, but it also tends to bring about frustration. Calling a meeting for things that could easily have been handled via email, quick phone call or text message is a common mistake many managers find themselves making
A continuation of this leads to disengagement on a massive scale. Change up the approach to create a more seamless and open interaction with employees. The best way to do that is to respect their time and not expect them to drop everything they’re doing the moment you need something. A simple “Are you in the middle of something important?” goes a long way.
Get Crystal Clear
Attempting to carry out a project or task without being absolutely clear on your responsibilities can be highly discouraging. The majority of the time, this could have easily been avoided if the manager took the time to delegate the different aspects of the task to specific people.
Often times, managers will let the team of the overarching goals of a specific portion of the project and then just stop there. Thy make no mention about who is doing what. This method for communication generally leads to a dropping of the ball. This is exactly how things fall through the cracks and is one of the biggest communication pitfalls among teams.
In order to engage the right people for the job, managers must be crystal clear on who takes on the responsibility for specific tasks. If the desire is to have employees take complete ownership of their work, nothing can be left up in the air.
On a cautionary note, there is a fine line between being crystal clear in your delegation process and micromanaging. Delegating tasks in a concise manner does not mean directing the employee on the who, what and how for reaching the end result. If this line is crossed, not only will autonomy be diminished but engagement will drop significantly, a recipe for low performance.
Show A Little Love
Solving employee engagement is simpler than many organizations think. The first step to unlocking the key is treating your employees like humans instead of robots. Like people, they have wants and needs.
Many industries have tons of red-tape around the dos and the don’ts. They continue carrying out practices in the workplace just because they’ve done it for so long. Then they say things like “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Truth is the world is ever evolving. Playing it safe in this manner doesn’t embrace the beauty behind what could be on the other side.
Employees entered the job market because they want to work for a company they’re excited about. Show a little love and you’re bound to get engaged.