In teamwork, silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly.

Mark Sanborn

By now, I know you’ve been bombarded with countless emails highlighting the importance of communicating to your customers – but what about communicating with other team members? Successful communication amongst colleagues can make a significant difference within your workplace environment, not to mention boost productivity and enhance team morale. Consider implementing these communication tools and tactics at work.

Message on-the-go

If your team is always on-the-go or you have employees working from home, it may be time to use a new messaging platform like Slack. This Canadian company has skyrocketed to popularity throughout the pandemic because it can easily connect remote workers through a user-friendly experience. Slack allows its users to create ‘channels’ for different people or to focus on different topics. You may decide to create a ‘Production Channel’ to discuss scheduling amongst your production team, or a ‘Covid-19 Channel’ to share the latest health and safety updates. For small to medium-sized businesses, Slack only costs $10/month.

Consider Personality Tests

The most successful teams are often made up of individuals who possess different kinds of strengths and capabilities. Yet this diversity of thought can often lead to miscommunication and personality clashes. Personality tests like the Myers Briggs Test can be helpful tools for individuals to better understand themselves and their co-workers’ ways of working. These tests are often free and include resources and recommendations for how to communicate with different personality types. Catering to an individual in the way they feel most comfortable will make your employees feel more valued and respected.

Clear and Concisely

When casting the popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, the casting agents were focused on how well the actors could express their emotions through their eyes. Why? Because during most scenes, the actors were always wearing surgical masks! Though masks protect us and others from Covid-19, they can get in the way of clear communication. Masks muddle sounds and inhibit our ability to read lips, one of the many subconscious ways we use to interpret information. When wearing a mask, it’s critical to speak clearly, slowly, and louder than usual. Use your body language to further emphasize what you’re trying to get across, or you can always try emoting through your eyes, like Dr. McDreamy.

Updates are Welcomed

Unfortunately, many of the businesses within our industry have had to lay off several staff members throughout this pandemic. We all know how difficult these kinds of conversations can be. Continue to communicate with your employees who are on layoff through monthly email updates. Communicating early and often will let them know they’ve not been forgotten. If it’s been a while since you reached out to your laid off employees, consider the ‘better late than never’ mindset and send out a Happy New Year message.

Make effective communication a goal for your team in 2021. I guarantee it will elevate your business systems and customer experience.