Excellent communication between employees and employers is mandatory for any business to become a success. Without it, employee productivity is going to suffer and no one is going to know what they’re doing, thus, customer experience will also follow suit. If you’re a small business owner and you’re still looking to learn how to communicate with your employees effectively, consider the following tips to boost your knowledge.
Take Feedback Seriously
Just because you’re the boss, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to what your employees have to say about your leadership skills. If you’re not communicating effectively, it’s only going to have a negative impact on employee productivity, so always ask for employee feedback on how well you communicate with them.
Implement Multiple Communication Methods
Most offices are small enough for people to communicate in person. However, other offices are bigger so the need to implement acceptable communication methods to increase efficiency is mandatory. You need to let your employees know what communication method is acceptable. For example, many employees will use emails for everything they need to say but sometimes, this isn’t acceptable, especially if they have a problem with your leadership. Make it clear that they should come to you in person for something that’s bothering them, or email you if it’s not so important.
Speak Loud and Firm
You need to come across as an employer that will listen to problems, but you’ll also want to be firm so everyone knows you’re the boss. Always make sure your message is heard so employees don’t have any excuse to avoid doing your requests. A clear communication approach is also required to ensure your employees listen.
Ensure Your Employees Understand the Culture of Your Business
Creating a business culture is challenging, but it’s an effective way to get your employees to communicate properly with their colleagues. Let them know what your business aspirations are and what you’re going to need them to do to help you take the business forward. Letting your employees know what you want to achieve and how you’re going to achieve it makes them feel important and thus, much easier to communicate with.
Mix Personal with Business
Being the boss doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make friends with your employees. Obviously, you’ll want to ensure there’s a line that isn’t crossed, but if you can talk with your employees on a personal level, they’ll be much easier to communicate with when it comes to business matters. Asking your employees how their weekends went and what they got up to are just some of the personal things you can discuss without going off the employee/employer rails too much. CEO of Premiere Program, Michael David Palance, is a big believer in such practices, which just goes to show how important being personal can be.
The above tips are just some of the tips that you should try to implement into your business working environment to give you and your employees an easier task of trying to communicate with one another. If you can communicate easily, you’ll find your business is much easier to take forward.
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