The work of the manager is highly underestimated. This is actually one of the reasons why many fail at the job. There is this mistaken belief that once you become a manager everything becomes simpler. After all, you work less and assign more tasks to others, right? Wrong. After you become a manager there are many new things you have to deal with. Unfortunately, school fails in teaching you about most of these.
One of the problems you will surely run into is having in-house staff that does not properly communicate. When there are communication problems present, there is no team and it is a certainty that results are lower than what they could be. Ryan Grigson, who had his share of problems because of lacks of communication, shares some tips about how to deal with communication problems that appear within the companies.
Hold A Meeting
The first step to dealing with an in-house communication problem is to figure out why it appears in the first place. Oftentimes, this is much easier said than done. You can have many different strategies in place to figure out and “spy” on the staff to see the root of the problem. Even so, one of the fastest ways to pinpoint what is happening is to actually talk with the parties involved. After all, we are talking about communication and most communication problems are solved with communication.
Make sure that the meeting is amicable. Do not blame and do not allow finger pointing. The point is to understand what happens so that you can then figure out what can be done to solve problems.
Infrastructure Changes
In many cases the communication problem happens because the system that is in place is not an appropriate one. There are so many ways in which staff members can communicate these days. Why not take advantage of them?
One of the simple methods is to implement some infrastructure changes that increase communication. This might be something as complex as to work with a software service provider to upgrade the programs you use in the office or as simple as knocking down a physical wall or two.
Teambuilding
Most people are not taught how to communicate. This is because of the numerous flaws that appear in the modern schooling system. Solving this can be difficult since you often end up with employees that simply do not want to talk or that do not feel comfortable to speak up.
A teambuilding event, if properly organized, can help to make team members more willing to communicate. Also, communication is actually increased since collaboration is indirectly taught.
Final Thoughts
Communication problems within a company should never be taken lightly. It is really important that you take proper steps towards making communication simpler and more effective. No matter what you might think at the moment, there are always ways in which you can improve in-house communication for all employees you are responsible for. It is just up to you to figure out how this should be done.