Strategies to fix broken work communication
In multiple workplaces, one of the biggest challenges includes communication barriers, whether it be between colleagues or between leaders and their teams. The results of poor communication can cause multiple issues in an organisation, such as employee inefficiency, financial loss, and team misalignment.
Nataliya Andreychuk, CEO of Viseven, a global services provider in pharmaceutical and life sciences, identified and discussed communication barriers in an article for Forbes. She highlighted four universal traits irrespective of industry or domain: inconsistent employee evaluations; the creation of knowledge silos due to inadequate information sharing among team members; inconsistent and unhealthy communication with employees across the organisation; and the prevalence of disruptive work environments causing distractions and a lack of boundaries for employees.
Andreychuk detailed four leadership strategies aimed to overcome each of these barriers to communication effectively, directed towards employers and managers leading teams. The first, she wrote, involved creating regular constructive feedback for employees promptly and clearly to help employees understand their concerns, with a chance to respond and ask questions if necessary.
Next, leaders should encourage a culture of transparency within an organisation, sharing the negative impacts of withholding updates across teams. They can also make data sharing more efficient by shifting away from using multiple platforms and adapting a knowledge management system that allows users to set up different access levels to accommodate role-specific or sensitive data.
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Leaders should ensure consistent and healthy interaction between team members, providing an inclusive environment to encourage employees to speak up. Finally, employers should find ways to encourage employees to set clear boundaries with minimum disruption.
