2. Communication plays a part in almost every aspect of your
business, so being able to communicate well can boost your
overall performance. Good communication is essential to building
a cohesive and effective team. Good communication skills are
essential to managing the performance of your team members,
and if you know how to communicate well to large groups you can
minimise the risk of industrial problems developing in your
workplace. Communication skills can be particularly important
during times of higher workplace stress, for example during
downsizing, where good communication is an essential part of
change management.
3. You also need to communicate well to build and maintain effective
relationships with your suppliers and clients. Communication skills are
crucial to dealing with customer complaints effectively and limiting any
negative word-of-mouth about your business. You can draw on
communication skills when you assess the effectiveness of your
marketing campaigns. The first step in good communication is to listen
effectively. Today’s trend is away from top-down management, where
decisions and policies are
proclaimed from above. Good
managers now consult a lot
with their teams, using them
as a resource for information
and suggestions. Consultation
is not only a good way to get
ideas on business strategy, it
is also a way of making sure
that when you do decide on
policies, everyone feels like
they have been involved.
4. People may not offer their true
opinions when they are wary
about how they will be received.
So being a good communicator
means winning the trust of those
around you. It also means being
able to foster a work environment
where people treat each other fairly, where they respect each other’s opinions and
where there is a minimum of anti-social behaviour such as backbiting or rumour
mongering. Bullying or harassment of any kind will build walls in a workplace. It
will stunt communication, shut down co-operation and hurt efficiency. Good
communication skills are a key part of managing individual employee
performance. If you have good communication skills, you will know how to give
clear feedback on performance while not denting people’s self-esteem. Good
communication skills will enable you to work more closely with your team
members, determine personal goals that will suit them and help them to work
towards those goals. As a good communicator, you will know the difference
between being assertive and aggressive (aggression merely gets peoples’ backs
up). You will be able to keep a professional and impersonal tone in the face of
provocation and this will help you deal with conflict situations.
5. Good communication skills also help when you are dealing with suppliers and
clients. Business operations are becoming very finely tuned, thanks to trends such
as just-in-time manufacturing or retailing, where goods are delivered precisely at
the right time and place. This means you need to be able to maintain close contact
with your supply chain. You need to be able to clearly explain any concerns you
have and negotiate issues with a minimum of friction. Your business partners also
need to feel confident that they can raise issues with you and that you will be
responsive to them. Team morale tends to be higher in a workplace where
communication is good. People feel more in control when they have all the relevant
facts and they are warned of issues well in advance. They are likely to feel more
confident and secure when they know where an organisation is headed, where they
have the information to plan their medium and long-term future. The more people
feel in control, the lower their stress levels tend to be.
6. Good communication generally means being
open. It’s useful to keep everyone updated on
such issues as production, finance, important
new contracts or company performance against
health and safety benchmarks. Some employers
like to ration such information, as it sometimes
contains bad news. However, it’s often better to have bad news out in the open. It’s
generally better for you to provide bad news, rather than having it leak out at an
inopportune time and in a way that is distorted by rumour. Being open, of course,
does not mean being indiscreet. Where information is particularly sensitive, good
communication involves identifying how to distribute information effectively on a
need-to-know basis and deciding who needs to sign confidentiality agreements. It
also means being realistic about what can be kept under wraps. Public companies
need to provide a lot of information as a condition of being listed. Basically, your
skills as a communicator are felt in nearly all of your business dealings. If you and
your team communicate well, you maximise efficiency. You find out about issues
earlier and can deal with them without adding further complications or
misunderstandings. Having good communications skills is like having a good IT
system – information flows faster and this saves you money.
7. Good communication generally means being
open. It’s useful to keep everyone updated on
such issues as production, finance, important
new contracts or company performance against
health and safety benchmarks. Some employers
like to ration such information, as it sometimes
contains bad news. However, it’s often better to have bad news out in the open. It’s
generally better for you to provide bad news, rather than having it leak out at an
inopportune time and in a way that is distorted by rumour. Being open, of course,
does not mean being indiscreet. Where information is particularly sensitive, good
communication involves identifying how to distribute information effectively on a
need-to-know basis and deciding who needs to sign confidentiality agreements. It
also means being realistic about what can be kept under wraps. Public companies
need to provide a lot of information as a condition of being listed. Basically, your
skills as a communicator are felt in nearly all of your business dealings. If you and
your team communicate well, you maximise efficiency. You find out about issues
earlier and can deal with them without adding further complications or
misunderstandings. Having good communications skills is like having a good IT
system – information flows faster and this saves you money.
