How Small Businesses Can Improve Communication Effectiveness

As a small business or startup grows it operations, the lines of communications change along with the organizational structure. From the business owner to the newest hire, there are many channels of communication that can facilitate growth and solve problems. Unfortunately, the majority of small businesses take too long to improve their communication effectiveness and become great listeners of their people. In turn, they miss out on growth opportunity or solutions that could have been solved much quicker. To avoid these challenges for your small business, read about the following communication improvements for a growing company.

Hold Company Wide Meetings

Often times, the small businesses owners who get everyone together are able to learn the most about what is going on in the company. You may not be able to learn about everything people are doing at all times. However, a set company time to get everyone together in the company office will allow you to learn the most important issues on people’s minds. If you are able to create a safe environment, employees will bring forth key issues that can help the company be the best in the industry.  You should welcome your entire team to gather online or in person to talk about whatever is on their mind, including product related concerns or employee benefits.

 

Improve Your In Person Meetings

Many small businesses waste too much time in meetings. While meetings are very important to communicate and keep multiple stakeholders on the same page, it costs a lot of time. Streamline your meetings so that you can actually hold more meetings in less time. This requires a well structured meeting strategy that outlines an agenda, sets clear time limits and welcomes input from everyone in the meeting. Additionally, you should have some one tasked with keeping the meeting agenda and time on track. These tips will allow your in person meetings to run more efficiently while getting everyone on the same page.

 

Implement Anonymous Feedback

Of course, it can be tough for certain people to talk about some issue openly. In these cases, you should encourage employees and team leaders to submit anonymous feedback. This gives your company the opportunity to share any hidden feelings or concerns that they may no want to raise. Although we wish that everyone could just say how they feel, sometimes an anonymous feedback process can provide insight to company issues that can be solved with some attention for the executive team.

Integrate Technology To Facilitate Communication

Today, small businesses rely primarily on email for communications with customers. Internally, there are so many more options to keep in touch with your team. Some of the most innovative startups are using several communication channels including internal chatting and social platforms. For example, Charles Phillips, the CEO of Infor, prefers to using instant messaging with this team because of the speed and immediacy of the contact. If your small business needs to improve it’s internal communication, invest in technology and platforms that gives your teams options to get in touch more effectively.

Communicate Culture Through Actions

Importantly so, company culture needs to be communicate throughout the entire small business. In order to celebrate the values that make your company great, talk about the people who are exemplifying the ideal through their actions. Take the time to appreciate their efforts and contributions in front of others. This will make them feel good and reinforce their positive behaviors while communicating to others the kind of culture that is welcomed at the company. By celebrating people’s actions, you will be able to align core values and get everyone on the same page to achieve company goals. This is one of the most important, yet commonly overlooked ways of improving company communication management.

As a small business owner, there are many ways to improve communication within your company. Start by getting everyone together to talk about anything related to the business. You will be surprised just how much you can learn. Next, make your in-person meetings more efficient so people have more time and get more work done. As people start to open up, provide a way to submit feedback to get a realistic idea of what everyone is thinking. As you get more feedback, facilitate real time communication by integrating technology in your operations. Finally, ensure that you continue to communicate values by celebrating success and positive behaviors. Taking these steps will contribute to growth by improving your small business communication effectiveness.

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