Team Communication: Tips to Help You Manage a High Performing internal Team

Have you ever been on a team that made you feel one kind of hell?

A team where you were shaking in shoes to speak up about your honest feelings?

A team where there were persistent conflicts and squabbles?

On the other side, have you ever been in a team where each one of them is embracing?

A team that charges you up with energy to run the extra mile? Do you know the thick line between the two scenarios?

It is team communication. In almost every angle of life, be it professional or personal, relationships cannot thrive without free and open communication.

While in an organization, the quality of internal communication matters a lot. If you let the communication get inferior, your organization's days may be numbered.

But well, fortunately, there are a plethora of ways to improve communication in the workplace and keep teams more coherent, productive, and motivated.

What is Team Communication?

A team is a group of employees who work together in an organization to achieve a common goal, whether in the office, remotely, or in a hybrid setting. Team communication refers to all information shared or transmitted among teams about operations such as chat, emails, files, audio/video calls, conferences, written material, etc are all possibilities. Most organizations want to document workplace conversations using an official team communication tool, thus they use emails or chats.

Many organizations underestimate the importance of communication, hence they employ mediocre communication tools or they depend on social chat apps for internal communication despite knowing the fact that they have privacy issues that can likely result in communication breakdown.

Ordinary instant messaging software certainly cannot adhere to the team or office requirements, so while researching chatting apps you have to check each aspect, to be precise make your checklist using checklist apps and test the app.

How Does Team Communication Work?

Teams in a company are interdependent, and they must collaborate while avoiding conflicts. Organizations must also host events and use them to their benefit, such as collaborative skits, and you can take this opportunity to heal rifts among team members.

Make groups based on teams, projects, and other factors. This practice will resolve issues in team communication, and each team will be in a position to take advantage of daily updates.

How to Improve Team Communication?

As stated previously, a team is comprised of employees or individuals who have various attitudes as individuals and as team members, with diverse roles and responsibilities. As a manager or team leader, you must train your team to adhere to the company's communication standards at all costs. Although workplace communication styles may differ, everyone is required to follow communication standards to achieve a common organizational purpose.

• It is recommended that you use effective team chat apps because they can facilitate seamless virtual communication while working remotely.
• Conduct daily meetings at times when everyone can comfortably attend and assign a team member to send minutes of the meeting (MOM) to all the participants.
• Use a team collaboration application that allows all channels of communication.
• A team chat app should improve productivity and enhance internal team communication.
• Be a righteous and friendly manager who allows any team member to express their grievances to you.
• Don't give any team members special treatment; instead, give everyone extra duties to demonstrate that you have faith in them.

Know every member of the team

Building individual relationships assures mutual respect between you and every other employee. Healthy relationships result in a strong bond throughout the team.

Sit with them for a while, go on a short walk, invite them for lunch or dinner, get to know each team member on an individual basis as it cements your position, and also be the one to talk to in case of any issues.

Do not bump into each other 

It happens that some people work offshore, some in client locations, and some work in-house. Therefore, never compensate for the fact that fellow employees are not bumping into each other.

They might have forgotten them, living in their world and not collaborating much they actually have to do. Conduct team-building activities to bring them all together in one place once in a while. It is your duty to create opportunities to let them communicate in all ways.

Welcome new employees with open arms

For brand-new employees, it gets obviously difficult to learn the ropes of the organization and act accordingly.

While hiring employees, most of the companies would already have some built-in training program that teaches them about the company and also opens doors to them, how they are expected to perform in their assigned roles.

Make them get accustomed to the company and maintain effective communication flow for better productivity.

Have an open-door policy

Out of many biggest obstacles in any organization is how the employees communicate with the managers or CEOs. Many employees prefer to avoid bringing up or discussing any points with the boss which apparently blocks the collaboration. But when you have effective team communication at the workplace, where the approachable is just a cakewalk, employees would feel free to discuss or bring fresh ideas to the board.

It is a great way of encouraging your employees in the organization and it certainly boosts their performance.

Don’t believe me? Try it out and you will thank me later.

Choose the right communication tool

Do not encourage one-way communication. Majority of the organizations or businesses practice a top-down approach to team communication which has been constant for decades. It may be an element of control but it would never get your employees any favor. Henceforth, make sure communication is a two-way street and relish the benefits it brings.

“In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin

Considering the needs and day-to-day activities of your business, go for the communication tool that works best for you. True that Email is still a powerful medium tool, but there are many effective substitutes such as business chat apps and project management tools.

While you look for a communication channel, many businesses rely on multiple tools. One tool for written communication, one for video conferences, one for managing to-do lists, and so on. But there are office chat software applications like Troop Messenger where you can discover all in one place.

With this internal communication, one can share the screen, send instant messages with funky emoticons, set up availability status, transfer files, share media, and many more.

Follow up on the work output

Now, it is your duty to measure productivity.

Do not beat around the bush.

Yes!! Do not do that.

Be transparent around this which helps you in analyzing if a particular team member is being productive or not. Let the employee be from a remote team or an in-house member, and keep track of everything.

Bring out an anonymous “suggestion box”

Yep. Just like how it used to be in our school. It may sound old but it is one of the compelling ways to improve communication in the workplace.

Setting up a “suggestion box” would greatly benefit as it allows employees to comment on things they are shy to speak out loud. Employees are not comfortable raising any concerns because of various reasons such as job insecurity, hike approval, and much more. But they might tend to drop suggestions or any complaints when bringing about the anonymous approach.

This is one of the internal communication tools you must not brush off. If you are not sure of the physical suggestion box, you could use the virtual platforms where the response is anonymous.

Bottom Line

Influential managers and CEOs are aware of how to push their team members to run that extra mile and produce stellar work even on a hectic schedule on a tight deadline.

Hence, always keep in mind that effective team communication is the driving force for any organization. Use the above tips if you are bound to experience positive results and bring your employees together for a robust team. After all, teamwork makes the dream work!