Workforce communication. It’s the core of our business at iTacit. But it’s not just our product. Communication is a fundamental pillar of our own internal operations.
I spend a lot of time and energy on communication. To me, communication brings a company’s values, mission, and culture to life. At iTacit, it clearly paves the way forward for the business, and rallies everyone behind our common objectives. It’s more than a tool. It’s the foundation of success.
There is one condition: your messages should reach and resonate throughout the whole business. You just can’t engage your staff behind your goals and build a collaborative work environment if the message is lost along the way. It’s no easy task in these times of remote and hybrid working.
A way for me to overcome this potential risk is to be open and transparent with all my colleagues, all the time.
Communicating Through the Thick and Thin
Since I started at iTacit, we’ve been fortunate enough to witness continuous growth. That growth didn’t come without its obstacles. But we’ve never covered up the bad news or tried to hide the low points from our staff. In order to successfully instill the company culture you worked so hard to develop, you have to be open, transparent, and honest.
At the same time, that doesn’t mean passing the burden onto our teams. Those bad days, tough decisions, and uncomfortable moments, we talk about them openly…but we put positivity at the centre of all our communications.
Practice, Learn, Grow
Communication is a skill that must be continuously practiced. Sure, some people are born communicators. Others may need a little work.
Here are my 5 tips to practice and keep building your communication skills:
● Actively Listen: Your staff can tell when you are really listening. It’s obvious through your reactions, body language, and tone of voice. Active listening shows that you are paying attention, that you care. This opens the door for positive, two-way dialogues, encourages feedback, and builds trust.
● Communicate Clearly: You should always strive for clarity in your messaging. If not, employees can feel confused about your vision, and the company’s path. You should communicate in clear language, be able back up or illustrate your statements, and offer concrete solutions and action plans.
● Know Your Audience: Not every employee is the same. Whether they work in a company’s headquarters, a local factory, or on the front-line, employees have very different working realities and motivations. It’s key to adapt your messages to your different internal audiences and reach them where they will pay attention to what you have to say.
● Be Empathetic: Empathy is a huge asset for leaders, but when communicating, you really have to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Try to imagine how your message comes across to them. Think about what they want to hear, what they need to hear to keep putting in the effort at work.
● Be Transparent: Honesty and transparency is the only way to be authentic. It’s easy to see through an inauthentic or phony communicator – you know the word. If you want your listeners to believe what you’re saying, then you need to believe it too. For me, contributing to a transparent, supportive, and open environment makes my days a lot more positive and fulfilling. Communicating genuinely with all staff, across all departments and experience levels really helps me understand our organization and, especially, our people.
For me, contributing to a transparent, supportive, and open environment makes my days a lot more positive and fulfilling. Communicating genuinely with all staff, across all departments and experience levels really helps me understand our organization and, especially, our people.
Originally posted on LinkedIn February 22, 2022
