Unfortunately, it seems as though Australia has yet to eradicate COVID19. While we expected this, we still need to continuously review and update our business operations to ensure maximum productivity.
The most significant difficulty regarding working from home is the lack of face to face interaction, which can cause communication issues. Fear not, I’m here to help you work from home with maximum communication capabilities!
1. Listen
Many employers and employers underestimate the power of listening when, in fact, attentively listening to your colleagues is a crucial factor in effective communication. Without excellent listening skills, you can’t effectively communicate! The two go hand in hand. Make sure you listen to whom you’re speaking to, and are responsive. That means acknowledging what they’ve said and providing feedback or verbal and non-verbal cues.
2. Hold Open Meetings
Bleh, we hear meetings and instantly zone out! We’ve all been there… our eyelids getting heavier and heavier…. then slowly closing halfway through a meeting. We need to be stimulated! That’s why open meetings are the way of the future. Open meetings provide all involved with a chance at holding the mic and expressing their opinions and thoughts. This interactiveness ensures engagement and effective communication.
3. Communicate with humor
What’s the difference between humans and AI? Simple, humans are emotive and creative. Use it!! You can have friendly banter, and develop friendships with your colleagues. In fact, you work better with people you have relationships with! There’s a higher element of trust, therefore taking on board constructive criticism. You can make jokes to get your point across and incorporate sarcasm when needed. It’s a good idea to maintain a balance of professionalism and personalism.
4. Email
While companies more often than not use casual communication platforms such as Zoom and Slack, to maintain a level of professionalism, you should send confirmation emails! For example, if you’ve spoken to a college and given them a brief, recap that discussion in an email, so there is hard evidence that acts as a deterrent of miscommunication. As well as this, if you schedule a call or meeting, you can send a confirmation email to add it to their calendar to avoid any mishaps! Yes, emails are old news in the world of technology… but it doesn’t mean they aren’t effective!
5. Training
Let me make this clear, training DOESN’T HAVE TO BE BORING. You can incorporate visual aids, such as; videos, gifs, images, and graphics. With the current pandemic, it’s important now more than ever, that your employees are up to date on all business operations and expectations! This assists communication strategies as it makes it clear what is and isn’t acceptable. All employees receive the same information, therefore resulting in uniformity amongst behavior and communication. You can end the training sessions with quizzes… heck you can even incentivize employees with a prize for the individual with the greatest correct answers!
6. Set scheduled hours, and STICK TO IT.
There are multiple elements to this. Firstly, set one-on-one meetings with your employees and colleges, and make sure you’re on time! Nothing screams unprofessionalism more than showing up late to a meeting. You wouldn’t do it if it were face to face, so don’t do it if it’s online.
Secondly, set scheduled hours! Working from home is beneficial if managed correctly. It allows you to balance your social life and working life, with a mix of activities and sunshine. However, it also can reduce effective communication channels if not managed correctly! To combat this, set scheduled hours. This can change weekly but should be a set period of time that everyone is available online. Thus, during this time, everyone is assured they can contact whom they need to and receive immediate feedback and responses.
7. Encouragement and feedback
You can be critical, but you must be constructive! No one appreciates their work being criticized without any useful feedback. Give your feedback but offer valid reasons and suggestions. You and your colleagues are a team; therefore you are responsible for supporting and encouraging one another! You can express your thoughts kindly, be considerate, and effectively communicate. If you’re simply bagging out your colleagues’ work, it’s plausible they’ll stop listening to you and detest coming to you for advice.
To quickly summarise all the above, here are your QUICK TIPS.
- DO: Be fun and humorous
- DON’T: Let your jokes overtake your professionalism
- DO: Be honest
- DON’T: Be emotionless, you’re human and being emotive is a strength. Honesty with a side of emotion, please! Use it to develop relationships and effectively communicate
- DO: Set the tone- what’s acceptable and what’s not!
- DON’T: Incorporate swear words or extensively slang- be professional.
There you have it, all you need to know about how to communicate effectively.
Communication is key my friends. Implement your strategies and watch the good times roll!
Author: Cassandra Diamantis is the marketing specialist at My Recruitment Plus.
