Team communication is the foundation of team collaboration. To work together, you must communicate. To work together well, you have to make sure your team communication is stellar. Regardless of the type of team and its tasks, all team members need to interact and exchange information in order to achieve their goals.
What is team communication
Baden Eunson’s definition gives away the first key. Teams must work interdependently. And for interdependent cooperation, communication is necessary, which is broadly defined as the exchange of information and transmission of meaning. So, all the interaction and exchanges of information that happens in a team is team communication.
The specific forms and types of communication that take place will depend on your field of work, and the structure of your team. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of team communication channels:
- Verbal team communication: team meetings, one-on-one interactions, water-cooler conversations, calls
- Written communication: paper documentation, electronic documentation, emails, team chat, tasks
Within a team, any combination of these communication formats will be in use. There are no rights or wrongs here, it’s a matter of making sure whatever forms your team uses work for your team. Most typically, it is the team manager’s responsibility to choose the appropriate channels for team communication, ones that help them achieve their team’s goals.
How to improve communication
As Forbes, even though almost 75% of employers rate collaboration and teamwork as “very important,” according to data from Queens University of Charlotte, 39% of employees think that people in their organization don’t collaborate enough.
Taking this into consideration, it’s easy to agree that workplace collaboration is critical. But achieving proper communication can be difficult.
Here are five tips to streamline communications in the digital age:
1. Purposeful Communication
When it comes to workplace communication, improving quantity is not the same as improving quality. The wrong kinds of communication, such as water-cooler gossip, can waste time and spark conflict between team members.
To avoid empty or hurtful communication, remember this: Every interaction should have a clear purpose. After establishing the purpose of an upcoming interaction, ask yourself:
- Who is my audience? Team members? Executives? Vendors? Clients?
- What is my desired outcome?
- Will I need to refer back to this conversation later or show details of it to others?
By taking just a moment to consider those questions before initiating communication, you can save valuable time and set yourself up for success.
2. Productive Meetings
According to a study from the University of North Carolina, 71% of senior managers surveyed said meetings are unproductive and inefficient. That’s a surprising statistic considering the fact that meetings are designed to align group goals and increase team productivity.
If every interaction needs to have a clear purpose, then meetings should be no different. To make sure that your meeting stays on track, try these tips:
- Keep it short. Limit them to 50 minutes or less to allow attendees time to reset afterward.
- Only invite team members who need to be there.
- Create a detailed agenda, and send it to all attendees before the meeting starts.
- Clearly communicate when and how to attend, whether in a specific room or through a specific app.
- Assign a meeting leader to guide the conversation.
- Follow the agenda during the meeting.
- Add important non-agenda issues raised during the meeting to your next meeting’s agenda.
- Schedule the next meeting at the end of your current meeting.
3. One-On-One Interactions
At times, sensitive issues arise that need to be handled delicately. In those situations, one-on-one interactions are often the best way to avoid miscommunication and save time.
Scheduling a one-on-one interaction shows your audience that you value their time. Those types of interactions also serve to build trust while giving you a greater chance to gather honest feedback and understand the other person’s perspective.
4. Effective Channels
Whether a team functions in a traditional office or in a digital workplace, you can take advantage of a range of communication channels, such as:
- Voice calls
- Texting
- Instant messaging
- Videoconferencing
- Collaboration applications
When deciding what channel to use, it is important to remember the purpose of the communication, your audience and your desired outcome. Then, when communicating, make sure that you’re using the channel in ways that are accessible and easy to understand.
In addition, you should ensure that everyone knows the chosen channel of communication and how to access the meeting, such as knowing to download a certain app. Additionally, if you’re communicating with a group that includes members outside your core team, avoid using alienating inside jokes or group-specific jargon.
5. Progress Updates
Each project or team has tangible goals, deadlines and milestones that need to be communicated clearly. Without effective team communication, deadlines can be missed, and employees will get frustrated, which may negatively affect clients.
When looking at a list of established goals, deadlines and milestones, figure out who is involved and who needs regular progress updates. Once you’ve created your group, be sure to update them whenever a new goal is set, a milestone is achieved or a deadline changes.
Miscommunication can:
- Lead team members to make assumptions and expectations based on wrong information
- Create closed loops and make some team members feel left out
- Lead to conflict about how information should be perceived/interpreted
