Making sure everyone at your company is on the same page is a difficult endeavor. Thankfully, there isa myriad of options to keep communication lines between departments and employees open and efficient. Here are just a few ideas for how your business can improve intra-office communications.
Intranet software
Intranet software, like Slack, allows all employees to access company documents and view and manage meeting schedules, and often includes an internal communications platform that can retrieve old messages. Intranet software is perhaps the fastest way to streamline overall communication at your company and makes all relevant information easily accessible to employees.
Send out an internal newsletter
Improving communication means communicating more frequently with your employees, and one of the most engaging ways to do that is through an internal newsletter. The newsletter doesn’t just have to be about happenings within the company. It can also highlight employees and their passions, local events, deals with other businesses, and anything else your employees may find interesting. An internal newsletter also has the benefit of helping your company develop its voice, which will have an impact on external communications as well.
Encourage content creation
Let employees inject their personalities into the company through blogging or other forms of content creation. By opening up content creation to more than just the marketing team, your audience better relates to the people within your company–which means they relate better to your company itself. This doesn’t mean employees get free reign on social media, but it does let them write about some aspect of the job they care about.
Incorporate mobile technology
Technology has developed to the point where it isn’t necessary for employees to be at the office every day. By incorporating mobile technology–like remote access to the company’s internal communications–you increase responsibility and accountability. Not only that, but it gives employees the ability to stay up to date on developments while they aren’t on site, which is great for business travel, working from home, and any other situation that may arise.
Have an open-door policy
Employees can often feel intimidated when it comes to communicating with managers and CEOs. Alleviate some of that stress and improve communication by having an open-door policy and encouraging employees to take advantage of it. Making sure your employees feel comfortable enough to bring anything to your attention is a great way to get everyone invested in your company’s goals and culture.
Ask questions and have an anonymous suggestion box
Your employees may be brimming with ideas but too busy or intimidated to propose them. By asking questions of your staff, you demonstrate your interest in what they have to offer the company. That alone is a huge morale booster, and it has the added benefit of presenting you with new opportunities. Likewise, an anonymous suggestion box gives employees the freedom to add their opinion without fear of reprisal.
Focus on company culture
Company culture is a huge factor in communication and encompasses more aspects than you might think. Create a culture that celebrates its employees, encourages authentic relationship building and employee interaction, acknowledges and adopts suggestions when feasible, respects employee privacy and individuality, and focuses on person-to-person interaction. Those suggestions sound like a lot of work, but in reality they are easy adaptations to make. After all, you care about your company; a vibrant company culture will help your business thrive.
Building a strong, open, and honest communication network within your company is one of the most important foundations of a successful business. Another foundation is ensuring that the everyday needs of your businessaremet, and that’s where EONcomes in. We take care of all the details so that you can focus on the big picture. Contact us today to see how we can help streamline your purchasing process!
