Business Communication
How to develop effective business practices
By Nicholos Poma
Communication is the cornerstone of any successful business - not only does it span between you and your customers, but within your company as well. Many companies find they lose productivity and money due to a lack of communication, and it’s inevitable that at some point miscommunication will affect a company’s performance. However, there are some steps you can take to decrease the occurrences within your own organization.
Communication Technologies
Technology is a tool that can be utilized to create a more effective communication network. Some companies have opted to use messaging programs on their computers to communicate within their office environment.
Programs like Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger give employees the ability to communicate with one another instantly. The upside of using these technologies is that they are free and the programs themselves keep a log of conversations if enabled. There is an issue of security when using these programs for communication, so it is advised that they only be used for general information and queries.
Another effective communications tool is online meetings, which can be set up and hosted by several companies on the Internet. This is an invaluable tool because it allows the company to hold meetings and communicate via a streaming media service. The service logs in all of the participants so that you can track who the information was released to and when.
Traditional Communication Methods
Nevertheless, while these technologies can assist you in creating effective communication practices, it is important not to rely completely upon them. Redundancy is very important when establishing a communication protocol. This simply means that for important communications transmitted over these technologies, it is equally important to follow up with a written correspondence. This will serve not only as a transcript of the conversation, but as a physical record of the communication should the electronic communication be lost or corrupted.
The Chain of Command
It is important that you establish a communication hierarchy within your company. One of the problems many companies face is that employees simply do not know who they need to speak to. The employees will often opt to speak to a person they are more comfortable with. However, it is likely that the information will be skewed, wrong or incomplete by the time it reaches the right person. There is another problem with employees speaking to different management personnel and receiving different answers regarding the same situation - it can lead to miscommunications as well as low morale within your organization.
It is good practice within any organization to establish a well-defined and effective communication policy. It not only helps alleviate miscommunications and lost profits, but can also alleviate issues with morale within your company.
