A good business juggles a number of things, including good business communication. The problem is that poor communication is hard to see, but the following signs should make it easier to spot and address.
Issues With Finished Product
One clear sign of a problem is that the finished product has issues. Even the smallest problem costs money in the long run. This hurts a small business more than a bigger one.
While it’s normal to see a mistake or two every so often, it’s not good when the finished product is something you weren’t expecting. Each team member has to understand what’s expected of them, and for that to happen, a business needs to make things clear.
Of course, they need clear language, but they also need unified and effective communication tools. This is where a good communications platform becomes vital and one reason why Unified Communications continues to attract many businesses.
This company houses many communication tools under one roof, making it easier to communicate with every team member so that the finished product meets expectations.
Trust Issues Amongst Teams
A business with good communication has teams that trust each other. A business with poor communication has teams that don’t trust each other. Businesses that constantly see teams blaming each other for an issue with a product or seem to avoid one another have an issue with communication.
Teams shouldn’t feel like other teams are unreliable or challenging to work with. That’s not a good business model, and it hurts the entire business. Even if issues do arise, a business with good communication should be able to see how the error occurred.
Clarity helps address mistrust between teams, and that happens with good business communication. The communication tools used have to foster cross communication between teams, which is even more important nowadays with remote workers and those who might not communicate as much in person.
Tattling or Over Defending
Communication could get so bad that team members start to turn on each other. At this point, you’ll notice that employees will tattle on one another so much that you’ll start to wonder if what is being said is true or not.
That’s the only thing a company leader will notice. A business with bad communication will also notice that team members will over defend each other, especially among friends or amongst departments.
In essence, team members are going to start forming cliques within your business, and that’s not a good thing. You want one unified team or clique, and that’s yours. Team members could start to cover for each other’s mistakes, and that will only continue to hurt the business overall.
Rise of Work Duplication
When business communication is poor amongst team members or departments, work may get duplicated. This only gets worse for companies that have multiple locations or have already transitioned some of the workforce to a remote workforce. Duplication is wasted time and money.
No business can afford a string of duplicated work, especially a business that’s just starting to get its footing. The reason that duplicates happen is simply that employees don’t know or don’t have a clear understanding of what each team or employee is responsible for.
Afraid that they won’t meet their responsibilities, they go ahead and do the work they think belongs to them. No one bothers to check with one another, and that’s not good for anyone. This is solved with clear instructions and a communication platform that allows for cross communication.
New Ideas Are Quickly Rejected
Having many team members working under one roof and towards the same goal has several benefits, including the ability to extract great ideas from innovative team members.
Poor communication kills a company’s ability to do that because new ideas aren’t welcomed in such a hostile environment. If it isn’t hostile just yet, sometimes, good ideas simply don’t make it up to the folks who could use and implement these ideas.
If ideas aren’t easily submitted or they are shot down easily, that innovative team member will simply stop trying or will seek employment elsewhere where ideas are nurtured and welcomed.
Employee retention is already an issue within many companies out there, and one reason a company suffers from poor employee retention is poor communication.
Hopefully, none of these signs are present, but if they are, now you know that business communication needs some improvement as soon as possible. It may take some time, but investing in this area will lead to many benefits.
