Do you need to improve your workplace communication?

Communication in the workplace is a lot like the engine of a vehicle: it needs to be well-oiled, cared for and properly maintained in order to function smoothly. It may not be something a lot of us give much thought to, but the benefits of good workplace communication are plentiful: it increases employee productivity and morale, can improve employee satisfaction, and has a positive effect on absenteeism and turnover rates.

Here are three proven methods to ensure communication in your workplace is where it should be.

According to research published by the Harvard Business Review, people at high-trust companies report 74 per cent less stress, 106 per cent more energy at work, 50 per cent higher productivity, 13 per cent fewer sick days, 76 per cent more engagement, 29 per cent more satisfaction with their lives and 40 per cent less burnout. The research also uncovered the eight key management behaviours that foster trust:

• Recognise excellence: In a tangible, unexpected, personal and public way.
• Induce “challenge stress”: When a manager gives a team a difficult job, it intensifies people’s focus and strengthens social connections.
• Give people discretion in how they do their work: A 2014 Citigroup and LinkedIn survey found that nearly half of employees would give up a 20 per cent raise for greater control over how they work.
• Enable job crafting: Trust employees to choose which projects they’ll work on.
• Share information broadly: Uncertainty around the company’s direction and goals can lead to chronic stress among employees, and undermine teamwork.
• Intentionally build relationships: A Google study found that managers who express interest in team members’ success and wellbeing outperform others.
• Facilitate whole-person growth: Assessing personal growth includes discussions about work-life integration, family, and time for recreation and reflection.
• Show vulnerability: Research found that oxytocin (often called the “cuddle hormone”, and one that bonds humans) is produced in employees when leaders ask for help from colleagues instead of just telling them what to do.

Think you’re a good listener? Research suggests that the average person listens at only about 25 per cent efficiency. Listening effectively involves absorbing the information being given to you, demonstrating that you are engaged and interested, and providing feedback that tells the speaker that the information has been received and understood.

Researchers Guy Itzchakov and Avraham N. Kluger found that a considerable benefit of high-quality listening is that it helps people see both sides of an argument (something the researchers call “attitude complexity”, although most people are more likely to label it “butting heads”). They also discovered that people who spoke to a good listener reported attitudes that were more considered and less extreme — in other words, not one-sided.

Performance feedback is a key area of communication in any workplace, yet a study on its effectiveness found that feedback caused performance to decline in 38 per cent of cases, regardless if the feedback was positive or negative (but chiefly when it threatened how people saw themselves).

The reason why feedback can backfire? It often signals to employees that the boss is in charge and judgemental, which doesn’t usually go down well, leaving people feeling stressed and defensive.

It’s suggested that rather than deliver feedback that tells employees they need to change, a more successful method is to listen to employees in an attentive, empathic, and non-judgemental way, and to also ask employees questions, which is far more likely to make them want to change – a far more positive outcome for both parties involved.

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