Words at Work: Harnessing the Power of Communication in Your Organization

When Devon first started as a marketing manager at Carter Software Company, he noticed a need for more communication between teams that hindered productivity and output. The sales department often promised clients features and timelines the engineering team couldn’t deliver.

Frustrated engineers would then blame marketing for overpromising without checking in with them first.

To remedy this, Devon implemented biweekly cross-functional team meetings for marketing, sales, and engineering to align on upcoming product roadmaps, new customer deals, and any blocking issues.

Bringing key players from each department to the same table enabled transparency on responsibilities, capabilities, and priorities. Over time, these meetings transformed how we communicate. Now, the sales team knows exactly what engineering is working on and marketing has a forum to provide guidance on promotional campaigns.

Workflows between teams have vastly improved. Deal close rates are up 15% in a single quarter since we began the collaborative meetings. This experience demonstrated the massive potential unlocked when communication barriers are removed.

Strong communication skills are what make or break an effective workplace. At its core, good communication drives collaboration, innovation, and success.

Here are four ways powerful communication can transform your organization:

Align Goals and Priorities
Clear and open communication is essential for ensuring that everyone is on the same page with key goals. Managers should over-communicate to the team what the organization is striving for both short- and long-term.

Regular department meetings allow for sharing progress, results, and challenges. When the entire team understands top priorities, work can be done more strategically. Misinformed employees lead to misinformed work outputs.

When communication flows freely in an organization, synergies between departments and employees are unlocked. Bring teams together frequently to share skill sets, get diverse perspectives, and develop unified solutions.

Brainstorming sessions, project debriefs, and informal social gatherings all facilitate the exchange of ideas. Build camaraderie through communication and teams will better support one another.

Resolve Problems Faster
Open and honest communication means that potential issues get surfaced early before they escalate. Employees should be encouraged to voice concerns or blockers quickly to managers. When problems arise, overcommunication is key, especially with those directly impacted.

Explaining in detail corrective actions or next steps eases frustrations. Communication gives employees a voice and the confidence that leadership will respond with understanding to workplace issues.

Spark Innovation
When communication flows freely across an organization, fresh ideas flourish. Employees at all levels should be encouraged to share creative solutions or process improvements. Set up digital suggestion boxes or forums for submitting innovations. Host occasional “think outside the box” sessions for teams to present blue-sky concepts and get candid peer feedback. Facilitate connections between departments that typically don’t interact.

Often, unexpected inspiration comes from unlikely places. And be sure leaders communicate interest in hearing ideas and provide positive reinforcement when promising suggestions emerge. An organization where communication breeds innovation will reap the competitive advantages of forward-looking strategy powered by employees across the pipeline, not just top management.

The bottom line is that organizations built on strong communication are higher functioning overall. Investing in clear guidelines for communication and creating open forums for expression are what transform average workplaces into stellar ones. How is your organization leveraging the power of communication?