What is the role of effective business communication within and outside the Organisation?

Effective communication is critical to any organization and can help it in many ways. In fact, communication plays a role in product development, customer relations, employee management – virtually every facet of a business' operations. Employees are a key audience because they often serve as the conduit to other audiences. If employees are informed and engaged, communications with other constituencies are likely to be strong as well.

Clear Expectations for Employees

Effective communications help to establish clear expectations for employees and, perhaps surprisingly, for customers as well. For employees, clear expectations will convey how their performance will impact the company and give them an indication of what they need to do to achieve positive feedback. For customers, clear communication can help manage their expectations about service issues or even about how best to interact with the organization.

Building Strong Relationships

Effective communication builds strong relationships. Trust and loyalty are key factors in any relationship and both are boosted by communication that is focused on meeting individual needs, conveying important information and providing feedback – positive and constructive. Strong relationships with external audiences also build strong solid communication about products, services and company culture and values.

Ideas and Innovation

Open channels of communication can lead to new ideas and innovation in a number of areas. Employees that understand what's important to their companies can focus on making improvements and spotting opportunities for innovation that can help further success. When employees know their ideas will be sought after, that company leaders will have open minds and be responsive to their feedback, they're more likely to contribute their ideas. Customers also can be a source of great ideas to help improve products and services.

Employees as Customer Ambassadors

The more employees know about the company, its culture, its products and services, and its response to any negative issues, the better job they can do of serving as ambassadors to the community, their friends, relatives and other business connections. Employees who feel they have a strong, positive relationship with their employers and trust the information they receive from their employers will be more likely to share that information with others. Employees can be a highly valued and trusted source of information about a company and its products and services.

Strong Teamwork and Achieving Goals

Effective organizational communication will lead to strong teamwork and the ability for employees at all levels of the organization to work together to achieve company goals. In addition, effective organizational communication will provide employees the knowledge, structure and positive work environment they need to feel comfortable dealing with conflict and resolving issues effectively.

Good communication is without doubt one of the most important ingredients for business success. Without it, organisations and the employees within them will likely struggle to realise their full potential. However, although we all know how important effective communication is, it’s something that is often overlooked. There are numerous benefits to communicating effectively both internally and externally with colleagues, clients and suppliers, and we’ve listed a few of the main advantages below.

Improved employee management

Strong communication, particularly from managers, enables them to better instruct and inform their employees on particular tasks, goals and general performance expectations. This, in turn, minimises the risk of mistakes being made and reduces the likelihood of confusion amongst employees. A good communicator will seek to provide consistent feedback to their staff, advising them on areas for improvement and giving praise when warranted. Even if your organisational structure operates with a long chain of command and span of control, delivering good communication throughout layers of hierarchy can still be an effective way to improve employee management.

Builds strong employee relationships

Relationships between managers and employees are extremely important; they can make or break a company. Social engagements outside of working hours and team building days can significantly improve relationships in the workplace, which is good for staff moral, synergy and team unity. Building and maintaining these relationships will almost certainly lead to increased productivity and motivation amongst employees.

Builds strong relationships with clients and suppliers

Another key aspect of business growth is developing strong relationships with clients and suppliers. Keeping in touch with your customer base and creating a more pleasant experience for your clients will undoubtedly help improve sales, customer retention and loyalty to your company. Fortunately, due to developments in technology, this is easier than ever. Good examples of communication with your customers are personalised emails (although don’t make them too spammy), having an effective voicemail solution, or investing in a speedy leased line service and feedback facilities can all lead to effective business communication. This way your clients feel more personally connected to your business, which will tend to keep them happy! Remember, customer service is everything.

Helps with decision-making

Effective communication also enables business decisions to be made quicker, increasing business agility and giving your business a competitive edge. In fast paced business environments, companies can’t afford for there to be any delays or hold ups, as this could result in losing a lead and eventual sale. It’s therefore imperative that all decisions and the consequences of these decisions are properly communicated to stakeholders, employees and indeed the clients themselves.

Encourages innovation

Another major benefit of good communication in the workplace is that it inspires enhanced levels of innovation and creativity within the organisation. In many businesses, innovation is one of the main ingredients required for success. If innovation and creativity are restricted, your entire brand can stand still as a result. It is therefore important that managers make each individual employee feel as though their opinions and ideas are valued; staff will feel more confident in coming forward to share and communicate their ideas as a result. Brainstorming sessions and team meetings are a good way of probing people in the company to make a valuable contribution to a collective task or problem.

Improves all areas of the business

Essentially, all areas of your organisation (both internally and externally) will benefit from improved communication. In a financial sense, strong contact with banks, investors and creditors will help to avoid any issues or confusion over income, expenditure and revenue. Additionally, it’s always good to keep key shareholders and stakeholders in the know. It’s important to communicate that your organisation is running smoothly, provides excellent service and has a lot of potential for growth. If both internal and external communication are effective, brand awareness and reputation will improve.

The benefits of effective communication in the workplace are endless, and it should be a primary focus for managers of all organisations, regardless of industry and size. If you’re concerned your business doesn’t have the right equipment or technical expertise to communicate effectively through digital channels, get in touch to find out how we can help facilitate awesome communication within your organisation.

ITS Limited are a business telephone system provider operating in and around Kent, Surrey and Sussex. If you require effective business communication equipment, ITS can create a flexible telecommunications package to suit you from call management services to telephone systems for small businesses. Get in touch with us to discuss your requirements today.

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