In 2020, team collaboration has become even more difficult with the lockdown restrictions and pandemic. We thought that the nightmare has ended last year but it is continuing even today because of the second wave. However, this implies that the work from home is going to stay for a while, and also many companies are considering going remote forever.  It is high time to plan collaboration techniques to keep the workforce engaged.  

Here is a secret tip: Instead of planning collaboration techniques depending upon the changes in the business situations, having strategies that can help you sustain and thrive in any kind of business environment is more effective and does not let anything come in the way of your company’s overall productivity.  

In this blog, we will discuss one strategy that can have a greater positive effect on your team and productivity. 

Effective Communication Ensures Growth and Sustainability 

Initially, when the lockdown restrictions were imposed, team collaboration had been a more serious problem because companies were focusing on transition and cared less about the collaboration. But they did realize it soon and formulated strategies to keep their teams motivated. That ensured business continuity and unaffected performance. The most effective strategy among others was effective communication. 

Communication between employers and employees removes anxiety, confusion, and unpredictability from the minds of everyone in the company. Managers will always know what their team members are up to and what are the concerns that bother them. Effective communication is the key to a motivated workforce. To reinforce communication within an organization, continuous check-ins, one-on-one meetings, regular meetings, and a social online wall would help a great deal. Effective communication boosts employee engagement, employee morale, productivity, and company revenue. 

In Deloitte’s report, “As Deloitte shares in a recent report, “Teams where workers feel psychologically safe bringing their views to the table, and where their relationships with other team members are strong enough to allow them to do so in an assertive yet constructive way, will be well-positioned to engage in productive friction.” 

Here are a few things to do while establishing an effective communication strategy within a company. 

Continuous check-ins and Regular Meetings 

With Regular Meetings, goal management becomes easier even when employees work from their remote spots. The goals of the team members will be transparent to one another and the managers can easily track the progress of the team toward the destination. The employees will always feel engaged and motivated because they are connected to their respective teams at all times through virtual platforms and periodic meetings. 

With continuous check-ins, the managers get to know a lot about their employees, at both personal and professional levels, which helps them make the best decisions for their team members. The employees will also open up about themselves if something is affecting their work quality. Employees’ well-being should be given equal importance as customer satisfaction rate. Vulnerability should be accepted and helped by managers with empathy.  

Check the reach of the messages 

A CHRO in an event by People Matters once mentioned, “When we analyzed, we found that we have sent 105 communication e-mails/messages within two months, without realizing the effectiveness and the reach of our communication.” 

                                 -People matters 

During normal days, HR conducted events, and managers arranged outings to collaborate, which seems almost impossible today due to the pandemic. The least the HR and administrative departments could do is to connect with the teams via phone calls, emails, and virtual meetings.  

In large organizations, the most frequent way of communication is through emails. But the error made is that senders fail to check the open rates and the engagement rate of emails. HR should analyze what kind of emails work with employees and leave an option for the employees to respond to build a conversation, which can also be used to make informed decisions. 

Transparent communication 

Managers and HR can build mutual trust and loyalty only by being transparent and creating an open culture. Taking the inputs of employees in important business decisions and letting them know about the progress of the company demonstrates that the management values their employees and treats them like a family. Transparency allows light to spread throughout the organization and the employees can set the right goals for themselves, and so can the teams too. 

The right tools, the right way 

An employee should be able to reach the highers anytime they have a query or a concern. Emails cannot determine the urgency of a message, and there are higher chances that the mail goes unnoticed.  

Adopting effective communication tools ensures that all messages reach the right person. Even if they do not, the reminder notifications will do the required. Digitalizing the communication strategy within an organization has greater impacts on enhancing the employee experience and engagement. Building conversations and team collaboration in an effective way decreases employee attrition. 

Prompt Responses 

HR and employees should build a rapport such that they respond to each other’s messages or emails within 24 hours to ensure team collaboration and mutual respect. This should be one of the core values of the organization to keep the team together and work in unity. Effective communication is not one-way but two-way, where both employers and employees play their parts.  

Team collaboration plays a crucial role in the development of a company. Thus, having effective communication channels and strategies can make a big difference in this corona-affected economy.