George Bernard Shaw once said, “The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

In a busy workplace, it’s easy to assume that all team members are on the same page about goals, roles, budgets, deadlines, work instructions and more. But what if that assumption is wrong? Poor internal communication can lead to low morale, lost productivity, wasted resources, damaged relationships and poor work quality.

Fostering good workplace communications requires commitment and sustained effort. No matter what role you play in your unit, there are things you can do to help! 

Leaders, managers and supervisors can:

• Ensure formal methods of communication exist and are used frequently to reach all team members with useful information (Examples: staff meetings, memos, newsletters, e-mail listservs, bulletin boards.)
• Coach individuals who hoard information or only share on a “need-to-know” basis. Make it clear that work-related information should be easily available to all team members except for those rare times when there is a good reason that makes it necessary to limit access.
• Let people know that two-way communications is desired and valued. Good communication isn’t just about telling people things, it also involves being open to feedback on your messages.

All team members can:

• Ask rather than assume when you aren’t sure of something. Others may be unsure too but unwilling to speak up!
• If you feel left out of information streams that would be helpful to you, politely ask to be included in the future. Be prepared to explain how having the information would help you do your job better.  But it’s also important to have reasonable expectations and understand that certain types of information must be kept private to protect the rights of others.
• Don’t play the gossip game or spread misinformation.  Go directly to a legitimate source for the facts. Check to make sure that information is correct before passing it on to others.

If information you receive upsets you, try not to over-react. In work environments where “shooting the messenger” is common, few people want to be the messenger and share information with you! When you are unhappy about something you hear, rather than complaining to anyone who will listen, give your feedback directly to the appropriate people in a respectful way.  Ask questions to better understand what is happening and why, and whether any changes might be possible that would address your concerns and still be workable for all.

Like any other useful skill, good communications requires lots of practice before it becomes a habit. But when communicating well at work becomes the norm, the payoff for individuals and organizations is big!