Gallup’s most recent “State of the American Workforce” report reveals a troubling trend for strong communication in the workplace — only 13 percent of the nearly 31 million employees surveyed said their organization’s leaders practice and cultivate effective workplace communication.

Meaningful office conversations, clear goal-setting, consistent performance reviews, mutual shows of respect — these communication-based best practices cascade down an organization to drive employees, teams and managers alike toward greater business impact. Good communication skills are the backbone supporting such activities. Without the power of communication to bolster work environments, employees are more likely to decrease their productivity levels, disengage from work and even experience increases in inter-employee conflict.

The best workplace communication practices counter these woes by spending time and attention nurturing a cooperative environment. Practice the following top communication techniques and strategies to better align your team — and yourself — with tomorrow’s organizational goals.

What Is Good Communication in the Workplace?

Effective communication in the workplace involves tactics that eliminate misunderstandings, ambiguities and questions between individuals to foster a more cohesive, seamless and supportive environment for task and project completion.

There are a few core components at the heart of good workplace communication. Organizations that put effort into incorporating the following will see workplace communication improvements cascade across all levels — and spur an overall enhanced workplace.

1. Consistent Performance Feedback

Nearly one out of every two employees today wishes for more direct performance feedback. Employee feedback loops are consistently ranked as a top feature that individuals assess when rating an organization’s overall culture, up there with office positivity, camaraderie and a sense of respect.

Yet “more” feedback is not synonymous with “good” feedback. Both managers and peers crave the insights gained from meetings dedicated to reviewing task-management tendencies, with particular attention placed on how both these categories align with an employee’s career goals. Such performance feedback can take many forms, yet the key is in their consistency:

• Weekly or biweekly one-on-one meetings, for managers to touch base with team members and hear their concerns first-hand
• Structured conversations around performance strengths and growth areas, ideally more than once a year
• Two-way feedback loops, where employees give feedback to their own managers on strengths and growth areas
• A general environment that encourages learning and development while sharing successes — and doesn’t shame mistakes when they occur

2. Strong, Goal-Oriented Discussions

Effective workplace communication also creates an environment where professional goals can be identified and initiated, then leading to employee growth.

During these goal-oriented discussions, individuals are encouraged to think deeply about the future of their careers, then commit to professional development opportunities that will help them realize those goals. Managers and leaders take time to sit with employees, discussing motivations, interests and professional direction. The result is a robust workplace communication practice where everyone feels listened to and supported — and far more likely to contribute positively to the organization.

3. Practical Workflow Processes

Employees must know where to turn when specific concerns or questions strike. They should have tools and communication channels at their disposal to reach out to peers, in ways that are convenient, coherent and intuitive.

What’s more, these tools and channels should support overall project management processes — the ability for employees to “check off” their value-adding tasks, then pass the work along to the next relevant team member until completion. Clear communication creates clear workflows for everyone to follow.

4. The Ability to Question — and Get Answers

Open-door policies are the final successful communication technique in the workplace.

Team members should feel they work in an environment where their questions and insights are not just encouraged — they’re prized. Managers and team leaders with strong workplace communication practices foster this environment by making space for queries and concerns. They directly elicit questions, dedicate time in meetings for Q&As, encourage creative brainstorming sessions and set up systems to open and close question loops. Workplaces where employees have the freedom to question are, ultimately, workplaces with more effective communication.

Why Are Good Workplace Communication Skills Critical?

Strong workplace communication practices carry quantitative as well as qualitative benefits for organizations that adopt them.

1. Increases Employee Engagement and Retention

Employees who say their managers take the time to learn their career goals and share their workplace successes report engagement rates nearly three times higher than employees without such managers.

These increased engagement rates show how essential effective communication techniques can be for employee morale. When employee morale is strong, individuals are far more likely to stay at an organization beyond the average four-year tenure. Other business results follow suit:

• Employees who classify themselves as engaged are 59 percent less likely to even passively look for other job opportunities.
• Employees who say their team leaders and managers communicate transparently and openly stay at organizations over 30 percent longer.
• Organizations that maintain employee satisfaction and support initiatives, such as stronger workplace communication practices, see worker happiness levels rise. When happiness levels rise, so does worker productivity — happy workers are up to 12 percent more productive, according to some studies.

2. Clarifies Job Duties and Expectations

Up to 43 percent of new hires quit their jobs within their first 90 days. The reason? Role ambiguity.

When an individual feels unclear about their value-adding contributions and position within an organization, they’re less likely to stay with that organization. Role ambiguity causes further ripples, too. Turnover expenses climb as departments continually struggle to fill positions, and teams suffer as a result of open roles and shapeless responsibilities.

Effective, consistent workplace communication ensures job titles and activities match. It provides structure and clarity at the onset of a job to counteract ambiguity — and also on an ongoing basis, which is just as critical.

• For Individuals: Good workplace communication outlines everyday roles and contributions, as well as what those contributions mean for the organization’s overall goals
• For Teams: Good workplace communication keeps teams in the know about everyone’s workloads and achievements, harmonizing individual tasks and projects
• For Departments: Good workplace communication allows entire departments to be more streamlined and to operate more smoothly, keeping peers in the loop and processes tailored to departmental habits, preferences and needs

3. Saves Money

Employee turnover can cost organizations around $15,000 per new hire. In some industries, that replacement figure is even higher — sometimes over 30 percent of the replaced individual’s annual salary. Further research indicates that nearly three-fourths of cases where employees chose to leave an organization are due to preventable cultural issues.

Good workplace communication creates an atmosphere where employees want to remain. With strong employee retention comes several institutional cost-savings:

• Reduced recruitment costs, as fewer resources need to be dedicated to continual job listings, interviews and onboarding
• Limited separation costs, as an organization manages fewer instances of severance pay or continued benefits
• Maximized productivity costs, with reduced role gaps and absenteeism allowing personnel to learn, grow and thrive in the organization

Top Workplace Communication Techniques and Strategies

So how exactly do you cultivate effective communication practices in the workplace? Are there different skills to stress depending on your role or title — and where precisely can you start?

Consider the following top communication techniques as a template for your own professional development — then see the power they leverage for improved work processes and project management.

1. Pick Your Channels Wisely

Savvy use of today’s many communication platforms is the first effective way to improve your workplace communication.

Practice matching your medium with your message based on timing and needs. The more urgent the matter, the more likely real-time communication channels will be called for.

• Relay complicated or critical ideas directly, ideally face-to-face or over the phone
• Use email when communication requires documentation or for tasks and questions that can be answered quickly, in a few straightforward sentences
• Employ chat boxes and instant messages for informal-leaning conversations or topics

2. Practice Active Listening

Active listening is key to the common understanding of “good” conversation. Active listeners aren’t engaged in conversations just to hear their own voice. They listen to take in and digest the full meaning and implications of the talk around them, then give a response that meets others where they are.

• Paraphrase what you’re hearing to ensure all parties are on the same page and understanding the same things
• Remain fully committed to the person or people speaking — not texting, answering emails or engaging in side work
• Use affirming body language such as steady eye contact, head nods and arm gestures to relay someone has your full attention

3. Employ Code Shifting

Code shifting allows you to match your message with its audience, therefore communicating thoughts and ideas in the most effective way. Skilled code shifters are people who craft face-to-face interactions, emails, chat messages, presentations, reports and more to connect with a specific audience, be that a boss, a peer, a client or an external business vendor.

For example, the email you send to your direct supervisor will likely use a different tone than the one you send to a new client, which will be different than your work buddy three desks away. And that’s okay! Code shifting is an ultra-strategic communication technique studies show actually advances a person’s reputation and office relationships, not hinders them.

4. Balance Brevity With a “Human” Touch

Clear, concise communication is a premium in today’s workplaces. While you don’t want to sound like a robot, you do want to respect everyone’s time — including your own.

Most employees don’t have hours to sift through long unorganized email chains or sit through endless meetings only to hear one thing relevant to them. Practice slowing down and prioritizing what’s needed from an interaction, when it’s needed by and how best to achieve those needs. Leave the rest.

5. When in Doubt, Schedule It Out

Any professional development initiative requires effort. What better way to maintain that commitment than by setting aside time in your work schedule specifically for communication-skills development?

• Sharpen your written communications with books or courses, and practice activities where you write clear, concise briefs, presentations, emails and more. Have a trusted coworker critique them.
• Sharpen your face-to-face communications by scheduling more one-on-one or small-group meetings or by phoning someone with a question rather than sending that habitual chat message.
• Sharpen your digital communications by allocating time in your schedule for chat messages, using online work communications portals and by adopting code shifting strategies in your emails.

Best Communication Practices and Skills by Industry

Every industry requires good workplace communication to function. Yet those communication skills, needs and technologies themselves will vary, with the following sectors serving as prime examples:

1. IT Workplace Communication

IT departments straddle multiple mission-critical domains. From protecting network security and writing code to building safe work platforms and backing up crucial business data, their daily operations call for specific communication improvements:

• Balancing people-oriented with task-oriented communications, ensuring the analytical, task-directive communication style typical of IT doesn’t come at the expense of the human.
• Breaking down technical jargon and industry vocabulary into layman’s speech anyone outside of IT will understand.

2. Government and Public Sector Workplace Communication

The public sector’s communication strategies work best when tailored for transparency, user ease and resource maximization. Rather than introducing new communications protocols or technologies, the public sector can instead focus on bettering what they currently have:

• Improved top-down communications, with employees at all levels looped into current mission-critical initiatives and priorities.
• Two-way feedback channels, strengthening public employees’ input on existing processes and initiatives, as well as feedback portals accessible to the general public.
• Internal communication practices that amplify employee successes, bolstering individual morale and increasing public-sector employee engagement.

3. Nonprofit Workplace Communication

Nonprofit organizations by their nature operate for the greater good. Yet relaying their missions and building momentum behind their causes requires communication finesse unique for this workplace environment:

• Savvy code shifting that best communicates information to relevant stakeholders, such as code shifting when delivering an annual report to board members versus delivering that same annual report to a group of volunteers.
• Human-centered interactions that complement the mission and identity of the nonprofit, ideally built to support as many face-to-face or personalized touchpoints as possible.

4. Private/Commercial Workplace Communication

Research indicates private sector employees today value work-life flexibility, autonomy and efforts to reciprocate signs of respect. The best communication practices for commercial organizations, therefore, are ones that shape work culture to support rather than obscure these values:

• Clear communication workflows where tasks can be routed and questions answered quickly and linearly, maintaining overall office productivity.
• Manager-employee interactions that are authentic, meaningful and uphold the dignity of the individual as a complex human being with interests and goals, not just some nameless worker bee.
• An energizing mix of face-to-face, digital and written communications opportunities, paying attention to who thrives in each.

The Link Between Good Workplace Communication and Project Management

Strong workplace communication and strong project management go hand in hand. Effective communication flows into and supports better project management. Likewise, project management improvements will enhance the overall communication practices of an organization.

1. A better-defined project lifecycle. A project lifecycle is a step-by-step plan to see a project from conception through completion. Better workplace communication builds better project lifecycles. It allows organizations to identify and loop in relevant project stakeholders, seamlessly route project tasks and activities, track project performance and collaborate on crucial project pieces proactively, not reactively.
2. A smoother completion pipeline. Projects get completed in quicker, more streamlined workflow processes. Managers, employees and peers alike know who to turn to, when and why across a project’s stages. Plus, they have the mediums in place to communicate easily.
3. Expanded project capabilities. Good workplace communications allow teams to operate like a well-oiled machine. When employees understand their daily roles, they’re more likely to contribute consistent value-adding work and to feel supported while doing so. This winning formula ultimately means more institutional goals can be accomplished — with effective communication then used to show how instrumental employees were to achieving those goals in the first place.

Bring Momentum to Your Workplace’s Communication Skills and Practices Today

Momentum, Inc. has been in the business of communication for over twenty years. From customized strategic planning consulting to quality control and implementation services, Momentum approaches Management Consulting with one goal in mind — to help you do what you’re already doing better.

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