{"id":198,"date":"2015-10-21T18:53:03","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T18:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.rossstreetagency.com\/rsadivi\/?p=198"},"modified":"2016-04-03T18:53:26","modified_gmt":"2016-04-03T18:53:26","slug":"miscommunication-in-the-workplace-costs-small-businesses-mitigating-the-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/?p=198","title":{"rendered":"Miscommunication in the Workplace costs small businesses: Mitigating the Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"3550267\"<\/a>As the owner of a small virtual assistance business, I have learned that clear communications is critical to my businesses success.\u00a0 Communications is a two-way street: from me to my clients\/potential clients and back.\u00a0 The nature of my business means that I do not always meet my clients in person.\u00a0 As a result, we often communicate on-line, which increases the chance of miscommunication.\u00a0 And, when there is a communication breakdown, costs are incurred.\u00a0 Not just financial; costs that can’t be measured easily, such as future business losses, hurt feelings, broken relationships and loss of time.<\/p>\n

The bottom line drives how small and medium sized companies do business.\u00a0 However, there is no budget line to reflect the money lost from poorly run meetings, un-returned phone calls, or casually written emails \u00a0that result in lost clients. These costs are hidden, but ultimately more damaging than a slow sales month.\u00a0 Workplaces that fail to recognize the importance of constructive and productive communication practices \u00a0can tend to experience budget overruns, higher employee turnover, increased project failure, and higher litigation costs.<\/p>\n

Start off on the right foot: \u00a0Establish clear expectations<\/strong>
\nCompanies put a lot of effort into designing job descriptions with lists of responsibilities.\u00a0 But, they often neglect to sit down with their staff\/clients and create a work plan with clear objectives, timelines and expectations, and a schedule for follow up. Miscommunication can derail even the best projects if expectations are not clearly defined.<\/p>\n

Make sure your business’s message is clear. Listen, ask questions, and seek clarification. \u00a0Allow others to do the same. Do not make assumptions \u00a0about your colleagues, your clients or your supervisors.\u00a0 Ask how they prefer to communicate. \u00a0If they prefer a call vs. a text, or a professional letter over an email, adapt your work style to suit your clients needs.<\/p>\n

Social Networking vs. Business Communications<\/strong>
\nFacebook, Twitter, SnapChat, and Google + are all social networking platforms.\u00a0 While they can be used for business communication, their environment is far more casual than formal.\u00a0 Communication is short, potentially out of context and is often opinion based.<\/p>\n

MS Lync, Glip, HipChat, and Go to Meeting are online business communication platforms that enable internal team collaboration and communication.\u00a0 They use instant messaging, group chatting, and file sharing, which if implemented properly can improve business efficiencies and save both time and money.<\/p>\n

Communication vs. miscommunication: Act like adults<\/strong>
\nBusiness owners often do not communicate well when faced with an uncomfortable situation such as missing or extending a deadline, ending a client’s contract, terminating staff, or cutting budget lines.
\nIf you, or someone in your employ needs more time to complete a task, and have difficulty expressing your needs, the immediate and long term costs will pile up. Similarly, if you are unhappy with the work of one of your staff members, contractors, or clients, have a frank discussion with the person, indicate your concerns, listen to their views, and give constructive feedback. If\u00a0 no mutually agreeable resolution is possible, at least you have communicated your concerns in a clear and open manner.
\nWhen it comes to communicating in the workplace, it is best to keep it professional.<\/p>\n

Who is Responsible?<\/strong>
\nDo not waste time on blame, assess what went wrong and recognize how you might have handled the situation better. If there is an opportunity to fix it, do so (apologize). If not, move on; but learn that lesson for next time.<\/p>\n

Ways to Alleviate Communication Challenges<\/strong>
\nTo ensure that both your company and your employees are communicating to the best of their abilities, implement workplace strategies that address potential communication challenges:<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Set clear rules<\/strong>.\u00a0 Emails must be composed in proper business writing format; instant messaging may \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 only be used for internal communication.<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do not make assumptions<\/strong>.\u00a0 If you are unclear what your employer or client expects from you, ask. \u00a0Ask \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 questions, repeat the instructions, and write them down.<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Learn \/try new methods<\/strong>. If some employees in your company are more familiar with emerging \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 technologies; let them use them.\u00a0 Experiment.\u00a0 Train some of your staff to use them. You may just find a \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 good fit for some of your communication needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the owner of a small virtual assistance business, I have learned that clear communications is critical to my businesses success.\u00a0 Communications is a two-way street: from me to my clients\/potential clients and back.\u00a0 The nature of my business means that I do not always meet my clients in person.\u00a0 As a result, we often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200,"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198\/revisions\/200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rossstreetagency.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}