How to improve workplace communication

What generates a negative atmosphere?

Here’s how to get started:

• Find out what is being said about the way you communicate at the workplace.
• Find out what the real problem is.
• Find out who experiences the problem.
• What contributes to creating the negative atmosphere?

At a workplace where the tone and style of communication is rooted in corporate culture and in old habits, it can be exceedingly difficult to find the actual cause of the problem.

Statements about the tone of communication from new employees or employees who resign can be an indicator. Ask these people if you lack knowledge about the tone of communication at the workplace.

When you carry out appraisal interviews with employees, ask them what they think about the way you treat each other and communicate at the workplace.

Talk to your employees 

If you find out that individual employees are contributing to poor communication at the workplace, you should talk to them about their behaviour.

Avoid being accusive, but firmly explain that you do not accept disrespectful communication at your workplace.

Listen to the employee and try to find out why he or she behaves and communicates in a way that affect others negatively. There may be an unseen reason. Maybe you can do something about the root cause.

Prevent disrespectful communication

Find out about how your employees communicate

You can use the health and safety risk assessment (APV) or an employee satisfaction survey to find out about the tone of communication at your workplace. Or you can bring it up as a topic during employee appraisal interviews. During such an interview, the individual employee can tell you how she or he feels about how people are treating and communicating with each other at the workplace.

 This can give you a basis for further dialogue. Among other things, you can take the dialogue further at a staff meeting by addressing how you would like to treat each other and communicate at the workplace. 

Staff meeting

See above under “Talk to each other” and “Here is what you can do”. Here you will find advice and proposals for exercises.

As a manager you play a special role during a staff meeting. Talking about the tone of communication at the workplace can be problematic and some employees may become emotionally upset about the things that are said. If you take care to facilitate and manage the meeting and pay attention to ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ employees, you are likely to get a good result from the meeting.

Agree on ground rules

You can agree on some ground rules for your communication. Everyone must participate in laying out the rules. Watch the film about respectful communication together before you start your discussions. 

The statements and questions below are meant to provoke and get the discussion going:

• But isn’t it important to sometimes give let go and express your anger and frustration?
• Banter and teasing can make everyday life more fun; it’s boring if we always have to act ‘appropriately’!
• Aren’t they just being a little sensitive?
• How do you say to your colleague or manager that their behaviour and tone of communication is inappropriate?
• Is it OK to go to your manager and report a colleague’s mistakes?
• Is it OK to ask your colleague for advice about how to manage a conflict with another colleague?

Once you’ve found out together how you want to lay out the ground rules, you should write them down and display/publish them on notice boards, the intranet or in a leaflet, etc.

Remember to introduce new employees to your agreed rules.

Examples of ground rules

Here are some examples of ground rules for respectful communication at a shop:

• We talk WITH each other; not ABOUT each other.
• We expect everyone to contribute to respectful communication and good relations.
• We respect each other and treat each other as equals.
• We do not accept teasing, disrespectful communication or bullying.
• No one is perfect; it’s OK to make mistakes.
• If the same colleague is involved whenever the tone of communication is disrespectful, we should confront the colleague about this.
• If you disagree with your colleague, then go directly to him or her and keep focus on the issue at hand, and on how you feel and your needs, so that you do not seem accusing.
• If your colleague talks to you about another colleague, ask him or her whether he or she has said these things directly to the person in question.
• When we witness teasing, disrespectful communication or bullying, we will report this to our health and safety representative or employee representative.

Use your body language and spoken language constructively

As a manager, you are a role model. So think about how you talk to your employees. 

Respectful communication shows that you respect each other:

• Use proper and clear language to avoid being misunderstood. Think about your tone and the pitch of your voice.
• Reply to the other’s questions and use words/phrases that you know they understand. Listen to what the other has to say and don’t interrupt. Ask clarifying questions to make sure you understand what the other is telling you and to show that you are listening.
• Talk in the first person (‘I’ language), for example “I think…” and “I feel…” In this way, you stay on your own turf, so to speak, and focus on your own needs and experiences, instead of using ‘you’ language, for example saying, “You always…,” which is easily perceived as blaming and criticism.
• Admit if you were wrong or have changed your mind.

Your body is also talking

Think about what body language tells us.

Use body language constructively. If you follow this advice, you will have a more positive dialogue.

• Look at the other person and make eye contact.
• Show that you’re listening and that you understand what is being said, for example by nodding.
• Don’t fold your arms.
• Stand when the other person is standing and sit if he or she is sitting.

Give constructive feedback

Constructive feedback focuses on the matter at hand, not the person.

For example, if you say, “You are always so messy. I’m sick and tired of not being able to move around in the back room because of all the product samples you’ve stacked everywhere“, it will seem accusing and might start a conflict. 

You should stay on your own turf, so to speak, that is, you should focus on your own experience of the situation and explain your own needs. You can instead say: “I feel like we ought to stack the product samples along the walls in the back room, because otherwise we might trip over them.”

Timing

Think about the time and the place when you give someone negative feedback. Never criticise a person while others – neither employees nor customers – are listening.

Build good relationships

Good relationships matter. When you show respect and treat each other as equals, you have good relationships.

The following supports the development of good relationships:

• Constructive feedback
• Appreciative communication
• Onboarding new employees
• Conflict prevention
• Timely conflict resolution.