5 tips to improve communication in your team

As a manager, do you feel that communication within your team is not going well? Or do your team members often clash with each other? The quality of cooperation has a major impact on your team's results and job satisfaction. In this article, we share 5 tips to strengthen communication. This is how to build a successful team!

Tip 1: Avoid miscommunication.

Miscommunication often takes place in the workplace. Making assumptions is often the culprit. It is up to both conversation partners to pay attention to this, otherwise assignments and tasks will not be completed properly and this creates unnecessary extra work and frustration. Prevent miscommunication by, for example:

• No words to fill in for the other;
• Ask your team members questions, to find out if you are on the same page;
• Always summarize agreements made.

Tip 2: Make clear agreements about how you communicate

There are now many ways to communicate with each other, and some work better for certain arrangements than others. What type of communication do you use email for? And for what is Slack, Microsoft Teams or a phone call better? Make clear agreements about this. Many different communication tools can be confusing. It is important that everyone is on the same page.

Tip 3: Work together on collaborative skills

Of course, the best way to work on your collaboration skills is together! Every team member can have good qualities when it comes to working together within a team, but even so, communication can still run past each other. Everyone is different and communication styles can differ. A good solution to find out about each other's qualities and thresholds is to work together on your cooperation. This leads to new insights that allow you to better understand and address each other.

TIP: Follow the WE-learning 'Working together on collaboration' on our online learning platform. On the basis of this training, you and your colleagues will explore how cooperation is within your team and how it can be improved.

 

Tip 4: Dare to give and receive feedback

As a team leader but also as a team member, it is important to hold colleagues accountable for their behavior. Do this with a concrete example of a moment and tell what effect it had on you. Check whether the team member recognizes this and, if necessary, make agreements. In this way you give constructive feedback and ensure that the team member does not feel attacked. In addition, be open to receiving feedback. It is even best to ask for it. For example, ask how the team experiences your way of working and what you can improve.

Tip 5: Regularly review communication in your team

Even if your team has known each other for a long time and communication seems to come naturally, irritations can still arise. Therefore, consciously stop and think about communication on a regular basis. What are the team's problems and what do they need to improve communication? For example, make this a monthly fixed item during a team meeting.

Do you want to get more out of collaboration within your team?

On our online learning platform, you'll find a variety of trainings that help your team work together. Have team members take online trainings alone or together on giving feedback, collaborating, communicating and much more.

Request a free demo