One study mentioned in an Entrepreneur article has found that workers send and receive a daily average of 1,798 messages via phone, email, fax and paper-based and face-to-face communications. It’s hardly a wonder that communicating well is a highly valued workplace skill.
However, for your business to facilitate smooth exchanges within its workforce as well as between workers and customers, an effective communications system is required. Here are some of the most compelling reasons why.
What are business communication systems?
Of course, your business might still rely heavily on a trusty phone system — even if you also regularly turn to the likes of instant messaging.
You can even combine elements of both into one system, such as by enabling voice calling within Microsoft Teams, a process with which an enterprise-grade telecoms provider like Gamma would be able to help (https://www.gamma.co.uk/products/microsoft-teams-telephony/).
Tech Donut lists various other communication tools your business could potentially utilise.
Good internal communications fosters strong employee engagement
Here, ‘internal communications’ refers to interaction between not only individual employees but also different departments within the business.
One study cited by Bizfluent has uncovered instances of poor communications annually costing $26,041 per employee in lost efficiency. However, a separate study revealed that, when highly effective in communications practices, companies are four-and-a-half times likelier to have engaged employees.
With a highly communicative internal structure in place, your business can more easily facilitate collaboration and team building.
You can more easily reach out to customers
However well-drilled your workers are in communicating with each other, they will still need specialist training in how to handle customers’ queries as well.
Many of those could already be addressed in adverts your company runs. However, you also need to make sure that customers will be able to easily communicate with you if they have any other concerns about your product or service offering.
So, if there are particular mediums — like Facebook or Twitter — that you know target customers of your company often use, be sure to establish your own brand’s presence on these sites.
Investors can be kept in the loop
While you will naturally be required to share certain information — like annual reports — with investors, you shouldn’t just settle for the bare minimum.
You could try to get to know key investors personally and let them know of any strategic changes the company’s upper management intend to make. Your key investors might also have a few pieces of advice capable of serving your firm very well in the long term.
Crises can be resolved more quickly
No business owner wants to see their company’s name with the suffix ‘gate’ attached to it, but you also can’t entirely rule out the possibility of it happening.
So, you should plan how, if a crisis does strike your business, both staff and external stakeholders will be informed about it — including what will be done about it. If you run a larger company, you might need a media relations representative who would speak to the press.
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