12 Communication Benefits For The Workplace (Plus Tips)

Updated 20 September 2022

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Employees often communicate with a wide range of people, including colleagues, supervisors, customers and vendors. Developing your communication skills can help you in your career path. If you're a manager or team lead, learning how to foster effective communication can have a variety of benefits for your department or company.

In this article, we describe 12 benefits of effective workplace communication and share tips for communicating effectively in a professional setting.

12 Communication Benefits In The Workplace

Here are 12 communication benefits for a company's employees, managers and the HR department:

1. Reduced conflict

Communicating well with your colleagues, supervisors and customers can help you avoid misunderstandings that can cause conflict. For example, if you're a customer services representative and you're handling a complicated customer issue, you might speak to your manager about the issue. By describing it well and communicating your concerns with your supervisor, you can work with them to resolve the issue without further conflict with the customer. Communication can also help ease tensions between colleagues on the same work team or in different departments.

2. Better customer experience

When a company's employees communicate effectively with each other, they can ensure a smooth customer experience. Effective communication can help the sales and service team work together to serve their clients. For example, a software sales company might have a sales team that makes deals and a service team that tends to the customers after they purchase. If the sales representatives communicate the customers' needs to the service team, the service team can anticipate customer questions and issues.

3. Increased advancement potential

Individual employees might find that communicating well can help them achieve a leadership position or other promotion. Often, company directors prefer managers and supervisors to have strong communication skills, because these skills allow a supervisor to direct a team and resolve conflicts. If you want to become a senior member of your team, consider showing your communication skills by speaking respectfully and informatively to everyone you encounter in the workplace.

4. More workplace satisfaction

Communicating clearly, both verbally and in writing, can help employees feel more comfortable in the workplace. If you're a manager or supervisor, practising your communication skills can allow you to connect with the employees on your team. When employees feel they can speak to their supervisor about their goals and concerns, they may feel more satisfied with their work. Increased workplace satisfaction can help employees build a welcoming work environment where everyone feels valued.

5. Enhanced productivity

Clear communication can establish expectations for employees, which can help them become more productive. If you're a supervisor, it can be helpful to communicate expectations in several ways. For example, you might send out an email to the team at the beginning of the week explaining the week's projects and deadlines. Then, you can speak to individual members of your team to answer questions they have about the earlier message. Allowing team members to ask questions while providing a written reminder can ensure that they meet their deadlines.

6. Improved professional development

When employees communicate effectively with each other, they can benefit more from professional development seminars and other programmes. Many of these opportunities rely on participants speaking with each other and developing problem-solving techniques, so it's important that employees know how to discuss sensitive matters with each other constructively. For example, a customer service team might complete a professional development course about resolving serious customer issues. If the team members can share their experiences freely and clearly, they can benefit from each other's knowledge.

7. Increased innovation

Open lines of communication within a work team can encourage innovation. If employees feel they can have constructive conversations with their colleagues and supervisors, they may be more willing to suggest new ways of completing tasks. This can lead to improved processes and even new product lines or services. For example, a product design team lead at a technology company might encourage open communication between members of the team. In this environment, a junior designer might feel comfortable discussing their ideas for a new product that the company can sell.

8. Enhanced collaboration

Collaboration relies on communication skills, which allow employees to work well with each other to meet a common goal. If you work in a team with other professionals, improving your communication skills can help you complete collaborative projects more efficiently and produce better results. For example, if two software engineers are working together to create a new product, they can use their written and verbal communication skills to determine the new product's parameters and divide the project tasks between them. They can also use their skills to offer tactful feedback during the project.

9. Increased employee retention

As effective communication makes employees feel more valued in the workplace, this process can encourage them to stay longer at the company. Open communication can also ensure that employees know about opportunities for advancement within the company, like internal promotions. This can allow them to meet their professional goals while staying at the same company. Hiring internally can benefit companies by saving time and money on training new employees. Also, increased employee retention can ensure that the company continues to benefit from the skills and experience of veteran employees.

10. More cross-departmental consistency

A company's sales, customer service and marketing teams might produce content and communicate with customers through different channels. Strong communication within the company can ensure that each team conveys the company's values in the same way. By providing consistent messaging, these teams can help customers have excellent experiences at each stage of the customer journey. Brand managers might publish guides or send emails to teams with information about the company's mission statement and values.

11. Increased accuracy

Strong communication skills can help you convey information factually. In health care workplaces, like hospitals and research facilities, accurate communication can help doctors and research professionals save patient lives and cure diseases. For example, a patient might go to the hospital with emergency symptoms. The hospital doctors might stabilise the patient and then communicate their symptoms to a surgeon, who uses that information to decide on a procedure.

12. Improved hiring

If a company has a reputation for clear communication, it might become a highly desirable place to work. If you're an HR professional, consider leading communication initiatives across the company to make it an appealing choice for professionals looking for a new job. By improving communication within the workplace, you might improve the company's reputation, which can encourage experts in the field to apply for positions at the company.

Tips For Communicating Effectively In The Workplace

Here are some strategies you can use to improve your communication skills:

Learn to listen actively

While people often focus on speaking or writing when they think about communication, active listening is a key component of effective communication. When you actively listen, you can comprehend the other person's perspective and respond in a thoughtful way. Active listening can also increase accuracy in communication, since it encourages you to think about what the other person is telling you. Consider practising your active listening skills by paraphrasing what the other person says, asking clarifying questions and acknowledging their feelings.

Recognise different communication styles

Everyone has a unique communication style and identifying your colleagues' and supervisor's communication style can help you optimise your conversations with them. For example, your supervisor may prefer a factual, brief communication style, which saves time and ensures accuracy. If your communication style is more casual, you might try to adapt to your supervisor's style when you speak or write emails to them. Understanding how your colleagues communicate can reduce the chances of misunderstandings and make conversations more productive.

Practice giving feedback

If you're a supervisor or team lead, you might give feedback to your team members to help them improve their work. Learning how to communicate criticism tactfully can help you build strong rapport with your team members. Consider writing out the feedback you have for a particular team member before you deliver it. If you have a colleague that you trust, you can ask them to review the feedback and give you advice on how to deliver your message.

Use a variety of communication methods

One key facet of effective communication is knowing which method of communication to use for different audiences and messages. For example, if you're a supervisor providing constructive criticism to a member of your team, it might be more effective to meet with that team member in person or over a private video conference, so you can build a rapport and support them. If your goal is to educate the employees at the company about a new HR policy, you might use an emailed memo so that your audience can refer to the information later.