In smaller businesses internal communication is an oft overlooked concept. Many businesses believe that the fewer the people the clearer the objectives. This however, is not always the case. Even within SMEs people can find themselves specialising or taking on specific roles, in the process losing sight of the big picture.
Janine Popick of verticalresponse.com offers the following advice to ensure effective communication:
Do not underestimate the value of internal meetings. Give each department within your business a chance to relay achievements or interesting developments in their area. Allow questions and participation. The more entertainment and fun you can inject into these meetings the better. Engagement in this forum can be hugely beneficial to the overall work environment.
Circulate a monthly internal newsletter to keep everybody up to date on all aspects of the business. For best results updates should be concise and hold the reader’s attention. Remember to acknowledge all accomplishments.
Once in a while make an effort to organise something that gets employees out of the office. Company lunches or nights out can boost communication pathways and prompt creative problem solving.
As an employer maintain an open door policy. The more approachable and unambiguous you are in what you communicate the more appreciated and valued your employees will feel. Valued employees, in turn, perform better and are more supportive of changes and business growth.
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I can back up this comments about internal communication. Having worked for several years in the Irish division of a large European Company, we often assumed that staff were on a need to know basis. However by addressing many of the items as mentioned in your comments, we quickly found a new enthusiasm and interest among staff. One important change we found was a far better attitude between staff and clients, it was almost like they were self employed and trying to build the company profile themselves !!!And this worked over a very short period our company grew and this was largely down to good customer relationships with staff members and clients…
Hi Colm,
Thank you for your comment, yes we have most definitely found the same within our SME. It is amazing how quickly such small changes can take effect.
Kind regards,
Michelle