Sales Director
Workplace communication is more than just emails, instant messages, or a quick chat in the hallway. It’s about connecting with your employees and the impact it has on them. Done correctly, you can build trust, encourage creativity and retain your best talent. However, choosing to ignore these issues risks making your staff feel isolated, undervalued and less likely to engage with their work. In this guide, we’ll look at common workplace communication challenges and how to solve them.
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Your business communications should be consistent—a throughline that links all employees from the very top right through to new starters. Of course, this doesn’t mean knowing everyone else’s personal business; instead, it’s a staple of your organisation, ensuring your workforce has everything they need to do the best job possible.
Before we move on, ask yourself: Does my workforce have everything they need? How can I communicate in a way that makes them feel valued?
With this in mind, let’s review some common scenarios in which communication challenges may occur and how to resolve them.
Your onboarding process sets the tone. It’s an employee’s first look at how your business operates and what you expect from them in their new role. When this part of their journey lacks structure or clarity, you risk employees misunderstanding their roles, or developing bad habits from the start.
It’s also worth remembering that your new hires will not be familiar with your internal processes or how your business operates. To make their journey a smooth one, be clear and thorough when explaining their role. Be mindful not to deliver too much information at once, though; this could cause them to miss important information and create problems later on.
Finally, stay consistent with your delivery throughout. This includes everything from initial welcome messaging, right through to training. By avoiding contradictory information and keeping it simple, you’ll be able to use your time together effectively, and your new employees can approach their roles confidently.
Imagine for a second it’s your first week at a new job. You’ve been told you’ll receive training but are unsure what it’s about. When you finally begin training, it’s jargon-heavy and lacks the hands-on activities that allow you to practice your new skills. As a result, none of what you’ve learned sinks in, and you’re left confused and lacking confidence.
Doesn’t sound great does it? To avoid this, ensure your training is clear, easy to understand and structured logically.
If we look at a training program as building blocks; start with a solid foundation of basic information. Once this information has been embedded, you can introduce complex topics, supported by the fundamentals you’ve already covered. This approach allows your trainees to gain confidence one step at a time. It also prevents the overwhelm caused by information overload and confusion.
It’s likely that your employees are excited to start their new roles. This means they’ll be engaged and invested in what you’re teaching them. Your job here, is to maintain their interest. How you do this often depends on the topic, however it’s worth structuring your training to include a mix of learning styles, including classroom-based learning, practical activities, and Q&A sessions.
If you have remote trainees, it’s worth considering whether your current communication system can fully support them. Successful remote training should let trainees share and collaborate during sessions. You should also ensure that your system can maintain a clear call connection during sessions.
VoIP systems like T2K’s 3CX model have built-in collaboration tools. These include video conferencing, screen sharing, and instant messaging features, making it easier for trainees to participate in remote training. Many systems also come with quality-of-service features, designed to monitor your internet connection and prevent call interference.
If your business is lacking momentum and your employees seem tuned out, take a look at the culture within your workplace. Do you welcome new ideas from your staff? Do you communicate in a way that makes them feel valued? If not, let’s look at the issues this can cause.
When your employees don’t feel valued, or their opinions don’t matter, it’s often reflected in your business. Staff don’t feel comfortable sharing ideas, leading to a lack of innovation and a slow decline for the company.
To counter this, read up on psychological safety in the workplace. When psychological safety is present, leaders welcome diverse perspectives, allowing their workforce to feel comfortable presenting new ideas. This creates momentum, with staff being more engaged with the goals of their organisation.
When teams and departments become isolated, you’ll see patterns of behaviour like:
These types of challenges can cause ripples across your business. They may start with staff feeling cut off from certain information or hostilities between different business areas. This can damage morale across your workplace and risk you losing key talent.
From a customer service standpoint, information siloing between departments reduces efficiency, leaving customers waiting longer for support and potentially losing their business altogether.
If you’re concerned, your first step should be identifying the root of siloing. Work with your teams to monitor behaviours and potential blockages. Encourage open communication between teams and look for ways different areas can collaborate. While it may seem awkward to begin with, the more you encourage these positive behaviours, the sooner the walls will come down.
To contribute genuinely, your employees need to invest in and share your goals. This doesn’t simply mean memorising your mission statement; it’s about connecting with it.
Without this investment, staff are likely to go through the motions with their work. You may not notice it immediately, but over time, their lack of motivation will result in lower customer service and productivity standards.
Would you give your all if you weren’t invested in something? Probably not - so it’s essential to show your teams how their work contributes to your business goals.
Remote work has changed the game for recruitment, allowing businesses to recruit staff outside their local area. If you’re a mid-sized or larger organisation, you may even recruit internationally - giving you a much wider net to discover talent.
However, what if your ideal candidate doesn’t speak the same language as most of your workforce? Previously, this communication barrier may have prevented said candidate from being hired.
Now, however, several solutions are available, including translation software like Lingvanex, which allows specific languages to be converted via subtitles or audio. Some VoIP systems come with these tools built in too, using AI-powered translation so your staff can communicate and work together in real time.
It’s hard to find an area of life in which technology doesn’t assist us. However, for businesses, it can also create communication barriers.
Common issues include resistance to change, lack of technical knowledge, incorrect use of systems and reliance on outdated technology. When problems like these don’t get flagged, they risk creating further damage, such as:
To avoid this happening in your business, try this:
List the technology your company uses. Split your list into four columns labelled ‘supports my business’, ‘limits my business’, ‘reason for choice’, and ‘who does it impact’.
With this information, you’ll be able to weigh the pros and cons of the tech you use and investigate how to proceed.
A common tech barrier for businesses is the use of landline connections. These connections restrict users in several ways, including:
If this is you, VoIP models like T2K’s Gamma Horizon let you take calls and share information across your business. They also come with built-in analytics tools, allowing you to identify future issues, while supporting your business's growth.
At T2K, we acknowledge that some communication issues require time, effort, and planning to resolve. However, we’re also proud to offer VoIP services to support you through these challenges.
If you want to level up your cross-business communication, while building a more inclusive, accessible workplace - speak to T2K today.
Having worked for T2k for nearly 25 years, it's fair to say that Lee is an expert when it comes to all things telephony and business communications. Overseeing the commercial side of the business, he has helped the company evolve and grow through the decades. In recent years, and with the advent of VoIP and hosted telephony, Lee has made sure that T2k is at the forefront of technological developments. With a firm interest in helping businesses navigate the world of telecoms, Lee is responsible for the majority of the content on this website.
