Here are the ways you are failing to communicate with your employees and what you can do about it

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You walk into the office and notice two employees talking at the coffee table and wonder why they are not at their desks finishing the financial statements you know are due, you look over at the graphic designer’s table and realize she is not working on the project the client is expecting at the end of the day, and that deck you need for the pitch in a few hours is nowhere to be found. Sound familiar?

Bosses find these problems more than you think and ultimately, it is their fault. These issues are because of a lack of internal communication between the needs of the company and what is expected of its employees. But for many people in charge, communicating is easier said than done, particularly when you know how tasks should be done. Not to mention the reason why any of your employees have jobs is because you work your tail off to keep those checks coming in. But if your employees are confused as to what you need, they cannot help you.

When top CEO’s were asked about where they lose the most amount of money, those who work at companies with 100,000 employees said the biggest problem was communication, which cost them $62.4 million dollars. It’s not any easier for smaller companies either, as those with 100 employees or less are estimated to lose $420,000 a year because of their poor communication methods.

As a company grows the leaders within it will naturally have more responsibilities to juggle, making it understandable when they become more agitated than they realize, blowing things out of proportion.

Think about it. As an employer or manager have you ever changed a document on an impulse rather than a rational thought? How many times a day do you think about how someone is not doing their job right? Were you passive-aggressive and not realizing it? These actions create low morale and ultimately, bad work habits, which affect the company’s bottom line.

But do not fret, there’s hope! There are steps you can take to improve how your business works such as talking to your employees for five minutes so they understand what you need, give them a compliment when they do good work, and when they are doing a good job make sure they are rewarded for it.

That all being said, with everything on a bosses plate, chances are you still will not always be able to give your employees the time they need. So what do you do? You have to make it easy for them to know what you need.

One of the best ways to do this is to have a clear onboarding process with information that sticks in your employees heads. If you took a poll of how many people in the office actually read the company’s handbook, are you positive most of them have? The trick is to make it easy for them to do so by using visuals such as timelines and graphs as well as short concise videos that grab their attention.

We know this works because most people are visual learners and do not want to be bothered with reading when they can see it. Not only does this mean they will actually take in the information you put together for them, but they will also remember it.

So stop walking into your office and seeing things you don’t want and instead, implement these steps so you come to a less stressed environment, save money, and ultimately create a better place to work.

Caroline Petersen
With over 10 years of marketing and communication design experience, Caroline is passionate about helping businesses solve problems by expressing what they have to offer to customers. Her strong problem-solving skills and eye for design can help clients transmit complex information clearly, concisely, and in a visually engaging way. Relentlessly curious, she's inspired by experimentation and always looks for better ways to serve her clients.

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