Most Effective Communication Methods for a Manager

When managing a team communication is key. This is in several ways you need to be able to issue instructions and commands, you will need to keep a channel of communication open for questions and updates from the staff and you also need to be able to issue disciplinary procedures at times. So there are different ways to do this depending on the situation.

Face to Face

Here in this article we will talk a lot about communication technologies and this is very important but often we neglect good old-fashioned talking in a face to face setting. It’s always preferable, where possible, to do things in this way as it gives a more personal touch and allows the chance for each party to easily reply and discuss matters. This is particularly important in situations such as interviews as it allows the manager to read the facial expressions and body language of the potential member of staff.

Accessible Training Logs via Software

Many workplaces will make use of employee performance review software that both managers and staff can access. This allows progress to be monitored and comments to be added on how things are working. This is particularly important where you have a workplace with an internal training structure as we can see how much progress each worker has made and compare them if we are looking for promotion candidates and can use the data in performance reviews. The staff can also see how they are doing and if they desire can take it on themselves to complete more training etc.

Remote Communication

Sometimes it’s required that you are managing staff from other locations and it’s essential to be able to keep in touch. Email is an obvious one as it’s been around for a long time, but some offices still need things on paper and then you will need to send them physically or use online fax. Phone calls and video calls, using platforms such as Skype are very popular.

Official Procedures

Sometimes we need to interact with staff in terms of official procedures and to do so effectively the company needs to have these procedures clear and accessible to the staff so that they know them. This is for anything from sick pay, to maternity leave or disciplinary procedure. It is essential to have these tied down as if they are unclear before they start being used this can lead to arguments, stress and even legal action further down the line.

Work Messenger System

Almost all modern work-places have a communication system in place that can be accessed on PCs and also smart-phones. For some, it’s a very simple Facebook messenger or WhatsApp, and for very simple or small organizations this can be sufficient, however, you may choose to look at something a little more involved. Useful features are workflow and file-sharing, calendar and schedule sharing. Our personal favorite is one called Slack, but there are plenty of alternatives to this that do similar jobs and some charge a subscription and others are free.