Home > Columns > CRM Columns

The Importance of Keeping the Lines of Communication in Business Open

Contributed article by Nicola Reid

  

Collaboration in the workplace is as necessary for the workplace as it ever was. With company culture taking front and center stage in many workplace settings, the concepts of teamwork, unity, and how a team collaborates all play a part in how well a business functions overall. CrmXchange shares how and why you should work at keeping the lines of communication open as a business owner if you want to succeed in the long run.

It encourages creativity

When the lines of communication are open, it becomes easier for team members to offer up suggestions and bring their creativity to the table. Furthermore, encouraging collaboration between team members where possible is another way of fostering a company culture where everyone feels included and a valuable part of the team.

Additionally, when the lines of communication are open, there is less of a resistance to correction when things go wrong. Moreover, it's about dealing with problems as and when they arise as transparently as possible. It's taking into account each party's concerns, and dealing with these objectively and decisively to reach a fair outcome where both parties are satisfied with the result. 

It gets to the solution of a problem much quicker

Just think about it. Where more people are working together to find a solution to a workplace concern, the odds of actually finding a remedy for the cause becomes much higher. Moreover, the saying two heads are better than one has never been more true when it comes to finding workplace solutions - and finding them quickly.

It creates an opportunity to learn something new

Collaboration promotes an open learning environment. When team members are unafraid to share their ideas with others, they become more willing to do so. And what happens is that people start to bounce ideas off of each other, taking each other's ideas into consideration. It's one where collaboration becomes a team effort, rather than a one-man show.

Ways to encourage collaboration within the workplace

The mission matters

A mission that's not communicated well down the line is not worth having if everyone is not on the same page. That's why everyone must know what your company mission is and how to work towards it to achieve a common goal. 

Set the bar 

Of course, when it comes to setting goals and actually achieving them, this also comes with setting the bar for what your expectations are. Furthermore, every team member will know what's expected of them individually as well as a team member, so there's no uncertainty on the way forward. 

Collaboration tools worth using

As far as staying on the same page goes, there are tools available online to assist with enhancing team collaboration. Tools such as Asana and Trello, for example, are project management tools designed to keep everyone in the loop at all times. These apps also assist with keeping on top of projects to ensure that common goals are achieved and are achieved according to schedule. Then, of course, there are the more common team collaboration tools such as Gmail or Google Drive, for instance. What it comes down to is finding the right tools that work for you as a company.

Team collaboration that counts

At the end of the day, for team collaboration to truly be effective, it must hold value. In this sense, it must matter to everyone involved for it to be effective. Another significant benefit is that it's vitally important to achieving the company's goals too. 

CrmXchange provides business professionals with contact center white papers, call center webinars, CRM virtual conferences, and peer-to-peer networking. You can sign up for a free membership today by clicking here.

Image via Pexels