4 Effective Tips to Improve Internal Communication

Internal communication, an inevitable element of business, needs to be promoted to achieve organizational objectives. While endeavoring to promote internal communication, an organization needs to address three main concerns:

1.      Organizational climate and culture should encourage open communication

2.      There should be clear guidelines about what and how communication (in form of information) will flow within organization.

3.      Organization should have a system to track the effectiveness of flow of communication through different levels of hierarchy.

We suggest some important ways for ensuring seamless internal communication within the organization:

Maintain a sophisticated information distribution system

Every organization requires a sophisticated information distribution system for free flow of information across different strata within it.

Design dedicated channels that are responsible for conveying a message through different operational levels such as finance, production, marketing, distribution and supply, etc. The whole distribution system needs to be supervised to avoid bottlenecks or pitfalls.  

Open climate and culture

Establishing a climate of openness where everyone has the freedom to voice  their opinion in a democratic manner fosters the seamless flow of information through effective internal communication.

The organization should have a system in-place to allow people at different levels to raise their concerns, register their ideas, and share their views against a policy or procedure. Such transparency in an organizational system gives way to an effective internal communication.

Practice what you preach

What you say or promise to your work force should be in harmony with your actions.

For instance, if you promise your sub-ordinates to listen or invite their suggestions while taking a decision, you should have a proper channel to implement the same.

The internal communication will get a hit if your juniors come to see some sudden changes in policies or processes without their consultation or knowing.

Also, ensure that there is no sense of inequality in an organization. Discrimination on the grounds of position, power or personal relationship spreads negativity, a huge hindrance in smooth flow of internal communication.

Problem solving

Since no system is perfect, you should stay vigilant to assess the hindrances or obstacles in the way of effective internal communication. You need to address the questions such as what is favorable atmosphere for internal communication; is there any technical loophole or management issue; or are the right people employed for respective tasks?

For problem solving, take the advice of experienced CEO peers by becoming a member of some reputed CEO association. The Brain Trust CEO peer group in Atlanta provides effective business leadership coaching and CEO training helping CEOs to meet management challenges in every step of business development.