If you think that speaking to someone is just that - words, you’re missing the points.
Communication of any type is an important thing. Not only does it allow you to pass information on to another person, explain your point of view, or give instructions, but it also helps you connect with other people. This is particularly important from a workplace point of view, because building team spirit is vital for high morale and high productivity as a result.
Everyone thinks they know how to communicate, but there is a very real difference between okay communication and high quality communication. In a work setting, employees need to know how to communicate to the highest level with colleagues, management, customers, and clients alike. This means changing your tactics depending upon who you’re speaking to, but it also covers the subject of listening too.
With a contemporary office environment you will have a range of different personalities and they will either gel with each other, bump against each other, or totally clash with one another. All of that is fine as long as everyone knows how to communicate with one another effectively, whether they get along personally or not. When this doesn’t happen, conflict occur, which pulls down morale and affects productivity. This also has a knock-on effect on the quality of service the customer receives. Before you know it, word of mouth has gotten around that your business isn’t the best one in your niche, and your competitors are winning out.
Check out this infographic which talks in more detail about why effective communication is so important.
Source - https://pulse.greenham.com/post/effective-communication-important/
It can be hard to understand at first whether your workplace has a problem with unclear communication. For that reason, managers need to sit down and really assess the situation, understanding what can be done better versus what is already being done positively. The need to cover verbal communication as well as any written communication that is passed around the workplace and which goes out to customers and clients.
A very easy problem to spot is gossip. Yes, that is a form of communication, but not a very positive one! Gossip can drag down morale and can alienate employees and make them feel singled out. Stopping gossip completely is very difficult but trying to disband cliques and create an ‘all for one and one for all’ feel to the office is vital. You can do this via team building exercises or focusing more on teamwork in the collaborative space, rather than having people sitting at their office desks alone all the time.
You may also find that you have an employee who loves to chatter. Again, this can be a problem is other people are trying to get on with their work! The only way to identify and changes these issues is to be aware that they're happening.
Managers need to focus on communication within the workplace. Having a general overview of the space and how things can be improved will create a more productive and harmonious office in general. Of course, that has a knock-on effect on morale and productivity too, with the customer being the end beneficiary.