Relations between employees can strongly affect your company’s performance. Employees who are comfortable around each other and enjoy working together are more likely to produce good for the company. That is why you should pay a lot of attention to the communication between your employees. If you think there is a room for improvement, be sure to try some of the following techniques that will create better atmosphere at the office.
Today, most of the communication between the employees happens via phone, e-mail or social media. In order to make your employees able to communicate, they should all have each other’s contact information. For smaller businesses a great idea is to put up a board where everyone can write down their phone numbers, e-mail addresses etc. That way each person can easily get in touch with any of their colleagues. If there are too many employees and this is not possible, be sure to email them all the contact information they need.
Use Apps Designed for Teamwork
There are certain apps that are designed especially for improving the communication between the team members such is Yammer. This is basically a twitter for a private group. That is a place where employees can share the information about their progress and keep their colleagues up-to-date. There is also Chatter which basically works like Facebook. Your employees can share photos, status updates and progress information within the private group. This does not only make it easier between them to communicate but helps them get to know each other better.
Communication between the leadership and the employees is just as important as the one between the employees themselves. That is why you should take some time to get to know your employees and learn more about their personal lives. Share a meal with them or simply talk to them during the breaks. This will not only make your employees keen on working for you but will also encourage them to make other friends within the company and thus improve the atmosphere in the whole office.
Organize team-building exercises
There are so many different team-building activities that can address any issues your employees may have. There are activities that are designed especially to improve the communication between them. Back-to-back drawing is a very popular one. Employees are put in pairs and sat back-to-back. One person is given a picture while the other one is given a paper and a pen. The person holding a picture should give their partner verbal instructions on how to draw the shape that is on the picture, without telling them what the shape actually is. If you are ready to invest more in team-building exercises, you can always take your employees rafting or paintball, as these are the most popular team-building exercises.
Such small initiatives are actually something that can create a strong bond between the employees. There are many reasons throw a party. It can be a birthday party for you or an employee, Christmas party or a New Year’s Eve party. Or simply make it a tradition and throw a party once per month without any particular reason. You can think of interesting office party activities such as sharing some funny work experiences or play a game. Also, make sure that you serve quality food and drinks. Wine specials are something you can serve and make a toast to any positive results your company had.
All of these techniques will grant you a positive atmosphere at the office as well as happy and satisfied employees who look forward to going to the office every day.