Ted Hickman

Tips to Prevent Workplace Miscommunication



Miscommunication at work is quite common. If it happens, everything else gets affected. Tasks get delayed. Employees start hating each other. Therefore, it’s essential to prevent miscommunication. These are some useful tips to consider.

Don’t be vague in giving instructions 

When you give instructions for doing specific tasks or projects, you have to be clear. Let everyone know the details. Avoid making vague suggestions that no one will understand. If you’re not clear, you have to be honest about it. It means that the employees have more freedom to be creative in their approach. The worst thing you can do is let them decide what they want when you expect something else. If you already have expectations, you should be clear about them.

Be specific when giving praise

When you praise your employees, it’s not enough to say “good job” or “congratulations”. You have to be specific. Let them know exactly where they did well. You should also point out the areas of improvement if possible. In doing so, you’re clear with the behaviour you want to reinforce. The employees will continue doing an excellent job in the future.

Create a clear organizational chart

Miscommunication may also happen if employees don’t know whom to talk to if there are concerns. It’s also possible if they skip some people when making emails and other forms of communication. Therefore, it helps if the company has a clear organizational chart. It’s easier to determine who gets the message and who should respond. It also prevents people from feeling bad that they were out of the loop. 

Address issues right away

If there are potential miscommunication areas or lapses in judgement, they need to get addressed right away. It’s important not to worsen these issues. Explain what happened and move on.

Don’t rely on people without direct knowledge 

The worst thing you can do is to ask people who don’t have first-hand knowledge about specific details. Instead of clarifying information, you’re making it worse. It also appears to be a form of gossip. You didn’t go directly to the people involved. There will be further miscommunication as a result. It helps if you immediately talk to the people involved and clarify certain details. 

Learn to apologize

If there are still issues despite these changes, you have to acknowledge them. Learn to apologize to your employees and promise to do better. You should also invest in quality office supplies like the ones sold at www.aosonline.co.uk so you can disseminate information through writing. You can’t rely on sending these messages orally and expect everyone to follow. Acknowledging your mistake isn’t a bad thing. It even sends the right message to your employees. Instead of hiding the truth, which makes miscommunication more possible, you let them say what happened without fear.

Miscommunication isn’t easy to prevent. Even in families, it happens. However, there are ways to reduce it. You also make it easier for any transactions to move forward. Sometimes, mistakes can cost the business money, and you don’t want them to keep happening.

Take another look