When it comes to office productivity, few things can undermine the collective goals of a company more than internal communication issues. These issues can take on a variety of appearances from coworker squabbles to ineffective use of email to nonproductive and poorly organized meetings. Being able to identify communication issues within your company is not only helpful in minimizing personal altercations before they get out of hand but can also help create a cohesive and collectively-focused staff that is capable of reaching the important goals and aspirations of the company.

In this article we will explore some of the most common communication issues which occur within companies and suggest a few tips for how to fix and, in some instances, squash these issues before they begin to grow. Let's start by looking at some typical communication issues that plague offices.


Coworker Disagreements

Within any office environment, it is inevitable that two or more of your employees will eventually not see eye-to-eye on a task, promotion, office policy, etc. When this occurs, it's natural for those in disagreement to begin recruiting other coworkers to take their side, thus building "armies" to fight for their stance. If your office is not equipped to identify these situations quickly or have procedures in place to remedy these occurrences, these sides will continue to grow in number until a tipping point is reached and things come to a head (typically in a very confrontational way).


Communication Abuse

While this can take numerous forms, some of the most typical methods of communication abuse in today's workplace are email mismanagement and poorly orchestrated and run meetings. Email mismanagement can take on a variety of appearances from individuals who unnecessarily carbon copy (cc) or blind carbon copy (bcc) workers who have nothing to do with the topic being addressed to reply chains that spawn unto threads of over 20 emails in a matter of minutes. In fact, according to a 2011 IDC survey, 28% of bosses acknowledged firing workers for email misuse.

Poorly orchestrated and run meetings can stem from a variety of problems, as well. These can include not having previously identified and notified others of the topics which will be discussed, not having clear parameters for meeting length, or not having procedures in place to mediate issues which arise during the meeting.

So how can your office identify these communication breakdowns early on and work to prevent them from causing larger workplace problems?


Clearly Define Practices & Procedures

One of the first and most important steps your company can take is to effectively articulate how to identify and address issues as they first come to light. Whether an interpersonal misunderstanding has occurred between two coworkers or your entry-level employees feel as though their concerns are going unnoticed, if your office has clear action steps in place that all workers know how to utilize, the process of effectively identifying a problem and beginning to fix it can take place.


Schedule A Retreat

This doesn't have to be some off-site, lavish get together that lasts all day (or multiple days) but your office should schedule annual (or more frequent if possible) meetings in which company-based policies, mission statements, and other large picture topics can be discussed and workers can be refreshed of their purpose and company policies and processes. By regularly coming together as a group to review the purpose of the company and the methods through which the company operates, the staff is more likely to stay focused on the desired outcomes while also being able to continually address and modify procedures within the company to reflect the climate desired. An NBRI study in 2012 showed a 16% increase in productivity when collaborative goal-setting was in place in offices.


Conclusion

There are a myriad of different ways that communication can breakdown within a company. Whenever various individuals are required to interact continually a variety of obstacles lie in wait to sabotage the outcomes. However, when your company works to provide clear action steps in those circumstances and seeks out ways to improve the identification and remedying process, success is far more likely.