Selecting Communication Channels – BMS Notes

Choose the three most effective routes for business communication.

Effective communication in the workplace depends on how you convey your message to the right people. Thankfully, there are actions you can do to assist you in choosing the most effective approach to deliver your message after you’ve determined what needs to be said.

First step: Determine the kind of communication you are sending.

To choose the right channels of communication to employ, start by asking yourself a series of questions regarding the information you need to express.

• Is this an official or casual message?
• Does this material have to be cited somewhere?
• Is there a time limit or is this information urgent?
• Are you communicating sensitive or private information?
• Is this data specialised or general?
• Are you speaking with a single person or a group of people?
• Is the person you lead, a peer, or someone higher up?
• Is there anything you need to convey to the whole organisation or just your team?
• Is this communication one-way or two-way, meaning that a response is required?

Step 2: Take into account the communication culture of your organisation

Employee engagement and productivity are contingent upon trust, tools, and collaboration, as shown by the Slack Future of Work Study. The survey also revealed that eighty percent of employees are interested in learning more about the decision-making process inside their company.

Therefore, maintaining your team’s view that face-to-face communication is essential for effective teamwork may require breaking bad news in person rather than via cold, impersonal email. And sending a direct message after midnight is probably not the greatest course of action if your organisation places a high value on work/life balance.

Step 3: Determine your audience before choosing a delivery strategy.

There are probably a number of communication channels available to you inside your firm. The most popular ones are as follows:

• In person
• One-on-ones
• gatherings of teams
• Meetings with the whole company
• Retreats

When you communicate in person at work, you may express a wider variety of emotions, the interaction must happen in real time, and information can usually be shared both ways.

Weekly meetings are used by many workplaces to ensure that everyone is in agreement at the beginning of the week. The tone of the year is established during the annual business meetings. Additionally, retreats may be a useful opportunity to bond as a team in a new environment. Depending on the goal, these face-to-face meetings might be official or casual.

For the delivery of sensitive information, including salary packages or helpful criticism about job performance, in-person, one-on-one sessions work best. They may, however, also be utilised for less formal objectives, such getting to know a new hire better or looking for executive mentoring.

• audio and visual
• direct phone conversation
• Call for conferences
• Video conversation
• recorded video

Sometimes it’s not possible for us to connect with the individuals we need to be in person. We often use voice and video conversations to communicate when that occurs. It is also simpler to record voice and video chats in case the material exchanged has to be reviewed at a later time.

In the moment, employees and workers may easily ask questions and provide comments via one-on-one or smaller group conversations. It is more difficult to encourage participation for two-way communication at work when there are more individuals on the phone or watching a live video broadcast. You may send out a pre-recorded video if there is absolutely no need for involvement.

• Composed Direct Emails
• bulk emails
• SMS texts
• Instant communication

In the workplace, written communication is prevalent. It is quick and simple, serves as documentation, and may be official or casual. At your organisation, it may be standard practise to promptly respond to emails with critical information or to send out bulk emails with questions.

While some companies have completely embraced texting, others may find it contentious. Generally speaking, texting is more casual and works well for making an instant connection. Instead of waiting for the email to sit in their inbox, a customer may text a contractor to ask if they can speak with them in an hour.

Then there are platforms for instant messaging. By using this delivery method, you may avoid having to go to a colleague’s desk and get a prompt and accurate response to your query. Additionally, it clears the clutter of one-word and one-sentence emails from your inbox