Top Ten Tell-tale Signs of Poor Office Communication (a.k.a. when to call the Communications Coach!)

Top Ten Tell-tale Signs of Poor Office Communication (a.k.a. when to call the Communications Coach!)

When is it time for a Communications Coach?

Communication is the key to an efficient and productive workplace.  Every workplace involves getting people to do things, and that takes communication.  If that communication is inefficient or inaccurate, or worse, disruptive or offensive, then work suffers, productivity suffers, and the environment suffers… which means work quality suffers and retention suffers, and culture suffers…. which means efficiency suffers and productivity suffers, and environment suffers…  which means…  you get the picture.

Here are the top ten signs that communication in your office is not top notch and could benefit from a Communications Coach providing training and coaching to your teams:

1. People are not predominantly happy and lighthearted at work.
2. There’s gossip and/or rumor.  There is not transparency.
3. Projects take longer than expected or promised, are completed poorly or need re-working.
4. The buck doesn’t stop anywhere….  No one wants to own or be responsible for anything.
5. People quit, or quit while they’re still there by not giving their all, by moaning about their work, by not being as efficient as they could be.
6. There are surprises.  Not everyone can say everything to everyone all the time.  But if there’s a general sense of people not knowing what’s going on, or getting surprised, there’s likely a lack of communication.
7. The Human Resources department is tired and overworked.
8. There are managers/supervisors/VPs known for being gruff, easily offended, hard to understand, taking things personally, not good to work for or with.
9. There’s any behavior that one might categorize as unprofessional, teenager-like, petty, reactive.
10. There are people who are known not to work well together.

From improving people’s communication style, to identifying the style of their colleagues, to taking responsibility for how, when and what we communicate – communication is a combination of skills and art.  Both the art and skills get addressed in working with a Communications Coach.

For a complimentary assessment of your workplace communication, contact us.