No matter how many blogs or advice articles you read about the “tricks” and “formulas” for great communication at work each week, month, or year, commonsense knowledge and advice doesn’t change. When it comes to communication in the workplace between employees, what was considered common knowledge back in April or January, still holds true. The objective of internal communication is to effectively distribute information to the most relevant people in the business. You’re probably thinking “then, why am I reading this blog if there’s no new information?”. That’s a great question!

While commonsense knowledge doesn’t change, the number of tools and resources available today, does change. Communication methods such as email, chat, blogs, social networks and interactive group chats like Microsoft Teams, have made us far more mobile and in the cloud than before, this is true. But what doesn’t change is the way we continue to share and swap ideas.

Effective internal employee communication is becoming more and more of a priority as our office technology evolves and enables us to become more distant. The first priority is concentrating on the challenges your business faces individually. Identifying these challenges will help you make better decisions regarding communication platforms and strategies.

1.    Communication Needs to Move Quicker Than Change

What does this even mean? Well, it means that while some people resist change more than others, this resistance is often boiled down to a lack in the internal communication system. This quickly becomes an issue when your business fails to recognize how the internal communication sets a standard for employees to practice when they interact with each other or customers. The domino effect is at play here when communication is lacking, workplace culture weakens, and then the overall brand crumbles.

The weekly newsletter and a long email with multiple points are no longer going to be effective ways of communicating your message. It’s better to utilize channels that are more immediate and mobile Another key is selecting the right platform, is to think about those employees who are more resistant to change and choose a channel that can facilitate feedback directly. This way, you might have a better shot at minimizing their discomfort, at least if you cannot entirely remedy their resistance to change 100%.

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2.    Generation Gaps, Not Communication Gaps

It’s no secret any longer that the Millennial generation has taken over the workforce and pushing the past generations down to the runner up. But make no mistake, this doesn’t mean the young ones are pushing everyone else out of the office. Oh no, businesses today are commonly multi-generational. This means that in order to create an engaging work environment for everyone, specific strategies and processes should be in place for addressing a variety of ranging communication styles and values.

Studies suggest that pairing older and younger employees together, results in better performance in both parties. While social interaction skills from the younger millennials brush off on older generations, workplace stability tends to brush off on the younger generation. Finding the proper channel for communication between the generation gaps can greatly improve the culture and efficiency in the business.

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3.    Trickle-Down Communication Is a Big “No-No”

Like a big game of telephone, most companies pass down information through their hierarchies. This type of communication chain often results in missed information, delays, and dependence upon individuals to deliver information, so it can pass down the hierarchy. So much information could have been passed from the top of the hierarchy to the second, but most gets lost along the way, which becomes an issue when the people who need it the most often don’t get the entire message.

Creating middle management positions and providing those individuals with the important information, who then can pass down the details to those who do the main work, will greatly improve efficiency. Also, equipping these individuals with efficient mobile communication tools and devices, will help them be better leaders by have the right information to deliver at the right times.

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4.    Be Cautious of Informal Communication

While informal and casual communication is nice and flexible around the office, it has the potential to distort important information being passed along. Information is only important when there is meaning behind it. Often, when details are initially passed, they are from a managerial perspective and the tone is probably more formal. But once word of mouth brings the information around the office, that same tone is gone, and the importance of the matter is often missing now that a more casual approach to the message is being taken.

While casual communication is great for improving the quality of relationships in the office, it can also lead to misunderstanding and being confusion to the workplace. However, if your internal communication is strong and you have adopted the use of effective communication strategies, informal communication can still work for you by limiting the amount of gossip and confusion floating around.

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5.    Customer Expectations

More than likely, you have once delivered promises to your customers that they continue to hold you to during your relationship together. How can they rely on you to deliver on those promises now with multiple middle managers? The best way is to practice more effective communication with the employees on the front lines of the action.

Clearly communication your goals as a business, having well-trained and capable staff, will improve customer’s faith in you to deliver on those promises. The best way to keep customers happy and satisfied, is to reflect on the internal satisfaction. When your business is happy and healthy, and of course well-communicated on the inside, the customers will acknowledge that and feel confident in your ability to deliver and serve.

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