10 handy things you NEED to help improve communications in your SME
Good planning, commitment and communication is the key to success for any SME. There are many of articles available online that are dedicated to the first two, but do you know how to improve communications within your business? If not, here are ten handy ‘things’ your SME needs in order to be successful, ranging from apps to add-ons and good old fashioned conversations…
1. A centralised calendar
As your company grows, you’re going to find that you have more and more people that need their days organising. Start by using a centralised calendar system such as Google Calendar – you’ll be able to see what your team is up to every day, which clients/stockists/suppliers you’re meeting with, as well as the finer details such as which members of staff are on holiday or have booked a meeting room. Once you’ve got to grips with how it works, you won’t look back.
2. An email policy
Emails are probably the main way your team are going to communicate with one another, so it’s important to have a robust email policy in place so that emailing is used effectively, rather than as a drain on your company’s time. For instance, set reasonable rules about the length an email should be, or the subjects that should and shouldn’t be discussed over email. You might decide to have a policy that requires your team to get up from their desks to talk to one another, while allowing for important emails to be sent just so there’s a paper trail or a firm ‘to-do list’ to work through, for example.
3. A instant chat service
Similarly, you could invest in an instant chat service for your employees to use rather than using email. This is particularly handy if you have team members working outside the office, such as from home, on the road or anywhere else they choose to work from.
4. Skype
Skype is another great communications tool that your SME should be taking advantage of. Not only can it improve communications internally (used as an instant messenger service, or by small teams to update one another of completed tasks and next actions), it can also be used to facilitate communication externally too. Use Skype to talk to your clients and customers if you like, saving money and time on travel.
5. A project management tool
As your team grows, you’ll doubtless find that you need sophisticated software to enable employees to keep track of what work needs doing, task status and queries. There are lots of project management tools out there, so do your research and see which one best fits your SME’s needs right now.
6. A performance management plug in
In addition to using a good project management tool, there are some really good add-ons out there that are designed to focus on the people performing the work as much as keeping tabs on the progress of the work itself. Upraise is one such add-on, and it allows the entire team to create plans, customise their work flows, assign tasks to one another and filter queries. Ultimately it facilitates communication about the work that’s being tracked in a project management tool, so consider investing in good quality plugins if you really want to get the most out of the technology you’re using.
7. Widespread use of G Drive
Google Drive is a great mechanism for encouraging hiccup-free communication. You and the rest of your team will be able to upload documents to it, access it from anywhere in the world and re-upload or live edit documents into folders once documents have been amended. If your business handles lots of documents (such as spreadsheets and word docs) and needs to keep track of the most up-to-date version, you’ll know how useful G Drive is… and how troublesome communication would be without it!
8. A collaborative list app
Another very handy app for communicating is Wunderlist. This app allows you to make to-do lists and to invite other people to share them, meaning everyone has oversight of what needs doing, what can be ticked off as well as adding new things to the list. Again, like G drive, this app is another way of ensuring smooth communication between members of your team and will ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
9. Weekly company-wide meetings
Apps and add-ons are great, but communication can’t be facilitated by technology alone. In fact, nothing beats face to face meetings to ensure that business performance stays at its best for your SME. So, arrange a weekly company-wide meeting to discuss key things the business is doing, and what the highlights and challenges are for your SME right now. Face to face, honest communication like this is essential if you want your SME to be successful.
10. 1-2-1 meetings between managers and employees
Similarly, one to one meetings are a good idea too, as they’ll provide the perfect opportunity to iron out any ‘kinks’ in the business and ensure everyone’s happy and working at their best. Again, nothing beats face to face communication, as often an employee’s body language can say as much as the words they’re speaking. Ensure managers are scheduling time with their team regularly and that bigger issues are taken up with senior colleagues if necessary – it’s one thing to communicate a problem, but it’s just as important to actually act on it!