There’s a saying that goes something like this, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” In most cases, this could be true but not always, especially in business. When implementing change or guiding your company through a culture shift, you want your teams to know exactly what’s going on every step of the way. That’s why it’s important to practice relentless communication every day. In fact, you should be communicating so much that it might seem like you’re over communicating at times.
So, you may be asking yourself, “What does relentless communication look like?” Well, in our business it looks different depending on where you are and who you are in the company. Our first practice is pre-shift briefings or “huddles” as we often call them. These are short ten minute staff meetings where team members gather around to discuss important events, goals, announcements, and strategies for the day. We utilize this time to make sure that everyone is on the same page before beginning their shift. It’s what we like to call the transition time from “me time” to “company time”. Having these huddles keeps the rumor mill at bay and provides us with a way to get information out to the teams very quickly.
We also layer our communication efforts using technology. Each of our salon locations have text groups set up through GroupMe so that we can send group text messages to the teams.
We like to send positive messages “in the moment” acknowledging good performance as well as important information when needed. For example, group texting is a great way to communicate with your teams during inclement weather like an ice storm.
Our leadership team also utilizes various apps like Evernote to document coaching and performance planning conversations with team members so that we have an ongoing journal for each team member.
All of these examples are designed to create transparency with our team members, which in turn builds trust. How well you design your communication channels will determine the speed and efficiency at building that trust. And we all know that a business culture where there is high trust is insulated from any negative vulnerability associated with change.
What about you? What problems are you facing when it comes to communicating with your team? Do you struggle when team members complain about not knowing what’s going on?
