After working with the innovative team of Tapp Network, I’ve noticed how powerful communication is and how much it leads to the success of an organization. What makes this team stand out is how they are constantly trying to grow and improve their methods to create a better understanding for their team and customers.
As you know, we are all different in our own ways. Tapp understands these differences and allows their employees to feel comfortable working on a variety of projects simultaneously turning their passion for work into motivating energy. What Tapp has seemed to make the head of, is this: there needs to be some sort of constant understanding, or some may call it “common ground.”
Tony Robbins, American success coach, and self-help author explained it perfectly: “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” So what is that “common ground?” Effective communication.
It all starts with knowing whom you are working with. Identify that there are differences in habits, beliefs, learning styles, etc. Once you can see that and believe it, emphasize it. Make your team aware of these incongruities so they can also try to understand each other. Some ways you can make your team aware:
What this understanding does, is help to create warm reception and increase approachability enough to connect from the get-go. From this, your employees will develop a sense of belonging and feel empowered.
Another setback, in particular, that is overlooked in the way employers and employees interact with one another. That is understanding introversion vs. extraversion.
It’s important to understand that personalities are not one-size-fits-all. Someone who tends to be more introverted may not feel comfortable or psychologically safe doing the same activity as someone who is on the extroverted end of the scale. This is where knowing your employees and encouraging them to get to know one another can build psychological safety. This allows for introverted employees to feel comfortable participating in “risky” activities, feeling they know and trust the group.
The entire world seems to be designed for extroverts, yet 30%-50% of the population are somewhere on the introvert scale! If you’re interested in where you land, take this free 10-minute test. To summarize:
Yes, communicating is great, but feeling comfortable doing it gives it a whole new meaning. Building a communication-friendly culture means creating a comforting and reassuring environment for your organization. It helps break down those walls for people, encouraging them to raise concerns and voice their true opinions. The trust this type of culture establishes is exactly what is needed to make an individual feel confident and communicate effectively. Some ways to build a communication-friendly culture:
Lastly, ask how they are from time to time. We are all people with different lives and things going on. It may sound simple, and it is. A small interaction or showing of interest can go a long way and mean more to people than you think.
It’s no secret that technology has become our means of communicating, both in our personal lives and professionally. Generally, we know that technology and increasing electronic communication improves the communication process. This is because of its ability to eliminate time and obstacles that affect how an organization hopes to meet its objectives. Let’s look at it technically.
Having a messaging app, like Slack, can help connect people to the information they need. Understand there are different messaging apps better used for different needs. PCMag summarizes the top picks for business messaging apps in 2021 and their special features.
Someone I worked with once said they wish there was a single “source of truth”: One place to go to for all things such as project management, tasks, conversations, etc. Unfortunately, there are very few applications that can do it all efficiently, if any. This is why we, as a society, rely on communication so much. We need it to inform and learn from one another. Tips for maintaining effective communication within your messaging app:
For example, you may choose to text message someone for something you wouldn’t email them about. Text messaging or direct messaging in Slack may be for higher priority and more timely subjects, whereas email may be strictly having to do with clients and projects with the expectation of a 24-hour response time. Maybe there’s one way you’d specifically like to bring in third parties, like contractors, and communicate with them. You can define different groups in an app like Slack to be more conversation-based too, but inform your team of the differences in roles each form of communication plays in your organization.
Expectations should be set as to when it is appropriate to message, call, or email, especially for a business with flexible work hours and employees around the world. Since everyone has their own time and style, keeping a calendar of when people will generally be available throughout the day, that is updated daily, can help from disrupting others. You may propose that all members of your team should be available to answer questions on your messaging app between standard business hours. However, with a more flexible schedule, you may not require them to work the 9 am to 5 pm structured hours.
Like messaging, task management apps have a variety of special features, pros, and cons, etc. Drag does a great job explaining the main features of 20 of the best, free task management software to help you at work.
These apps help you organize your workload more easily and improve your overall experience with managing your to-dos. Task and project management apps can do so much more than you might originally need them for. Explore them.
One example is ClickUp. It can integrate with your email, sync with your messaging app, team calendars, and has dashboards where you can include important project indicators, like visual widgets, all in one place.
We tend to underestimate how confusing using these apps can be to people, especially with different learning styles. For instance, creating a task in ClickUp can look different from person to person. Some may like to keep it vague for their own knowledge or make it specific for others to fully understand. This is where that common understanding between employees and employers comes in.
In order to effectively communicate, employees need to have some sort of standardization where all tasks are easy to read and comprehend. What is a task? What is a sub-task? What do you expect out of your employees? This, of course, is just a minor example. However, you may find similar instances with how to link documents, organizing OKRs and Sprints into goal folders, and analyzing workload reports.
Working as an Administrative Intern for Tapp Network this summer, I have been able to learn about the ins and outs of People Operations, and let me tell you it is tough! I was especially impressed with how well Tapp accounts for the diversity of their team, whether that’s what each individual is interested in, how they work, or how they identify. An example is how they encourage you to create a title for yourself that you feel encompasses the values and goals of your position. With that being said, I highly recommend you consider a career with Tapp Network. Take a look at our openings!
