Five ways to make communication in the workplace more inclusive.
Communication, when handled with care, can play a pivotal role in fostering a happier and more motivated workforce. In fact, studies have found that teams who communicate effectively may increase their productivity by as much as 25%. However, everyone communicates differently, each of us with our own preferences in the methods through which we exchange information. As such, the case can be made for tailoring information or messaging in different ways to help people understand concepts with greater ease, thus providing a better work experience for all.
In this article, we'll delve into five actionable ways to enhance communication in the workplace, to make it more inclusive.
What is inclusive communication in the workplace?
Inclusive communication in the workplace refers to communication practices that make all employees feel welcome, valued and able to participate fully. One individual’s preferences when it comes to communication is different; some may favour email or written instruction, whereas others may prefer to communicate face-to-face. Using this information, we can interact with more intention, create a more accepting and thoughtful culture and do better work. From incorporating braille or iconography in workplace design to embracing various communication channels or technologies, inclusive communication considers how to meet the diverse needs of all employees.
Why is inclusive communication essential in a modern workplace?
When it comes to the day-to-day, redefining how you communicate to engage all employees is a powerful tool to support both employee wellbeing and business performance. Through more thoughtful and considered conversation, employees will have a better understanding of the task at hand, helping them to more easily take control, grow confidence and get creative in their roles. As workplace design continues to evolve, employees are increasingly operating in destination spaces that offer a plethora of choice. Dynamic environments that enable employees to work, rest and socialise throughout the working day are only as successful as the behaviours and attitudes of the people who use them. As a result, supporting effective communication between teams and individuals is a critical factor for businesses looking to explore and embrace new ways of working.
It's no wonder, then, that communication plays a powerful role in supporting and driving change. The most effective communicators possess the ability to successfully communicate their message to individuals from diverse walks of life, encompassing various ages, genders, cultures, and backgrounds through active listening and empathy. When considering a workplace transformation, communicating clearly why change is taking place, and what your employees can expect throughout the process, is a fundamental ingredient to ensure the successful adoption of your new workplace by all.
Promoting inclusivity in the workplace is important from a design, people policy and communication perspective. In fact, research from McKinsey & Co. has proven that promoting inclusivity improves financial growth, innovation and productivity, too. Communicating in a way that quite literally speaks to your entire workforce helps. The survey results showed that a greater sense of belonging and acceptance within minority individuals leads to greater excitement towards work and commitment to the business and its goals.
How to improve inclusive communication at work
1. Practice active listening
How well do you know your people and their preferred communication style? Active listening signals understanding , minimises misunderstandings, and provides insights into colleagues' communication styles. It's a powerful tool for fostering inclusivity and creating a supportive workplace and can be applied through company-wide surveys or on a one-to-one basis. At the start of a workplace transformation, our Strategy team practice a range of these types of active listening techniques to discover a business and their workplace needs. Active listening is not just about making a colleague feel heard and seen. It’s also about identifying issues or misunderstandings that can be restated in a way that the individual better understands. It helps to mitigate risk and develops teams into more efficient and high-performing units.
2. Create awareness
When communicating a message, we each have an idea of how we’d like a message to be received and understood, but you’d be surprised by how many messages are not interpreted the way the sender had originally intended.
As humans, we process messages in two ways; encoding and decoding. Encoding turns thoughts into communication, and decoding involves turning communication into thoughts – the latter is what we understand from a communication. In a way, we might consider communication as a multisensory interaction; sensory ‘noise’ includes body language, choice of words, or even external factors and contributes to how we send or receive information.
Implementing feedback loops within a workplace transformation project helps to raise awareness about how communication is being shared and received. This also gives employees space to discover, question and understand communication methods, and identify their own preferred channels, if they are not already aware of them.
