How to spot communication issues in your team

How to spot communication issues at an early stage

Lack of communication is a problem that can show up in many different ways. When you see one or more of these symptoms, it’s time to take action:

• Team members don’t listen to each other during meetings. It’s hard to have a productive meeting when everyone is talking over each other or tuning out what others are saying. When there’s no respect for each person’s opinion, it becomes impossible to make good decisions as a team.
• People aren’t communicating clearly and openly with each other. If someone is having trouble understanding what others needs from them, rather than stopping and asking their colleagues what they need, they might end up guessing and then acting based on vague instructions. Make sure your team members know it’s better to ask “What specifically do you need from me?” than “Why are we doing this?” when you’re not sure what someone wants from you.
• There’s no sense of trust within the team — people feel nervous about sharing ideas and opinions with others because they worry that their ideas will be used against them later

Negative effects of communication issues within your team

Communication issues can be tricky to spot, but even if the signs are not as obvious as the ones described above, you will still get the feeling that something is amiss. For instance, you might notice an increase in absenteeism or tardiness because people don’t want to deal with their teammates. People might start coming into work late and leaving early to avoid their coworkers. If you’re in a small team, then it might be obvious when someone isn’t getting along with others. However, if you have a larger team, this might not be as clear.

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When you’re looking for signs of communication issues, try to think about how the problem affects productivity. Here are some examples:

• People are getting distracted easily by other things going on around them. For example, they’re taking long breaks or they’re constantly checking emails or social media during work hours.
• People aren’t collaborating as much as they should be with each other on projects or tasks because they don’t trust each other enough to share information openly and honestly about what’s going on in their work lives and personal lives so that everyone can understand each other better and help each other more effectively and efficiently (the goal is transparency).
• People are talking behind each other’s backs about things that aren’t true or helpful for anyone involved, especially when there’s no way to confirm these rumors/stories/information/etc.

Addressing conflict and lack of communication

If you notice that conflict has increased within your team and that people are getting less work done than they were before, then communication issues could be at hand. Communication problems are the most common cause of team failure. Team members don’t understand each other, or don’t feel like they’re being heard. They don’t feel like they can speak up, or they just aren’t sure how to communicate effectively with their teammates. Address communication issues promptly, to prevent a drop in your team’s productivity, ultimately affecting your entire business. Specific team building activities designed to address communication issues within teams can help you get to grips with these kinds of dynamics, creating a more pleasant working environment for everyone. A simple exercise such as writing a Company Magazine, for example, can help team members make communication flow more smoothly and efficiently, learning the basics of a solid and effective dialogue with colleagues.

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