Can I share a quick truth with you?
If you want your organization to be successful, start communicating.
Building and maintaining a culture of open communication amongst your team members is essential for any healthy organization. It allows members the freedom to share ideas and offer encouragement or feedback.
In my recent blog posts, First Steps for Creating An Organizational Culture of Open-Communication and Tools For Communicating With Your Team, I offer some practical suggestions for helping your team implement and utilize effective communication practices. I discuss strategic steps you can make as a leader, as well as tangible tools and technology platforms to assist you along the way.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to give those articles a read.
Alright, let’s say you’ve already done that work. You’ve:
- Identified ways you as an organization can grow in your communication.
- Instituted team-wide communication practices and invited members to participate.
- Chosen which apps and tech platforms you will use for communicating.
- Begun modeling “effective communication habits” in your own behavior.
At this point, you may be wondering, “Now what?”
Once you’ve done the work of establishing effective communication systems and practices within your team, it’s important to set up systems for keeping track of your communication.
Why is this important?
First, let me ask you something..
Have you ever received a piece of advice that you’ve later forgotten? Or have you read an important company update, but couldn’t find the message again when you went to search for it?
I’m guessing your answer (like most of us) is YES. We’ve ALL misplaced important information or forgotten details to significant conversations at one point or another.
This is precisely why creating systems for tracking company communication is essential.
These systems help to ensure that important ideas are not lost, the team is staying organized, and forward progress is being made.
Alright, what I know you’re truly looking for…the practicals.
Tangible Tips for Tracking Team Communication:
- Record Minutes for ALL Meetings:
Recording meeting minutes is an easy way to keep track of conversations and review past discussions. It also provides an easy way for team members to “catch up” if, for some reason, they miss a meeting. I recommend assigning a specific person to this task and creating a shared file for storing these meeting records.
- Use A Project Management Tool:
Project management software, such as Asana or Trello, makes it easy for each team member to keep track of their own work, as well as provide accountability and feedback to other team members. Each program has the capacity for multiple team members to share a digital workspace and to track their progress on different projects.
- Record Each Video Meeting:
If you and your team members are meeting via a virtual platform, such as Zoom, you have the capability to record your entire meeting. Do it! There is no better meeting record than a recording of the meeting itself. As you record, I recommend also using a program called Searchio. After your meeting has finished, Serchio will create a written and searchable transcript of your entire meeting, making it easy for you to go back and find specific details, without having to rewatch the whole meeting.
- Organize Your Messaging Apps:
For day to day team conversations, it can be helpful to use messaging programs, such as Slack. This tool allows you to organize conversations into different topic-oriented channels, making it easier to keep track of important details and messages.
- Train Your Team:
Once you’ve identified the communication systems you want to implement, provide formal training for your team. In other words, teach them how to communicate using the organizational systems. This will ensure that you are making the most of the tools at your disposal and will keep everyone on the same page. I recommend recording this training to have available for any future team members.
Looking for more support as you work to strengthen your organization’s communication? I’d love to help. Click here to sign up for a 15-minute strategy call. Together we can talk through your communication systems and create a tracking plan that works for you!
Article was contributed by: Maria Lees, Team Writer with Sarah Boxx
