10 Strategies to Improve Communication in a Federal Workplace
Effective communication is crucial for any business, but more so for federal workplaces due to their complex setups, hierarchies, procedures, and policies and the impact of their work that extend far beyond the organizational premises. It’s also vital for the efficient delivery of services to both stakeholders and the public, as well as to fulfill the agency’s long-term missions. Communication is the glue that holds the teams together, guides them to the right track, and ensures they do not deviate from the core mission. Maintaining effective communication, however, is often easier said than done.
How to Improve Internal Communication? Tips for Federal Workplace Leaders
When done right, communication helps improve employee engagement, productivity, and satisfaction and reduces employee turnover. It also leads to significant improvements in service delivery and customer satisfaction, which, in this case, is public. Below are some ways federal organization leaders can improve communication with and within their teams to reap these benefits:
1. Create an Internal Communication Plan
Like anything else, effective communication requires a comprehensive plan with clear guidelines and goals.
The intricate systems of federal organizations and the sheer number of people working in them can make communication challenging. This often results in information not reaching those in the entry-level ranks, causing gaps, misunderstandings, and decreased performance.
A detailed communication plan can address these issues by establishing protocols. This encompasses designating methods, tools, and employees for different subject matters and establishing the importance of using concise and clear language.
2. Listen to Your Team to Introduce a Culture of Communication
Communication is a two-way street. A leader can only create a culture of communication by actively listening to their employees.
This rings true in a federal workplace where innovative solutions are required through collective effort. It is the leaders’ job to ensure that the employees’ ideas are heard because people stop talking when no one is listening.
If an idea or a suggestion is turned down, it should be done with reason and professional grace. The leader must inform the employee why their ideas won’t work, which part of their suggestion is a good starting point and can be modified for a better solution, etc. Rejecting ideas without explanation may breed perceptions of bias.
When employees are being listened to, they also tend to bring their best to the table, improving the overall productivity of a federal workplace.
3. Introduce Multiple Modes of Communication
As leaders of a diverse workforce with millions of employees, you’d have subordinates with different personalities and styles of communication. A more outspoken person in a face-to-face conversation might not be good with emails. Similarly, a quiet person with great ideas might find written communication more their style.
Enforcing a single mode of communication will not encourage collaborative efforts but rather discourage certain employees from communicating, period.
A smarter solution is to introduce multiple modes of communication in the workplace. Employ an open-door policy for the proactive, emails for adept writers, Zoom for remote workers, group discussions for confident speakers, and more.
Make sure you always keep an open ear for feedback so employees feel encouraged to suggest some modes of communication as well.
4. Collaborative Approach to Project Management
Eradicate inter-employee rivalries within a federal workforce and create an ‘us vs. the problem’ mindset.
Once employees realize their shared commitment to a project, they’ll communicate openly and voluntarily. This entails participating in group discussions, attending meetings, fulfilling designated team roles, and offering guidance based on individual expertise.
To achieve this, a senior leader within a federal organization must possess an astute awareness of their employees’ strengths and personalities so they can bring together a group of people who will complement each other’s skill sets.
5. Training Programs
It’s never too late to make changes and create a robust communication culture. In a federal organization where the system is complex with intricate levels of hierarchies and older employees might be set in their ways, vigorous training programs are the most effective solution.
This would require team leaders to come together and create a detailed plan, invite industry experts for training sessions, and create an observation period to help with the transition.
New employees must take the training during their transition period to develop the right communication habits from the get-go.
As for the training sessions, they must include informing all the employees about the available mode of communication, tutorials on using the mode of communication in question, how to tackle conflicts, who to approach for guidance, who to approach when they feel like they are not being heard, how to complain when they think the communication culture is being compromised, etc.
Individual training sessions should also be held to help individuals overcome their shortcomings. For example, an employee who prefers working alone may need a training session on team communication before being placed in a team. Similarly, a project lead who’s highly empathetic of others’ feelings may have a hard time giving constructive criticism.
How to Improve Internal Communication? Tips for Federal Workplace Employees
Ineffective communication between employees and leaders frequently results in workplace inefficiency. If this problem persists, it could adversely affect the entire organization. Establishing a communicative culture necessitates active involvement from both employees and leaders. Here are some essential tips for federal employees to enhance internal communication within their specific sectors.
6. Get to Know Your Colleagues
When supervisors and leaders create opportunities for employees to get to know each other, take it. A work event or informal hangouts are specifically planned to improve employee engagement and internal communication.
It might sound like simple advice, but it plays its part in the bigger picture. All the roles in federals organizations are interrelated, and at some point in your career, you’d have to partner with one of your colleagues for a collaborative project. If you hang out with them on every “Pretzel Day,” you can communicate with them concisely and feel comfortable sharing your ideas and work progress.
7. Filter the Right Information
In federal organizations, there is just as much formal communication as it is informal. It’s natural for the lines to blur occasionally. If the information relates to your role, do your research thoroughly, filter out the facts from rumors, find the exact source in case of formal communication, get to the truth of the matter, and act wisely.
8. Listen Carefully
Active listening is a cornerstone of effective communication, and overlooking its significance can lead to quite some problems in your career. The urge to zone out during long meetings, project briefings, and training sessions might be strong, but you are likely to miss important messages if you give in to them.
This can further create lots of confusion, miscommunication, and other complications down the line. It’s best to cultivate the practice of active listening so you are always armed with accurate information to navigate professional interactions adeptly.
9. Talk About Your Career Ambitions
Federal organizations heavily depend on networks, often filling positions through connections and internal referrals. If your current employment serves as a stepping stone to your dream role, it’s important to discuss it.
Your colleagues and supervisors won’t know your career ambitions unless you communicate with them. However, this doesn’t mean you need to discuss it excessively. When conversing with your leaders about your future in the company, ensure you mention the role you’ve consistently prepared for.
10. Join the Informal Communication Network
Both formal and informal discussions are part of federal organizations’ culture of communication. As an employee, you must take both seriously.
Information learned over a Sunday brunch with a colleague may be extremely crucial to your role. To that end, also make sure you actively participate in informal communication, whether it’s through social media channels, text messages, or hangouts outside of work.
One of the reasons why informal communication is given weight in federal organizations is because it fosters good networking. Also, some of the best ideas and most engaging content are shared when people feel lively and at ease with their surroundings.
Bottom Line
Federal organizations are entrusted with citizens’ safety, security, and future. Maintaining highly effective internal communication is essential to fulfill these crucial roles and make decisions that can change a country’s growth trajectory.
Poor communication between leaders and employees can backfire, causing significant harm to any organization. In the case of federal agencies, the stakes are even higher. Fortunately, maintaining effective internal communication in a federal workplace isn’t difficult as long as both leaders and employees are willing to contribute. A strategic communication plan by the leaders and the willingness of the employees can greatly bridge communication gaps within the organization.
