Building an informed workplace is about more than just communication. It is about being conscious about what you communicate and where you inform employees about updates. From incorporating company-wide meetings to town halls, there are major changes you can make to build a more informed workforce. 

Employee Communication Tips for Building an Informed Workplace

Communication should be an integral part of your organization. Workers shouldn’t have to wonder when the next performance review will be held or how the company is performing. Through communication, workers can know what to expect at each stage of the process and feel more secure. To streamline information sharing at your workplace, try using the following tips. From updating your onboard process to different communication apps, the following techniques can help you ensure that you have fully informed team members.

1. Begin With the Hiring Process 

Onboarding is a new hire’s first real interaction with your company. It sets the tone for the company culture, job assignments, and overall experience that they will have. As an employer, you can use your onboarding experience as an opportunity to communicate about who you are as a company and manage the employee’s expectations.

Recently, Asure conducted a study of over 1,000 small businesses. In our 2024 HR Benchmark Report, we found that zero-growth companies were significantly behind fast-growth companies when it came to communication during the hiring process. In fact, 30% of zero-growth companies risk losing new hires because their onboarding process isn’t efficient or compliant. For example, they may be lacking a new-hire packet or onboarding checklist.

2. Use Company Emails and Newsletters 

Be mindful and deliberate about how you communicate with your workers. For example, you may want to use a weekly email update or a monthly newsletter. 

Ideally, you should find a communication platform that your employees can use. If your company is primarily remote, pinning important announcements in a Slack channel may be the most effective way to get every team member on the same page. Meanwhile, an agronomy center might prefer hosting management retreats every quarter. 

Emails and newsletters are particularly useful because they can easily be sent to every worker with the press of a button. They are also free to distribute, so it is an inexpensive method for getting everyone updated on the same information. 

3. Adopt Regular Meetings

Informed employees are better able to fulfill your company’s mission and purpose. Depending on the size of your organization, you may want to hold weekly or monthly meetings among just your team members or as an entire organization. Sticking to a regular cadence sets expectations for when and how information will be communicated.  While these meetings should have a set agenda of things you want to talk about, you should also leave time for employees to ask questions about the information presented, or other important topics.  

Company-wide meetings can be an incredibly effective way to get everyone on the same page and inform workers about new updates. In our 2024 HR Benchmark survey of small businesses, we found that 90% of fast-growth businesses hold company-wide meetings to communicate new initiatives and updates. Only 7 out of 10 zero-growth businesses do the same.

4. Use Communication Apps 

Ongoing communication with team members throughout the organization is imperative for productivity and success. And with the rise in remote work, it’s more important than ever to provide reliable mechanisms for team members to engage with one another. Incorporating communication apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack helps ensure real-time communication in a centralized location. These tools not only improve collaboration, they also make it easier to disseminate updates at the push of a button. 

5. Be Open to Feedback 

Communication is a two-way street. If you’re trying to build an informed workplace, you should also be willing to listen to employees and get their feedback. Frontline workers frequently have the best understanding of the company’s day-to-day operations, so you should encourage their input.  Be proactive by asking workers for their input and ideas. If you don’t directly ask for feedback, you might not receive it. Workers may feel intimidated about speaking up and discussing problems, so be direct in requesting their opinions. 

And if you’re inviting feedback, be sure to listen. Educate your managers on how to listen most effectively with an active listening approach. In active listening, you aren’t just hearing what somebody says. You’re also trying to attune yourself to how they feel and think. It involves being fully present, asking open-ended questions, and paraphrasing what the speaker says. With active listening, you help the speaker feel understood and increase the odds that you are fully understanding what they are trying to convey.  

6. Conduct Formal Reviews

With 1:1 feedback sessions, you can get a single individual’s input about challenges and opportunities. This type of feedback session should be done on a regular basis, although you should also be conducting an annual performance review as well. Other than getting input about problems, you can also use the feedback sessions to discuss ways employees can improve and if they are meeting their goals. 

Our annual small business survey found that 78% of fast-growth companies hold 360-degree reviews. In comparison, only 36% of zero-growth companies did the same kind of review. A 360-degree review is important for success because it allows you to get information from a wide variety of perspectives, so you can discover blind spots, hidden obstacles, and unexpected strengths. 

7. Set the Tone for Project Communication 

Don’t expect workers to automatically know when they should communicate about deadlines and problems. From the beginning, workers should be informed about when deadlines happen for various projects. For example, you may want to require weekly updates about ongoing projects. 

You should also be specific about how you want updates made. For instance, remote projects may be updated in the team’s Slack channel. When a project is complete, employees might send an email to their boss or change the project’s status on ClickUp. 

Develop an Informed Workplace Through Better Communication 

Through better communication, you can help your workplace stay informed about new projects, upcoming challenges, and major updates. Each workplace is different, so the type of techniques you use can vary. From company-wide meetings to 360-degree feedback, there are many techniques you can use to keep your workers up to date. 

To learn more about building an informed workplace, contact our small business HR and payroll experts today.