Covid-19 has brought about profound changes in every sense of our lives. This scenario, greatly affected the level of productivity of several companies worldwide. And nowadays, organizational culture is not only necessary, but also indispensable for the development of any business.

The following is a summary of five simple communication ideas that can positively impact your business development, according to a human resources news site.

1. Create formal internal feedback programs that facilitate sharing

Often, seemingly disengaged employees have a lot to say when asked. And they need to be asked questions in a way that makes them feel comfortable sharing their ideas and feedback.

For some, an appropriate option is to create a digital suggestion box that allows an employee to share ideas, feedback or concerns easily and anonymously (if they prefer). For others, taking the time to have a member (or two) of the company's senior leadership contact and speak with them individually will be the most effective.

No matter what types of system you use, make sure that the program facilitates listening to your employees. Then share that feedback responsibly with the leadership team so that appropriate actions can be determined and taken.

 2. Make employee feedback a priority item at every leadership team meeting 

Especially now, company executives are being pulled in so many directions that they need to be intentional about collecting, listening to, and sharing employee feedback. The cultural focus in this area must come from the top - managers need to know that the company's top leader (whether it's the CEO, managing director, or even someone else) values regular employee feedback.

By establishing employee feedback as a regular agenda item in leadership team meetings, companies can encourage and empower senior leaders to be more thoughtful and proactive in asking for employee feedback. In doing so, they can also prompt senior leaders to communicate that feedback vertically to their top executives and horizontally to their peers.

 3. Always gather input from a diverse group of executives before making major company announcements

Just as a marketing or communications executive would (and should) ask for input on an external company announcement before it is distributed, relevant executives should review any internal announcements in advance. Doing this will help you improve the way you share information (the words used or the medium, such as an email or video call). It may also help you anticipate - and therefore work to mitigate - any negative consequences or reactions.

Senior leaders and middle managers should always be prepared with recommended talking points or examples of answers to expected questions. In this way, companies can empower managers, and employees can feel a deeper connection to the company. If your direct manager is not informed, what does that mean for an employee?

 4. Encourage top-down communication.

Important information from employees often gets stuck and never gets to key leaders who can take action or work to solve a problem. A common reason is that managers or employees may not feel that senior leaders want to hear about the issue or know who is the appropriate person to talk to.

But companies cannot simply rely on upward communication and expect it to happen without an emphasis on communication flowing down and around employees.

The concept of transparency often arises in the context of internal communication and employee involvement. Beyond that, however, is the importance of prioritizing information sharing. If employees see that their leadership wants to communicate with them, this can open up a two-way or more dialogue that can benefit the entire organization.

 5. Remember to listen to understand rather than to listen to answer

Unfortunately, many people listen to respond, which means that while someone is talking, the person listening is just formulating what they are going to say back. This causes the person who is supposed to be listening to be more focused on their own opinion than on understanding the idea, issue, or concern.

Use active listening and remember that it's okay - it's even a plus - to pause and process the information before responding. And certain items may require some time (a period of days or weeks) before the company will give an adequate response.

Organizational culture is a vital indicator of the health of an organization, and any company can even benefit from a greater focus on internal communication as a means to improve

 Source Forbes