Three Tips for Leveling Up Communication by Lauren Friedman
The last 3 years have been absolutely wild for anyone with the words “People” or “Talent” in their title. We’ve had to adjust to pandemic hiring, firing, hiring again but faster, layoffs, freezes, and everything that comes with them.
At the same time, the world rapidly had to shift to remote workplaces, home offices, and Zoom taking over our day-to-day.
Gone were the days of a quick catch-up at lunch, or asking a question to a colleague as you passed them in the halls. Every communication turned deliberate, and both parties had to put in effort where spontaneity and proximity previously got the job done.
Now, we’re all in a blended grey area with some businesses returning to office, but many remaining fully or partially remote. What does this mean for the future of business communications, and why do we need to focus on evolving these skills now?
Business efficiency in the years to come will still be found in the people processes - how we streamline, how we maximize output, and for as little cost as possible. Strong communication practices can create predictability which is essential for long-term success.
Take a high-performing recruiting team as the perfect example. In order for us to have a great TTF (time to fill), communication chains between the recruiter, hiring manager, interviewers, finance team, and candidate have to be timely and actionable. When done right, hiring becomes a well-oiled machine.
When one of those players doesn’t hold up their end, the machine starts to break down. This could look like a Hiring Manager being indecisive and unresponsive about the next steps for a candidate, an interviewer not submitting feedback for a week after final interviews. It can even be as simple as a recruiter trying desperately to get an offer approved at 4 pm on a Friday when the candidate has another offer in hand with an answer due Monday. Been there? I have.
Here’s my recommendations for getting communication tight and flowing easily for any team:
Step 1. Set up your SLAs
When I join a team, the first thing I want to understand is how to best communicate with each team member I’m going to be working with, and I’ll ask them directly the first time we meet. Is it Slack? Email? A calendar reminder to check a certain spreadsheet? Everyone has different preferences, and part of efficient communication is reaching someone where they’re most likely to look.
I also take the opportunity to outline to my hiring teammate how I work and get great results - proactively, with quick turnarounds so we can get the results we want. I’ll ask them what a reasonable turnaround is when I send them a request, and structure that into an agreed timeline where I won’t bother them until that deadline (outside of extreme circumstances like a Friday offer). I’ll even outline how I’ll communicate with them if I anticipate one of those “extreme circumstances” arising.
Setting up these standards early is part of building a predictable process, getting accurate estimations for planning and budgeting, and having a high-performing team.
2. Relearn how to communicate
Even before Covid, remote communication was a necessary requirement of a successful business. However, many of the important conversations were had in-person, or through hallway interactions as previously mentioned.
Now, those same conversations are held over private messages or video calls, and the lack of proximity creates opportunities for blind spots. Decisions are made and directives passed on, but employees find themselves confused or in disagreement with the directive because of their own factors. Or, leadership realizes too late a critical oversight in employee well-being that causes attrition and lost revenue due to project delays.
The phrase out of sight, out of mind is accurate and shows up, especially in a remote environment. Managers can’t see the challenges an employee is facing, they have to be proactive and ask. They can’t swing by a desk quickly to fill someone in on a status update, they have to type a message. Leaders must accept that responsibility and figure out how to fill the gap in a way that fits their communication style. Is it a report? Shifting to weekly 1:1s? An end-of-day Slack roundup? Ensuring you have regular communication with your team, not just to give information but to receive it, is critical for a remote business.
On the same page, the employee can’t assume their leadership knows what’s happening every day. Managing up is an essential communication skill, and the earlier you learn it, the better. Ask your leadership how they’d like status updates and how to raise a flag on things that need their attention. Create an itinerary for your 1:1s that has points you want to make sure to cover with them. Let them know your challenges and your wins so they can support and celebrate you.
3. Context is king
One of the biggest adaptations we all have to accept is that we need to give more context around any communication done virtually. I can’t tell you how frustrated I was in 2020 receiving a three-word Slack reply to my request for an update on a paused role. What was I supposed to do with that?
In order for individuals to be proactive and actionable, they need context to weigh all the factors and avoid blind spots. Employees have the ability to be incredibly strategic and autonomous when given enough information to work off of.
Here’s an example:
Instead of a Manager sending a message saying “We decided to hold off on this role, cancel all interviews”, they can help their employee with more context. “We decided to hold off on this role until early next year. Research shows the project needs more time in development. We have to cancel interviews, but if anyone is interested, we’ll probably start looking again early Q1”. See how much more actionable that is for the employee? They’re now empowered to work with candidates and maintain good relationships instead of a complete pipeline washout.
From the employee side, sending “I think this candidate is going to take another offer, I don’t know what to do,” can transform into “Candidate X is our finalist for Role A and countered our offer of ## with ###. I’ve already checked with finance and we can only meet them halfway. I’m waiting to hear from HR about additional equity. Is there anything else you can suggest to sway them to our offer?” Way more actionable for your manager to know what you’ve tried and help come up with new solutions.
Again, this extra context saves everyone time from asking questions and having a back and forth that, let’s face it, typically adds minutes if not hours to remote communication chains. Productive workforces literally don’t have time for that.
In Closing
The excuse “I’m too busy to read” or “We have different communication styles” can no longer be justified for not putting in effort and evolving. It doesn’t take a lot of extra effort to meet the new standards and create a team environment where everyone can work together, regardless of where they physically are.
Disclaimer: The views expressed and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author. Since we are critically-thinking human beings, these views are always subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time. Please do not hold them in perpetuity.
