Breadcrumb

Top 4 business communication skills

Written by

The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedNov 20202 min read

Building a team is about a lot more than just hiring employees into the right jobs. If you want to get the most out of your business, you need to ensure cohesion and collaboration amongst your team members. Business communication refers to the way information and ideas get passed around internally and can apply both horizontally, amongst colleagues, and vertically, between managers and staff. Learn more about business communication skills, right here.

Why is communication important in business?

Good communication is vital for a number of different reasons.

One important factor is making sure that information doesn’t get lost. This applies to both objective information such as sales, requests, and orders and to fresh ideas and innovations. If customer requests are not properly communicated, you may not be able to deliver a great customer experience.

Similarly, if company figures and targets are not well communicated, you’re unlikely to reach your business goals. In relation to ideas and innovations, you risk missing out on positive changes in your business if you’re not hearing from all your team members. The best businesses draw on the experience of all their members and put expertise into practice by coming up with new ways to improve business communication.

Important business communication skills

When it comes to communication, it’s not all about talking. One of the most important skills to develop for business communication is that of active listening. This means giving your partner space to speak and processing the information they’re giving you, rather than focusing on your response. This seems like a relatively straightforward process, but colleagues talking over one another or failing to pay attention to each other’s ideas is one of the most common pitfalls in business.

Another important business communication skill is understanding your audience. When communicating, it’s important to think about who you’re speaking to. For example, you may not explain a concept to a colleague in the same way you might explain it to somebody from an entirely different department. Similarly, you might pitch an idea to a senior manager in a different way to how you’d explain it to other members of your team.

Internal communication methods to enhance employee engagement

It’s important to make the most of all your resources when you’re thinking about communication and employee engagement – especially when you have many team members working from home or away from the office. This can sometimes make your team feel disconnected, so it’s important to put strategies and work on internal communication methods to enhance employee engagement.

One common method of enhancing employee engagement is to schedule regular team meetings over video chat or a conference call. This is often supported by team chat groups, whether that’s via a dedicated team working platform or more informal apps. This helps ensure a constant flow of communication and makes sure the team knows where to go when getting in touch with colleagues.

4 ways to improve business communication

Interested in learning more about business communication skills? Check out our top four ways to improve business communication:

Keep company announcements short and sweet. Long-winded memos rarely get read in full and even complex information should come with a brief explainer that helps employees understand the purpose of the reading material they’ve been given.
Prepare meeting agendas. Having clear topics of conversation helps make sure meetings stay on track and also ensures important points don’t fall by the wayside. Similarly, sending agendas following meetings helps to recap the points discussed and also serves as a useful reminder for all participants.
Make use of shared databases and collaborative tools. Knowledge sharing is the best way to keep your team on top of company information and industry trends. Similarly, collaborative tools allow team members to pool their ideas and to give live feedback while they work.
Set clear targets and make sure your employees understand your mission statement. If you want to meet your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), it’s important that all your team members know what they should be aiming for and how they can reach these goals. Avoiding business jargon and putting things in quantitative terms can help keep things clear.

We can help

GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.