Communicating business performance data to your team is fundamental to helping them collaborate and engage, and to helping you reach your business goals. The most important data will center around operational and financial budgets, sales and revenue goals, and customer and employee satisfaction.
High-performing teams are synergistic social entities working toward achieving a common goal. Therefore, if your employees perceive where the company is headed, they will understand what is expected of them and know how to do their jobs well. It also allows them to align their role with company objectives and measure their own progress.
Five effective communication techniques:
- Communicate a simple, inspiring message about why the company exists.
- Develop content based on market and customer insights, with key differentiators that reinforce your value proposition.
- Use the Inspire/Educate/Reinforce framework to map and deliver messages annually.
- Use authentic storytelling to align employees with your strategy.
- Be creative. Use a variety of methods, like social media, blogs, signage, intranet dashboards, and incentive platforms to show staff how they’re tracking to goals.
Check out this article for more information about the science behind building a successful team.
The pitfalls of limited or absent performance data communication.
Opening the lines of communication is key to optimizing team performance, because not only does it provide motivation and promote cooperation, but without it the pitfalls of limited or absent communication can result in conflict and confusion.
The following are strong indicators that your team is not functioning for success and that a redirect is needed:
- Failing to use a democratic leadership style that involves team members.
- Making decisions too quickly without a blend of rational and intuitive decision-making methods.
- Touching base infrequently or keeping the lines of communication closed entirely.
- Perpetuating a lack of mutual trust, where your team does not trust each other or the team as an entity.
- Ambiguity about individual roles and team goals, which results in a lack of commitment.
- Poorly defined roles and responsibilities, where team members are not clear about what they must and must not do to demonstrate their support for the team’s success.
- Weak bonds between team members, which affects efficiency and effectiveness.
In summary, communicating your performance data will allow your teams to align, engage, and understand how they can impact the overall goals of the organization.