5 Tips for Keeping Your Workers in the Loop

Keeping your workers in the loop is beneficial to business. Workers are able to work more effectively if they have all the information that they need. They are more motivated and confident if they know what is going on. They do not need to make assumptions (often the wrong or worst-case ones) which can lead to insecurity and fear.

1. Have an Internal Communication Tool – To keep workers in the loop, an efficient company communication tool is essential. Technology can be harnessed to ensure that your workers have the information that they need. Office communication apps like Beekeeper can make top-down communication easier so that management can properly inform the workers. These platforms also provide workers with the channel to communicate and request clarification – creating a feedback loop that is essential in effective communication. Mobile communication apps like Beekeeper have the added benefit of being accessible to non-desktop workers since not all of them have email addresses.

2. Schedule regular meetings – Holding meetings is a great way for management to keep their workers in the loop. It is easier to ensure that everyone is on the same page during a meeting since the whole team or department is gathered together. Depending on your business needs, this can be a daily or weekly. If you have remote workers, this can even be a virtual meeting. You can discuss business updates, goals, plans, and other information that is pertinent to the specific group of workers. Meetings allow managers to quickly get to know the pulse of their workers and field questions as necessary. And the presence (even virtual presence) of a manager is reassuring to workers.

3. Encourage instant messaging groups – Each team should have an instant messaging group. This allows for quick coordination between members since instant messages are short and direct. A manager is quickly reachable for instructions and clarifications. The manager can also quickly check in and get statuses from the workers. In a crisis, everyone can be easily reached. A benefit of this is if you find that an idea or instruction cannot be properly expressed using instant messaging, you know it should be further discussed during one of the regular meetings.

4. Utilize enterprise social media – If your communications platform has this functionality, use it. A lot of workers are receptive to social media due to its prevalence out of the office. Management can upload posts and even recorded videos to inform the workers. Documents and presentations can be shared to deepen understanding. Changes to the company, company goals, targets met development opportunities, recognition for jobs well done – these types of posts are relevant to keeping the workers informed and engaged. Enterprise social media can also be used to poll workers and worker comments to posts can determine if there are areas of concern. Keeping workers in the loop also requires knowing when they are out of it – which makes the ability to give comments and feedback a part of an effective communications platform.

5. Categorize information – The opposite of not enough information is too much information. Your workers do not need to know everything – it may even be detrimental if the information is given to them without context. Is the information relevant to all employees or just a specific unit? When giving out information, ensure that it is delivered only the people that are able to make use of that information or are affected by the change. This avoids information overload, and workers irritated by getting information that is not relevant to them.

Lack of communication can cause mistrust, anxiety, and loss of engagement. When workers are informed, they can better comply with company expectations, policies, and regulations. If they know what the company goals are and how they fit into it, they can better direct their efforts. When they know what other units or workers are doing, then they can better coordinate their efforts. Keeping workers in the loop is part of keeping them engaged, which underscores the importance of sharing information with the workers.