10 Importance of Communication in an Organization

What are the 10 Importance of Communication in an Organization? Can a group work together without communicating well?

While the second question sounds rhetorical, a third grader knows the answer is a menacing NO! 

When I read the book Animal Farm by George Orwell some years ago, one of the lessons I learned was that animals also communicate. 

So why shouldn’t humans communicate at their workplaces? 

(If you haven’t read that book, you may want to consider doing that after reading this article.)

But in this post, you’ll learn the 10 importance of communication in an organization and how a company’s organization can affect communication.

First, what is,

Communication Structure in Organization?

Some common ways you communicate with people in your company include talking with people higher or lower than you in your group (like a boss or a coworker). It also includes interacting with people in the same department or team you belong to or those different from yours.

Yes, when people work together in a group, they need to talk to each other and share information. And the way they do that is what you may call a “communication structure”. 

So communication structure is like a road map that shows how information moves around the group.

With that said, there are different ways people can communicate. Some are more formal, and others are less formal.  

An example of more formal communication is when people follow strict rules, like when employees follow company policies. But informal communication is like when they have personal conversations or share rumors.

10 Importance of Communication in an Organization

 

1. Enhanced Coordination

Communication helps people work together like a team.

It ensures everyone knows what they’re supposed to do and how to do it. That way, the team can reach their goals faster and do it better because they’re working together.

So you can say communication is like passing a ball. When one person throws the ball, he expects the other to catch it. But if they don’t talk to each other, he might throw the ball at the wrong person, or no one will catch it at all.

The same thing happens when employees work together. They need to talk to each other to ensure everyone is doing what they should do. That way, they can avoid doing the same thing twice and help each other when they get stuck.

2. Facilitate effective decision-making

In a company or office, staff should share ideas and opinions to make the best decision. Especially when crucial decisions need to be made by the bosses and employees. 

It’s like when a third-grader and his friends want to decide what game to play. In such a case, everyone needs to talk about what they want to do. Because if they don’t talk to each other, they might end up playing a game that nobody likes.

But when they talk to each other, they can share ideas and opinions about the games they like. Thus, the youngster can tell his friends why he likes a particular game and doesn’t like another one. Likewise, his friends can do so.

3. Boost Efficiency

Communication is a tool that helps people in a group work better as a team. 

Take your company, for instance; workers have different roles and responsibilities. But then, you all need to work together to get things done by communicating well with each other. 

That way, everybody knows what to do and can do it more efficiently. 

For example, if you work in a car-producing factory. You should know how many parts to order, how to assemble them, and what quality standards to follow. 

But when you don’t communicate well with your colleagues, you might order too many or too few parts. Or you might assemble the car parts in the wrong way. And that could amount to a waste of time and resources.

On the other hand, when you communicate well, you can share information about how many parts you need, when your company needs them, and how to assemble them correctly. And that can help everyone to work together like a well-organized team, and they can finish their tasks more quickly and with fewer mistakes at work.

4. Employee engagement

If you’ve ever played on a sports team before, you should know how important it is to work with your teammates and ensure everyone knows their job. 

In a company, it’s the same thing! Everyone is part of a team and needs to know what the company is trying to achieve.

When everyone in the company communicates well, they can work together like a winning sports team. And that can make people feel more connected to their job and part of something bigger. 

And when people feel connected to their job, they feel happier and more motivated to do a good job. And that’s called “employee engagement,” meaning that people are excited to come to work and do their best.

5. Helps in Conflict resolution

Sometimes, team members can have different ideas about how to reach that goal. And that can cause disagreements, just like when you and your friends can’t agree on what to do.

But in a company, good communication can help to resolve these disagreements. When people talk to each other and express their opinions, it can help everyone to understand each other’s perspective and find a way to work together. 

Let’s say you and your team at your workplace are working on a project, but you can’t agree on which design to use. If you don’t talk about it, it can cause delays and mistakes in the project. But if you talk about it and listen to each other’s ideas, you might find a way to combine both designs or choose the best one.

6. Spur Creativity and Innovation 

Good communication can make a big difference when team members work together on a project. It’s like having a secret code that unlocks new and exciting ideas. 

In other words, when workers communicate well, share their thoughts, and build on each other’s ideas, it’s like building a tower out of blocks. The more blocks you have, the taller and stronger the tower can be.

So you can say, in a company, good communication is essential for creating new and innovative products and services. Because when employees talk and share their ideas, they can develop something unique that nobody else has conceived. 

In other words, it’s like being a detective and solving a mystery. Each clue can lead to new ideas and help to crack the case!

7. Support Customer satisfaction

Have you ever felt like you’re not being heard as you tried to tell someone something important? That can be frustrating, especially if you’re a customer and you need help. But good communication can solve this problem!

For example, if a customer has a question about a product, the workers can talk to each other and find the answer quickly. That can make the customer feel like they are being taken care of and make the workers feel like they are doing a good job.

In other words, good communication can also make customers feel more comfortable and welcome. 

Imagine you’re walking into a store, and everyone is ignoring you. That wouldn’t be a good feeling. Right? But if the workers communicate well and greet you with a smile, it can make you feel like you belong there.

In a company, good communication can help create a positive atmosphere for everyone and enhance better customer service. And in the long run brings in more business and success for the company.

8. Manage performance with ease

 Communication is a big part of how companies work together. Often its impact is like the result the conductor of an orchestra gets by directing the musicians to make beautiful music. 

Also, in a company, the managers are like conductors who help the workers give their best work.

Through effective communication, managers can give feedback to the workers about how they are doing their jobs. And that can help the workers know what they are doing right and what they should improve.

In other words, communication is paramount in a company because it helps managers set goals, provide feedback to workers, and monitor progress. 

9. Effectively Manage Change 

Everyone in their company needs to know what’s going on, especially during times of change. As you have in cases when a company is restructuring or making new policies.

It’s like when the teacher of a seven-year-old girl suddenly tells her that she has a new classroom or if her sports coach changed the game’s rules. 

You’ll agree if you don’t know what’s happening or what’s expected of you, leave you confused and stressed. 

Fortunately, that’s where good communication comes into the organization. It helps ensure everyone is on the same page and understands what’s going on. 

That way, workers are informed of why some changes are happening and how they will affect everyone. Also, that can help everyone to feel more comfortable and less stressed.

10. Strengthen Brand Reputation

Companies are like people with their own personalities, and how they communicate is an essential ingredient of that personality. 

Good communication can help a company to build trust with its customers and stakeholders, just like being honest and reliable builds trust with your friends and family.

If a company communicates poorly, it can damage their reputation, just like if you lie to your friends or family and they find out, it can be hard to rebuild their trust. 

And that can make it difficult for the company to be successful, just like it can make it hard for you to maintain relationships if people don’t trust you.

How Does Organizational Structure Affect Communication?

A company’s organizational structure affects communication within (and outside) it in different ways. Here are some ways it can affect communication:

• Who’s in charge

The way people are organized or grouped can make some people more important than others. And that can affect communication because people may be too scared to talk to someone higher up.

• How departments are set up

Again, how a group is divided into smaller groups can affect communication. Because people may talk more to those in their group (department) and less to those in other groups.

• Who makes decisions

The decision-making processes can affect communication. Because some people may not get to talk to the people who make the decisions.

• How formal things are

The pattern people are supposed to talk to each other can affect communication. That’s because it might be harder to formulate new ideas or ways of doing things if people have to follow strict rules.

• Where people sit

The type of workplace environment a company adopts can affect communication. That’s because if people are far away from each other, it might be harder to talk to them.

In summary, a company’s organizational structure can make it easier or harder for its employees to talk to each other. If it’s set up well, people can talk easily and work together better. 

But if it’s set up is poor, people might have a difficult time talking to each other. And in turn, the group might not work as well.

Final Thought

It’s essential to have a good communication structure so that everyone knows what they need to do and can work together well. Because if the communication structure inherent in a company isn’t good, it can cause problems, like confusion or delays.