{"id":8716,"date":"2021-10-28T01:55:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T21:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/?p=8716"},"modified":"2025-03-13T18:21:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T14:21:54","slug":"how-to-improve-team-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/how-to-improve-team-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Improve Team Communication (and Why Failure to Do So Costs You)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The way you and your colleagues interact and exchange information affects culture, engagement, performance, and ultimately, your bottom line. So how can you improve team communication? Read on for practical tips.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5 Undeniable Benefits of Improving Team Communication<\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Communication is an essential ingredient of a high-performing team<\/span><\/h3>\n

McKinsey research<\/span><\/a> indicates that open communication is one of the three key elements that comprise a high-performing team. After asking more than 5,000 executives to describe their “peak experience” as a team member, one of the emerging themes was high-quality interaction “characterized by trust, open communication, and a willingness to embrace conflict.” That is effective communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, at MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory, researchers found evidence that echoes McKinsey\u2019s findings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bWe\u2019ve found patterns of communication to be the most important predictor of a team\u2019s success,\u201d director Alex “Sandy” Pentland writes for <\/span>Harvard Business Review<\/span><\/a>. \u201cNot only that, but they are as significant as all the other factors\u2014individual intelligence, personality, skill, and the substance of discussions\u2014combined.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Ineffective communication leads to workplace failures<\/span><\/h3>\n

In a survey of more than 1,400 corporate executives, employees, and educators, development and training company <\/span>Fierce, Inc.<\/span><\/a> found that 86% believe ineffective communication or lack of collaboration cause workplace failures.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Poor communication costs businesses $11,000 per employee per year<\/span><\/h3>\n

As mentioned earlier in the article, poor communication and collaboration cost businesses an average of $11,000 in productivity loss per employee per year, according to a 2017 Mitel report. The report found that employees waste nearly 15% of their total work time on inefficient communication.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Poor communication hurts morale<\/span><\/h3>\n

In an <\/span>Accountemps survey<\/span><\/a> of more than 300 HR managers, “lack of open, honest communication” was the most cited cause for decreasing employee morale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Good communication aids in conflict resolution<\/span><\/h3>\n

With better communication, there are bound to be fewer misunderstandings, and with fewer misunderstandings come fewer conflicts. But even when your team does find itself in a disagreement, effective communication helps you find a resolution without damaging relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

14 Helpful Ways to Improve Team Communication<\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Use a noise-cancelling app to eliminate distracting sounds<\/span><\/h3>\n

How much more productive could your team be if they weren\u2019t distracted by noise? A 2015 <\/span>British Gypsum study<\/span><\/a> found that reducing workplace noise increased focus by nearly 50%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019ve returned to the office or not, online meetings will undoubtedly remain a part of your work life. Make them <\/span>more productive<\/span><\/a> with a noise-cancelling app like Krisp. It\u2019s easy to install and uses artificial intelligence to isolate and eliminate sounds that aren\u2019t supposed to be there\u2014whether coming from your microphone or the participants\u2019 mics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Use virtual backgrounds to ensure all eyes are on you<\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s not forget about visual distractions too. When your team is working from home, it\u2019s hard to control what\u2019s going on behind them. Ask everyone to set a virtual background to maintain a distraction-free, professional environment even if their cat is pouncing behind them or their roommate is walking past the screen once again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span>Krisp<\/span><\/a>, we\u2019ve got you covered there too. Not only does the app offer noise-cancellation, but it also comes with <\/span>virtual backgrounds<\/span><\/a>. You can select an image from our gallery or upload your own. Once it\u2019s set, it\u2019ll work across <\/span>all<\/span><\/i> your video chat apps so you can be consistent across platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n

[demo-new]<\/p>\n

3. Cultivate psychological safety<\/span><\/h3>\n

Psychological safety, which Harvard professor Amy Edmondson defines as \u201cthe belief that the work environment is safe for interpersonal risk taking,\u201d is the foundation for creating a workplace that enables open communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her book <\/span>The Fearless Organization<\/span><\/i>, Edmondson writes, \u201cThe concept refers to the experience of feeling able to speak up with relevant ideas, questions, or concerns. Psychological safety is present when colleagues trust and respect each other and feel able\u2014even obligated\u2014to be candid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, when you make your team feel psychologically safe, they won\u2019t be <\/span>afraid<\/span><\/i> to communicate. So how can you cultivate this essential trait in your team? In her book, Edmondson offers some ideas:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n