Office Communication: Tips to Stay Connected

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290

Summary:
Want your office to run as smoothly as possible? The first step involves improving communication.


Keywords:
Office Communication: Tips to Stay Connected


Article Body:
Want your office to run as smoothly as possible? The first step involves improving communication.

There's nothing more stressful than lack of communication in an office setting. When co-workers don't work together as a team, problems and misunderstandings - big and small - can arise, causing unnecessary dilemmas and even rifts.

The following tips will help managers improve office communication:

* Hold regular meetings. Whether they're held weekly or daily, meetings are a great way to find out what's going on around the office and learn about what assignments or events are to come. This also is a good time to talk about what goals need to be set for the office.

* Utilize technology. Though e-mailing, interoffice calling and paging are effective ways of keeping in touch with co-workers, new technology is taking communication to a new level.

One such technology is the Immediate Response Information System, also called IRIS. Developed by TechRadium Inc., IRIS is an innovative alert system that sends routine, priority and emergency messages to building occupants, building managers and, if necessary, emergency responders. These voice and text alerts are sent through a variety of frequently used electronic devices: home and cell phones, e-mail accounts, pagers, PDAs and fax machines. IRIS is an affordable communication system because it requires no hardware, software or system installation for setup.

* Use your listening skills. Pay attention so that you do not miss out on important information that you may need to know or discuss with a co-worker or client in the future.

* Spread the word. When you have sensitive or important matters to discuss, don't hide behind e-mails because the message can be misconstrued. To make sure you get your point across, meet with each party that's involved or contact them by phone.