The customer has gone out the door; he has just placed a large forward order for delivery next March. Can you be sure that he will get what he expects? Is your internal communication up to par? Your company is only as strong as its weakest link – but it is up to you to check the strength of all of those links regularly.
Are you a team? Is your company an entity that operates smoothly, with everyone pulling in the same direction?
The most important thing is consistency. Does everyone understand your company vision? Who knows what the mission statement is? Do you have a computer usage policy, regarding what employees may or may not use the internet for?
Whether you are a one man band, outsourcing a lot of your services, or a large company, it is vital to have procedures in place.
Let’s take the small guy. He has an accountant, who does his tax returns. Is there a process in place to ensure that all invoices get sent out, all expenses get properly accounted for, mileage and per diems claimed? Let’s hope there is, so that the owner can effectively tell his accountant what he is doing financially in his business.
How do you measure up on the following points:
- Be consistent in what you say to all employees, across all channels of communication.
- Make it easy for employees to contact you, without fear.
- Respond to all contacts in a professional and timely fashion.
- Track all communications, and ensure appropriate processes are in place to ensure appropriate action is undertaken in all instances.
- Try not to allow fiefdoms to build up, and ensure that at least one other employee knows what they are doing in case of an accident, sickness or leaving the company.
- Constantly check how you’re doing and how everything’s working, by asking your employees for feedback.
In order to communicate consistently with people outside the company, you first must learn to communicate effectively inside your company. You may want to check if everyone understands your company’s vision and mission.
Have a company handbook, which makes it easy for new employees to understand your processes and procedures. For that matter it would probably be beneficial for existing employees (including yourself) to read it and have it readily available.
Just make sure that everyone who will be involved with that forward order is going to make sure that the order goes out correctly.