Looking to Level Up Team Communication?

Hey, Leader —

For a moment, think about a recent misunderstanding or tense moment you’ve experienced with your team. What was the cause of that particular situation?

I’m willing to bet a BIG jar of confetti ?????? that there was a lack of one (or more) of the following:

1. Trust

2. Alignment

3. Communication?

At The Perk, we refer to these three actions as the foundation of a strong organizational culture. And let’s be honest—communication is the main driver of both trust?and?alignment.

As leaders, we KNOW how critical communication is to the success of our teams. But do you ever take a moment to pause & think about the fundamentals of communication, like:

• The tools you use to communicate
• The hierarchy of those tools
• How your team should use those tools

On the surface, it seems simple, right? That’s why you invested in easy-to-use tools in the first place. Shouldn’t your team just…use the tools??

But there’s so much more to consider. Here are some examples:?

• Let’s say you use Slack at your company, and you use it as the default over email (like us!). Think about the people who are new to your team. They might have used Slack at their last company—but email might have still been the #1 communication tool. If you don’t make it clear how the tool should be used, they might inadvertently be waiting for information to be emailed to them, when it’s already housed in Slack.
• Or, let’s say a team member on your remote team needs an answer from you immediately. They send an email—crickets. They send you a Slack message—you’re away from your computer. Should they call you? They’re not sure. Now they’re waiting on information because they don’t know the next best step to take.

These scenarios are just a few reasons why it’s not only essential to be clear when you’re circulating information to your team—but you also need to be clear on the?expectations for the tools you use.?

Now, we get it. Some tools are mandated by your company. You don’t always get to pick the tools. With that said, leaders can still set communication expectations for each method of communication based on their goals & needs.?

Helping organizations understand and design their own communications roadmap and expectations is part of our work at The Perk, so we figured it’d be helpful if we put our own tools on display. We created a “How We Communicate Here” video that takes you through our six communication tools—Slack, Zoom, Asana, Email, phone/text, and AirDeck—and how we’ve created clear and consistent communication that maximizes productivity, impact & team collaboration. Take a look here.

(If you’re a skimmer, we have the PDF at that link for you, too.)

If you watch the video and feel inspired to create your own comms roadmap & set of expectations, let us know! We'd love to hear about how your documented plan is creating more trust & more alignment.?

You’re amazing,

Leah

What's The Perk Saying?

This month’s resources are focused on communication — aligning your team on how you communicate at your organization, gaining feedback from your team in a proactive way & tips on communicating your strategy like the world-class leader you are!

How we Communicate Here: Set Clear Communication Expectations to Level up Your Team (15-minute read)

Stay Interviews: Why They ROCK & How To Do Them (2-minute read)

Employee Survey Results: Review, Analyze, & Communicate them LIKE A BOSS! (5-minute read)

What's Our Community Saying?

We’re always reading and listening to the latest takes on culture, organizational development & leadership. Here are some of our new favorite resources around communication!

Radical Candor in Six Minutes

Have you heard of Radical Candor? Co-Founder Kim Scott breaks down the principles of what she calls "caring personally while challenging directly" in a way that's accessible & actionable in the video below:

How to Lead With Kindness in Your Communications

We love Lindsay Lapaquette's incredible work communications podcast & we especially loved this episode with guest Katrina German. Katrina talks about the importance of leading with kindness & empathy in our communications, both in business marketing & the online workplace. Tons of actionable tips in this one!

To Communicate More Effectively in the Workplace, Employ These Two Questions

Forbes author Katharina Schmidt speaks the truth in this short piece: one of the reasons communication is so challenging is that neurologically, we translate messages differently. She suggests two questions we ask in our workplace communication to ensure we're giving & receiving messages correctly.

What Amazing Things Are Our Clients Doing?

Our clients GovPlace are doing some incredible things & making a huge impact in the world. We are so proud of them & had to shout it from the rooftop! Click on the link below to see other Core Behaviors in action!

GovPlace's Core Behaviors

Core Behaviors With The Perk

Want More? Yeah, You Do!

Check out our live webinars, free programs, & other events coming up in the next month!

Perk Up Someone's Day!

Did you know recognizing others demonstrates that their efforts & hard work are valued? By recognizing (& rewarding) accomplishments, we reinforce the behaviors and outcomes we want to encourage!

With your help, each month we are giving away a Recognition Box worth over $500 to one deserving person. Here's how it works:

Simply fill out this form in its entirety. Yep… that’s it. Pretty easy right?!?

Once you nominate someone, their info (and yours) stays in our system, so they get entered to win every month! On the 15th of each month, we pick one winner. When the winner is selected, we will contact you (the nominator) to get more info on the person you nominated. This will include their email, phone, and work shipping address (you know… so we can send them the gift). Each month we will announce the winner via our social media channels and tag you and them in the post!