The Reading List: Communication Tech, Onboarding & Emojis

Our pick of advice on communication strategies in the workplace.

   1. Maintaining the human element for more effective communication

With the focus on developing increasingly easier and faster online communication channels, the importance of team spirit can sometimes be overlooked. Amazing work often relies on strong collaboration between colleagues, and this can suffer when strategies that encourage ‘togetherness’, alongside digital communications aren’t put in place.

“They’re not hurting businesses, necessarily — increasing productivity is a good thing. But those tools aren’t helping as much as they could, either. They aren’t conducive to fostering the deeper engagement among teammates that will have them collaborating like best friends.”

This article from HRZone gives advice on how to revolutionise communication in your workplace, to make the most of new technology innovations, whilst also maintaining the community aspect of your workforce.

Read it now: 4 Ways to Revolutionize Workplace Communication

   2. Internal communication best practice for charities

Internal communication can be especially difficult for charities and not-for-profit organisations. With a need to connect to a variety of staff who may have individual needs, as well as volunteers and field workers, finding a process to cater for everyone is difficult, and can often mean compromise.

“There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to digital technology in internal communications. Organisations and the individuals within them are adopting digital at different paces and their needs should be catered for. People need to be communicated with in a style that’s relevant to them.”

Agenda Consulting looks at internal communication from the perspective of a charity, and discusses the difficulties in finding a solution to suit all workers. They also offer some solutions for charities who are considering updating their internal communications strategy.

Read it now: There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for technology in internal comms

   3. Engagement with new staff

Communication with new hires is an essential part of the hiring process, and can mean the difference between a successful hire (and great ROI) and a new employee already thinking of moving on. However, with the amount of time and resources that recruitment takes, onboarding can sometimes take a back seat.

“It’s all too common for HR professionals to get bogged-down with the administration around recruiting and onboarding new hires. So it’s hardly surprising when a new recruit sat behind a working computer with employee manual in hand is regarded as a job well done.”

As well as highlighting the difficulties in onboarding new staff, this article from HRreview discusses elements of successful onboarding and its benefits.

Read it now: Onboarding – A tactical solution or a vital means of engagement?

   4. When is a smiley appropriate in the workplace?

And finally, there are some forms of communication that still cause debate in the professional world; namely emojis. With their worldwide rise in popularity over recent years, there is mixed opinion on when it is and isn’t suitable to use them in the workplace – and it can be a tricky minefield to navigate.

“But does this somewhat colloquial form of communication have a role in the modern workplace? Is the way we speak to each other at work becoming more informal? The workplace is a minefield of protocol and office politics but with these lessons, you can make sure your emoji etiquette is on point.”

The Guardian explores appropriate use of smileys in the workplace, to ensure that you and your team avoid any online communication mishaps.

Read it now: Stuck on smileys: the role of emojis in business