Communication affects everything that works or doesn’t in an organization.  It’s true in all areas of a business, and is the cornerstone of successful workplace relationships, whether they are customers, employees, colleagues, affiliates, vendors or anyone else you interface with on a regular basis.

I suspect you think, well it’s logical that successful relationships happen when communication is better. 

And yes it’s nicer when people get along and there is less strife and discord but the nature of human beings is that they will disagree and it comes with being part of a company.  What’s the big deal?  Am I suggesting that better relationships, due to better communication can positively impact the business beyond just making it a more fun place to work?  You bet that’s what I’m saying!

How We Chose to Be In Relationships

I often say that how we chose to be in relationships says a lot about us as human beings.  I’m not judging.  All I’m saying is that if we believe relationships are important how we invest in them is different than if we see them as disposable.  People that see relationships as important are more willing to work through the challenges that will eventually come up in every relationship.  And this involves communication.

Successful work relationships means we have to be willing to invest in them, as all relationships will have challenges at some point.  If we simply ignore the problems or just toss the relationships away when they aren’t working easily we may be missing an opportunity.  This however involves a firm commitment to communicating, and communicating in a manner so that the other party understands that you are interested in making the relationship work.  This is the first step in building relationships.

The Impact on the Business

Successful relationships have a direct impact on the business.  Let’s explore a couple of examples.

1. We all know the importance of good relationships with customers.  It creates continued business, referrals and the opportunity to up sell other services or products.  And if a problem occurs such as delivery or quality or service or something else the customer that makes the customer unhappy, having these solid relationships, built on strong communication, makes them easier to handle.

2. When employees feel heard and understood they are more willing to share.  You’ll hear about their career aspirations so you don’t lose them to another company.  The cost of turnover is enormous in real dollar costs and the cost of productive time lost while the position sits vacant or till the new hire gets ramped up.

Also employees will feel more comfortable admitting mistakes, communicating a delay in meeting a deadline, asking for help etc.  All good stuff for sure.  I always say that power is in information.  The more information you have the better equipped you are to make good business decisions.

3. Time can be spent on strategy and other activities useful to the company.  When leaders trust that employees, colleagues or vendors will deliver what they committed to on time they can invest their time focusing on strategic direction or other areas that will best serve the company, rather than investing time in following up or micro managing.  It’s all about the relationship.

4. Sales and marketing are first and foremost about building relationships.  People buy from those they know and trust…relationships.  Marketing is more than simply brand awareness, it’s about building a relationship with a prospect through communicating what you and your product are all about.

5. Every organization has to work with vendors.  If you treat vendors as if they are disposable and there is another one around the corner to take their place you’ll get from them exactly what you are putting out.  What if you saw them as an asset, someone that was a partner not just a supplier, how much more would you get from them when you needed something such as a quick turnaround or a special consideration or anything else?

It’s a Two-Way Street

When there is a problem we always want to blame the other guy.  They didn’t listen.  They didn’t follow through.  They are idiots. You can’t count on anyone anymore…the list goes on.  I always tell my clients that they have to take responsibility for the communication not working, even if they believe it’s really not them.

What I know to be true is that as soon as we blame the other person, in our words or demeanor they will get defensive, and communication stops.   When communication stops the relationship is negatively impacted.  It can be reversed but it takes lots of work to put the relationship back on course.  In fact it takes more work than it does to keep it going well in the first place.

To have successful relationships you have to make sure your message is clear and understood.  You have to share in the responsibility when there is a problem for both the problem itself, and for working through the problem.  You have to be patient and willing to try, try again.  And you have to believe deep in your heart it’s not just about them.  

This doesn’t guarantee all relationships will be successful or that all problems have a solution.  It does mean though that without taking these steps you’ll never realize what is possible for you individually or your business. 

Building successful workplace relationships takes as much effort and investment as personal relationships.  They aren’t always easy, and not everyone is invested at the same level.  Yet in just the five examples I mentioned above you can see that building those relationships has both tangible and intangible benefits to you and the company.  And it all starts with communication!

Since communication is such a critical element to success…it’s important to find out what type of communicator you are. 

Then use the information we provide to use your style most effectively.  Click the link below and take our communication quiz.