If you were asked the most common challenge you encounter as a team, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? If you think, “No doubt, it’s communication!” then I’m sure many more people are thinking of that as well. There’s a lot of wasted time and overwhelming amounts of information when you have inefficient communication strategies. If handling these things makes your head spin, we understand you. There are so many available communication methods nowadays that keeping them streamlined is an adamant thing to do. So check out these 5 strategies for streamlining communication among your team.
1. Assign Roles
Before anything else, the essential thing that should be done first is to let everyone know their assigned roles. Not just the title of their job, explain to them what it entails. Also, make it known who is the key decision-maker when there are situations where the decisions are still indefinite. Who’s going to have the final say? There must be clarity within your team first about their roles. That is the first step towards efficient communications.
2. Write Things Down
Put your plans, instructions, and discussions in writing. It will add clarity to your team. After every meeting or conversation, distribute the notes jotted down to every member to avoid confusion. When someone fails to remember something, you will all have your notes to refer to. Another helpful tip when writing things down is to have a team calendar. Everyone has access to it. Write down important dates, sermon series, special events, and everything your team needs to know to be successful at their job. Sometimes it’s easier to start with a calendar geared toward church communication leaders. This one is a personal favorite with so many helpful features to make planning a breeze.
3. Limit Communication Channels
We know that there are many options available when choosing what communication channels you’re going to use for your church. You have to consider your members, the functions of these platforms, and how it could collectively help your team. However, having too much is just the same as having none. Just choose a few that suit you and your members’ needs, and you are good to go!
4. Decide the Functions of Each Communication Channel
Now that you have a few communication channels, you must set each’s functions. You can’t use all of them for the same purpose. For example, you reserve SMS for the most urgent matters, and your social media accounts for updates, announcements, and other non-urgent topics. Set clear rules for each of the channels, and make your members adhere to them.
5. Choose your priorities
When everything is important to you, then nothing is. It would be best to prioritize what you need to impart to your members without delay to avoid overloading them with information. Provide timely communication only. A great way to prioritize communication is to utilize the calendar we mentioned above. Having a space to plan your communication where you can see it regularly will help you respond to immediate matters first, then schedule other issues throughout your week. Remember, when you overwhelm your members with emails or posts, they will tend to disregard them as time passes by.
Conclusion:
When you start to streamline communication and choose the best medium for your needs, everything else will follow. While these 5 strategies for streamlining communication are helpful, the key is to create an exact exchange of information between you and your members and not bombard them with unnecessary details. It will develop efficient and effective communications for all of you.
