Improve the way your company’s locations interact with each other.
Communication can be difficult in the best of times, and when you have multiple office or site locations, it can be even more challenging!
That’s why we’re collecting some of our team’s top “Do’s and Don’ts” for organizational communication. It just so happens that Better Business Communication Day is this month, too, making it the perfect time to brush up on your communication know-how.
If you’re looking to improve communication (and, by extension, efficiency, organization, and time usage by your employees) for your architecture, engineering, construction, or manufacturing organization, read these top tips from our Eagle Point Software team!
Do keep in mind time zone differences
Between your offices, there may be an hour, six hours, or even 12 hours of difference between location A and location B. When you’re working on projects, keep communication and time zones in mind, and have reasonable expectations for response times.
Check out this case study on the Canadian engineering consulting firm Associated Engineering, which utilized the Pinnacle Series learning management system to standardize training between more than two dozen offices and four time zones across Canada.
Don’t just hope that better communication practices will just happen
You’ll need to dedicate time and resources to make sure all offices are up to speed on new initiatives, have the right tools and software to implement if needed, and are current on what communication requirements will be moving forward.
Do give your team the resources they need
For example, collaboration tools can help improve not only your entire AEC & M organization’s communication style but can make a huge impact on individual projects as well.
When your teams can have a dedicated project with their own communication lines connecting them to outside contractors, internal SMEs, and project managers, you’ll see a huge improvement in communication, fewer errors, and fewer instances of confusion due to missing documents or various email threads.
The Work Groups feature in Pinnacle Series is designed to do just that, bringing both internal and external team members together and providing all of the information they need to complete a project successfully.
Do invest in training for all of your offices
When you can use a single platform to train multiple offices across the world, you’re ensuring training success in a variety of ways. First, your employees have access to the same training, meaning you know they’re getting the right information that’s accurate when they need answers. With an LMS like Pinnacle Series, you know the content is created by subject matter experts and approved for your teams in AEC & M spaces.
Another benefit is that you can upload your own company’s standards, guidelines, or workflows, which ensures that all employees and managers in various locations across the world have the documents and collateral they need.
Check out this case study on infrastructure, engineering, and advisory practice Zutari to learn how they transformed training for their 31 offices across Africa and the Middle East.
Don’t rely on a communication platform in just one language
Pinnacle Series content can be translated into 90+ languages, which is crucial to teams working all across the globe. Even if you have multiple offices in one country, offering a variety of languages provides additional accessibility to your employees and allows them to consume training and resources in the language they understand the best.
Do set goals to implement your new communication strategy
Setting goals is an important (and exciting!) part of a new plan. If you’re implementing a collaboration tool, maybe success looks like a certain number of employees accessing the account each week or month.
Perhaps it’s seeing a decrease in time spent on rework or projects. It could even be an improvement in employee satisfaction! Whatever metrics you decide to use, setting goals around this initiative is key.
Don’t expect instant success
Better business communication doesn’t happen overnight! These things take time and a consistent effort to make sure new communication strategies are taking hold. Keep your goals in mind, keep your employees engaged, and keep at it — you’ll see results start to happen slowly but surely.
Do get feedback
Request feedback from leadership, managers, and employees on how your new communication strategy is working. They’ll have some great insights on what is going well, what needs improvement, and where they’ve seen their favorite communication pitfalls overcome.
For more resources on Better Business Communication and how to improve communication between teams in different locations, check out the Eagle Point blog!
If you’re interested in seeing how the Pinnacle Series learning management system can improve the way your teams communicate and collaborate across multiple locations, request a demo from our team today!
