Where do you return your tray?

Don’t leave your team guessing how they’re supposed to communicate. Answer these questions to establish norms and expectations.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

I went to a food court last week. Complete with two bars, an outside beer garden, and niche food stands, it was a pleasant work field trip.

Until it came time to actually get food. It wasn’t clear initially that I had to go back to where I ordered my food to pick it up; I had to infer it from the person on the other side of the stone counter by way of their handing me a plastic buzzer (an action done with limited enthusiasm).

Once I finished my meal, I wasn’t sure what to do with my tray or plates. Would someone come to get them? Did I need to take my tray to the magical place where they store and wash the trays? Or should I take my tray back to the person behind the stone counter because every stand had its own special trays and dishes? 

I finally figured it out, by way of stalking another diner and matching their behavior. Of course, this particular stratagem didn’t necessarily result in a correct answer, only in my ability to point and say, “They did it too.”

Many teams approach the way they communicate the same way. Their small team set up whatever was most comfortable for them and ran with it. New people might get a nod in the right direction by way of a new email address or a notification that they’ve been added to the company Slack channel.

But that’s it. They have to infer how to communicate. 

They may copy other team members in an effort to fit in. They may also go about doing their own thing because that’s what works for them.

However it goes, you’ve got information all over the place and may even put your arm in a few ketchup-covered trays. 

Instead of leaving communication practices up for interpretation, standardize communication norms and expectations through dedicated guidelines. Make them clear and brief. Your goal is to provide guidance, not micromanage behavior. 

Here some are questions to answer: 

channels: What channel do you use when? Are any channels or platforms inappropriate or off-limits? 

timeliness: How quickly are you expected to respond? Is that different depending on the channel?

availability: When are you expected to be online? How do you communicate when you’re unavailable? Do you communicate with people who are offline or schedule those communications for when they return? Do you have no contact hours or days? 

updates: How often do you provide updates and to whom? What’s the best way to share information one way? 

announcements: Where do you find company-wide announcements? Will you receive a notification, or do you need to remember to look? How often can you expect to receive them?

tone: What tone do you use when you talk to each other internally? Can you use emojis? If so, when? 

problems: How do you identify and solve problems? How do you navigate challenges? How do you share what you learned from both?

conflicts and difficult topics: How do you communicate bad news? How do you discuss difficult topics? How do you resolve conflicts?

guidelines: Where can you find a copy of all your company’s guidelines? When you have a question about a guideline or an improvement to suggest, whom do you talk to?

celebrating success: How do you recognize each other’s contributions and successes? 

How you talk to each other as a team determines how you interact with one another. It’s the foundation for all the other work you do together.

Make sure your team doesn’t have to infer what they’re supposed to do.

Happy Monday,

Katie
Your Friendly Weekly Writer

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