Question
What are some benefits of good communication?
Answer
Benefits of Good Communication
- Prevents conflict before it happens
- Increases engagement with one another and the company as a whole
- Helps to form better relationships between all
- Elevates entire environment and center as a whole
Let's talk about the benefits of good communication. These are benefits of good communication overall, not specifically with any group, such as co-teachers, teammates, others within your center, parents, or families. When you have really good communication it prevents conflict before it happens. It means that you have an open, honest relationship that's based on integrity and the ability to have conversations, both good, bad, and indifferent. This way, everybody's on the same page, there are no assumptions, there are no preconceived notions or stereotypes, and everybody's on the same page because you're always talking to each other about what's going on. One benefit of having good communication is actually preventing conflict before it starts.
Another benefit of good communication is increasing engagement with one another and the company as a whole. We out there as administrators and teachers want to be bombarded with communication. Internally, I know I've done surveys and I have always asked staff and parents, how can we improve our processes? One of the things that come back always in the top five is better communication. It's one of those things where I really thought that I was doing a great job, but maybe a weekly newsletter isn't a bad idea. Maybe I should have daily communication with the staff on who's out, who's covering where, if tours are coming in and for what classroom, which children are transitioning, and who is having a play date. It's sometimes better to overshare information like that than it is to under-share. This way, everybody's on the same page and as a whole, your company will be elevated because you'll never have to worry about a parent going into a classroom and saying, "Well, are they transitioning this week or why is there another child in that room?" Your staff will never respond with, "I don't know, let me find out." They'll always respond with great communication because they know the answer.
I'm a huge advocate of that company that's down in Florida or out in California that is a great vacation site and has a big mouse as their head of the hill. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. I had the luxury one time of going to one of their seminars and they were talking about communication. They have a piece where every staff member gets this tiny little fold-out every week and it basically said everything that I had just said to you including what's happening, where people can find things, what are answers to commonly asked questions, and what are hours. It was all the pertinent information that they needed in their job if anybody was to come up to them at any point in time and ask them a question. They never had the answer of "I don't know," or "That's not what I do," or any of those answers that sometimes our parents might hear that frustrates us immensely. When I came back from that I said, "You know what, maybe we do need to put one of those weekly communications out to our staff so that they're a little bit more abreast of what's going on within the center." Again, more communication to them and more info really helps them as a company, as a whole, and as a center. It really elevated that communication with the parents, the vendors, and the community.
Another benefit of good communication is that it really helps all relationships. That's because you do have that open communication, that open-door policy, and that honesty and integrity where everybody's just sharing information and everybody's on the same page. Ultimately, that leads to relationships of trust and understanding. Better communication and good communication helps form those relationships. Our business is all about relationships.
Lastly, good communication elevates the entire environment. Excellent is amazing. Are we all going for environments of perfection? Absolutely not. But are we going for environments of excellence? Yes, we are. Good communication is a part of that, with one another, with our families, with everyone within that culture that really has anything to do with your center each and every day. Elevating that communication will only make everything and the quality of standard and service that you offer one of excellence.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Communication as a Key to Classroom Success, by Jennifer Romanoff, MA.
