What do you do if your engineering team is having communication issues?
Communication is vital for any engineering team, especially when working on complex and interdependent projects. However, communication issues can arise due to various factors, such as different backgrounds, preferences, styles, tools, expectations, and goals. If left unresolved, these issues can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, delays, errors, and low morale. As an engineering manager, you need to identify and address the root causes of communication issues and foster a culture of collaboration and feedback. Here are some steps you can take to improve communication within your engineering team.
-
Ravi EvaniGVP, Multi-Industry Engineering Lead / CTO @ Publicis Sapient
-
Vaibhav Dengwekar4 x 🏆 Top LinkedIn Voice Badges I General Manager Production at Watergen India I Ex Godrej & Boyce | Digital…
-
Akash MukherjeeLeader @ Apple AIML | Former Tech Lead at Google | Helping spread Leadership Awareness in Software Engineering |…
Assessing the current state of communication in your team is the first step. You can employ surveys, interviews, observations, or metrics to collect feedback and data on how team members communicate with each other and other stakeholders. Questions to consider include what channels and tools are used by the team, how often and effectively they communicate, what communication challenges or barriers are present, how disagreements, conflicts, or feedback are handled, and how information, knowledge, and ideas are shared. With this information, you can pinpoint gaps, issues, and opportunities for improvement in your team's communication.
-
How well do you know your people’s communication styles? Not everyone shines in speaking or thrives on listening. Your team's strength lies in its diversity: different abilities, backgrounds, and preferences mean everyone has their own way of connecting and understanding. Some engineers absorb information best by reading, others in discussions. While some articulate ideas best verbally, others excel in writing or visual explanations. I have learned that recognizing and leveraging everyone’s unique communication methods can be the catalyst in creating a multidimensional collaborative space, elevating the whole team's communication effectiveness.
-
Addressing communication issues within an engineering team involves several steps to improve collaboration, clarity, and effectiveness: Identify Communication Challenges, Encourage Open Communication, Clarify Roles and Responsibilities, Establish Clear Communication Channels, Improve Feedback Mechanisms, Address Language and Cultural Differences, Promote Collaboration and Teamwork, Provide Communication Training, Lead by Example, Monitor Progress and Address Issues. By taking these steps, you can help address communication issues within your engineering team and create a more collaborative, productive, and cohesive working environment.
-
Assess where communication issues are impacting the most, such as quality, deadlines, or SLA breaches. In my experience, communication gaps occur for two main reasons: 1. Silos within the team - This can happen when there are frictions among team members and they are hesitant to initiate communication. 2. Process issues - Sometimes, the problem may not be with your team, but rather due to a lack of a good process framework that enables effective communication and information exchange among team members and stakeholders. As a leader, effective intervention at the right time can help resolve communication issues and prevent future problems.
-
The issues with communication raised recently since the pandemic due to the nature of hybrid work. A side effect of remote work is work hours misalignment. Having that context is very important going into evaluating any communications issue. Depending on whether it's an internal within the team problem or with stakeholders the next steps will differ. That's why it's important to speak with effected people and dig deeper to understand the root cause.
-
Assessing team communication is critical for determining strengths and places for growth. Surveys, interviews, observations, and measurements can help you get insight into team relationships. This assists in identifying communication gaps, difficulties, and areas for development. By addressing these issues, you may create methods for improving team performance, cooperation, and morale, resulting in a more unified and productive organization.
The next step is to define the expectations and standards for communication in your team. You can do this by creating or revising your team's communication plan. This plan should include the purpose, goals, and scope of communication for your team and project, the roles and responsibilities of each team member and stakeholder, the methods, tools, and protocols to be used for different types of communication, the frequency, format, and content of communication for different audiences and purposes, as well as the communication norms and etiquette to be followed by your team. It is important to involve your team members in developing or updating your communication plan and ensure that everyone understands and agrees on the expectations and standards.
-
Communication is often used as a proxy of performance, especially outside a team. Let me explain, A great idea is not worth much if it doesn't sell. Making sure the audience understands the message is the key. At a team level, my go to strategy has been over communicate. This can get mildly annoying, but setting this expectations early on can help with that. For external teams and stakeholders, it becomes slightly different. Creating a template/pattern on things that need to be communicated and pattern in communication can really help if you don't have a dedicated PoC. Engineers are not good at communication, hence we have talented TPMs filling that gap. If your team has one, utilize them to insert them into external talks.
The third step is to provide training and support for your team members to improve their communication skills and competencies. You can do this by offering workshops, courses, or coaching sessions on topics such as active listening, assertive communication, feedback giving and receiving, conflict resolution, and presentation skills. Encourage your team members to use online resources such as blogs, podcasts, videos, or books to learn more about effective communication. Additionally, provide your team members with the necessary tools and equipment to communicate efficiently and securely, such as laptops, headphones, software, etc. Lastly, create a communication feedback system where you and your team members can give and receive constructive feedback on your communication performance and areas for improvement.
The fourth step is to monitor the progress and impact of your communication improvement efforts. To do this, set measurable and realistic communication goals and indicators for your team and project, such as quality, timeliness, accuracy, and clarity. Collect feedback and data on your team's communication from surveys, interviews, observations, or metrics. Additionally, review and evaluate your team's communication plan and practices regularly and make adjustments as needed. Finally, celebrate and reward your team's communication achievements and successes.
The final step is to foster a culture of communication and collaboration in your team. Model and promote positive communication behaviors, such as empathy, openness, honesty, and trust. Encourage interaction among team members and other stakeholders through activities, events, and meetings. Create a safe environment where team members can express their opinions without fear or judgement. Acknowledge and appreciate communication efforts and contributions. Communication issues can be challenging, but they can be resolved with the right strategies. By following these steps, you can improve communication within your engineering team and boost performance, productivity, and satisfaction.
-
Missing communication is not a programmatic bug that can be fixed and forgotten. It's a soft skill and needs a lot more attention. In a team where you have people from diverse background, you'd see patterns of some people communicating less. It's not their intention, including me who are not native English speakers, we tend to shy away from saying things. As a leader, identifying these gaps and helping them feel more comfortable can solve the problem at the core.
Rate this article
More relevant reading
-
Structural EngineeringWhat do you do if your structural engineering team is struggling with effective communication?
-
Manufacturing EngineeringHere's how you can master communication with your boss in a manufacturing engineering career.
-
Automotive EngineeringWhat do you do if your colleagues in automotive engineering need help improving their communication skills?
-
Executive ManagementWhat are the biggest communication challenges when leading engineers?