Many teams are losing good employees, and too bad bosses think the main reason is dissatisfaction over how much employees are paid for what they do. A 2001 study involving around 20,000 exit interviews revealed that people’s number one reason for leaving their jobs is “poor supervisory behavior” or bad bosses, in other words. One of the cited reasons is poor communication in the workplace because people get promoted for their accomplishments without an assessment of their communication and interpersonal skills.

Effective communication in the workplace is a valuable asset of any organization because it allows the smooth flow of ideas, sentiments, and information. It likewise prevents little squabbles from turning into full-blown conflicts that may result in . Simply put, you can’t be a good boss if you do not know how to get through to your team by communicating in the workplace.

We’ve compiled the top seven keys to a successful communication in the workplace, as agreed by management and human resources experts:

1. Communication begins before the actual conversation. Studies show that 40% of what’s communicated comes through body language and tone of your voice. To communicate effectively, both must match with the words you convey.
   
   
2. Be a better listener. Pay attention to what your subordinates are saying even though they may contradict with management decisions or your own opinion. All too often, these communication opportunities are taken for granted just because management can’t be a little more of a better listener. Thus, communication in the workplace is improved and even resolved with better listening.
   
   
3. Make time for employees. Schedule a one-on-one talk with your employees, or if you work remotely, talk them over the phone at least twice a month or weekly, if you can. When communicating, give them your full attention, and talk about their career objectives, or how they envision themselves years from now. If they open up to you, you may also talk about their personal issues and what you can do to help.
   
   
4. Pass on the word to the people concerned. Go out of your way to let those people who should know about workplace changes coming from the higher ups. How easy it is to forget to let people know, on a timely basis, about what concerns their job. The downfall? You may not get the result you expect from your employees, and may seemingly appear like you are not in the know – something that wouldn’t exactly inspire confidence among your team.
   
   
5. Start with small talk. How easy it would be to lay down the heavy stuff at the beginning of a conversation because you are in a hurry. However, to communicate in the workplace in a conversational manner, start by chatting amiably at first to inspire your employee to open up and spark more substantial conversations.
   
   
6. Give regular feedback; avoid surprises. Although performance appraisals are your primary tool in giving performance issues feedback to employees, experts suggest confrontation should be made beforehand (in a humane way) to let them know there are things they should improve on. The annual evaluation should only be used to recap performance for the entire year.
   
   
7. Speak to groups effectively. While there should be one-on-one meetings, management level people should learn the skill to address to employee groups. When you are effective at this type of communication in the workplace, your employees will look highly at you and give you a boost in credibility as a manager. The same thing goes for writing group emails.
   
   
8. Don’t use emails for delicate matters. Emails can be good for announcements, but should not be used for sensitive matters, such as performance issues that will need to be discussed in person so you can explain more clearly and get a direct, personal response from the party concerned.
   
   
9. Be consistent in your workplace communication. Consistency builds trust and lets your employees feel that you are concerned about whether they understood your explanation.
   
   
10. Get them to evaluate you. The only way to know if your management techniques are getting through your subordinates is to let them evaluate you. It helps engender loyalty, and perhaps make you a better boss to them. Large corporations do it by distributing manager feedback forms to employees which they can fill out anonymously, if they so choose.