Is silence killing trust in your business?

While the old adage says “Silence is golden” it could be eroding trust in your business or on your team. When working with others remotely – whether it’s virtual team members, clients, or vendors – communication is what brings everyone together. Lack of effective and timely communication can quickly destroy working relationships and fill people with doubt and fear.

While timely communication and the danger of silence is something we often talk about in our workshops for virtual teams, it was highlighted recently by an experience I am having with a consultant we hired to do some specialized marketing. Never having met this consultant in person, my trust in him was based on his website, the testimonial of others who refer him, and examples of his work.  While all of these essential pieces were in place, the trust he had developed has quickly dissolved through poor communication.

In trying to get an update on the status of our project, which is past deadline,  I’ve left him several emails and voice mails over the past few weeks that have all gone unanswered. So what am I to think? In the lack of any information or communication from him, doubt creeps in: Maybe he has dropped the ball on my project, I guess we aren’t that important to him, why is he ignoring my messages?

Now believe me I understand what it’s like to be busy – but a short, quick reply to any one of the messages I sent would have not only kept me in the loop but would have increased my trust in him. A simple “Hey sorry I haven’t been able to get you that report yet but something came up and I want to make sure I give it my full attention”. A world of difference from silence – my attitude would have been “wow look how important my project is to him!“ When people’s problems are acknowledged in a timely manner they are more likely to feel respected and be patient for a solution.

I’ve made this mistake myself in the past and now have a policy that if I don’t have time to reply to someone, I at least send a quick message to acknowledge I received their message and will get back to them soon in more depth. Is this a mistake you’ve made? Have you let replies slide and found yourself struggling to repair lost faith? If you are a solo professional, small business owner, or virtual team member working with co-workers or clients you don’t see – your relationships are all based on trust.  Communication is not just important, it’s critical. Great communication doesn’t just happen – it needs to be a deliberate process.

When working with members of your remote team or clients, put these guidelines in place to be a “conscious communicator”:

• What are the preferred forms of communication? (ie. phone, email, instant messenger)
• What is the expected time frame for a response? (ie. 24 hours for email, 2 hours for voicemail)
• Take time to keep people updated with regards to project milestones and progress.
• Make sure everyone is on the same page with regards to expectations and deliverables.
• Consistency – how regularly should everyone be checking in with one another?

Proper communication can serve as a pathway to building trust, or left unchecked it can kill your business and your reputation and undermine your teamwork. By putting simple guidelines in place to make it a more conscious process your teamwork and business will thrive.

What are your tips for effective communication guidelines?