As an MSP company, there will be many projects requiring collaboration. Effective collaboration predicates streamlined communication that involves the least possible “static”. A lot of “static” comes from unresolved back-and-forth between project leads, supervisors, and teams. In order to see the outcomes intended, you’ll want to clear up this “static”.
Specific Things to Address
You need to know where there are communications bottlenecks and the ways to best address them. Here are several areas where teams commonly make tech mistakes owing to poor communication and what you can do about them:
Be Direct About What You’re Trying to Accomplish
Have you informed your employees as to the “why” behind what you’re doing, or have you just told them to do something and then continued with other business? Teams and staff working on a project need to know what the endgame is, otherwise they may come up with a perfectly reasonable solution that’s of no use to you.
They need to know the trajectory of the project. That means you need to tell them what you’re “going for”, and why. You’re not on a government base where the vendor is classified from the contractor. You’re working together. Be as transparent as possible.
Tell Relevant Details of the total Issue, Only Condense When Necessary
Next, as an MSP company, it’s important to give all the details relevant to the task at hand. When you condense, as gaps develop in a given project, staff simply fill them in. Sometimes this is going to match what you need, often it’s not. There can be serious issues if you don’t carefully consider best practices here.
If a Question Goes Unresolved, Be Sure to Resolve It
Maybe you’ve got a team lead, and you ask them how progress is coming on project X, and they simply say, “Oh, quite good,” then change the subject. Well, that’s a positive thing to say, but does it tell you how fast associated bandwidth is? Does it tell you whether or not information between point A and B is encrypted? Does it inform you on associated costs? When you’ve got generalizations to contend with, there’s a lot of room for error. Resolve questions of specificity directly, or you’ll leave yourself open to sub-par results.
Increasing Productivity Through Enhanced Communication
As an MSP company, you’ll have complex projects and diverse team members with idiosyncratic methods of operation. Communication is absolutely integral. Ensure unresolved questions are answered. Avoid condensing information unless you have to for one reason or another. Be direct about the goals you seek to achieve. Such tips should help you achieve the necessary results for varying projects.
