How To Communicate in a Startup Company?

How to communicate in a Startup company?

Communication is a vital aspect of maintaining relationships at work, whether it is office or a coffee shop. But in the startup companies, this issue seems to be more difficult than usual. Since these enterprises hire mostly remote workers, it is important to establish the functional and coherent structure of exchanging information. Today, the internet offers endless solutions to this issue proposing a wide range of communication software. Specialists surpass each other with putting on the market applications which allow easy answers to the communication problems.

Communication and Startup Failure

Either funded or bootstrapped, not every startup has a chance to survive. Let’s take a closer look at the reasons why some of the startup companies fail by analyzing the following chart, as presented by atlas.

Among the most common grounds for the startups’ failure are those connected with the lack of financial support or economic issues. Then, there are technical problems and affairs resulting from misinterpretation of employees or customers’ needs and intentions. Alright, that’s crystal clear. But you may wonder what does it have in common with communication when the biggest problem seems to be money?

Paul Biggar, one of the founders of the NewsTilt start-up company, wrote about the communication problems with the co-founder, Nathan Ching: “Nathan and I had major communication problems, we weren’t intrinsically motivated by news and journalism, making a new product required changes we could not make, our motivation to make a successful company got destroyed by all of the above.” The example of the NewsTilt shows how important it is to establish a balanced and robust communication channel. Not only to provide your team with the actual agenda but also to make sure that the people you work with understand your vision for the business.

Yet NewsTilt is not the only startup that failed of success. There’s a significant number of startup companies which didn’t even begin to see daylight because of communication problems. Crowdmix, a music startup company, ceased to exist just before it achieved the predicted success of 1$ billion users. All because Ian Roberts (the company’s CEO) and Gareth Ingham (a marketing executive) could not agree on the enterprise’s vision. Eventually, the miscommunication and failure in exchanging information led to the collapse of potentially significant investment.

Communication – What It Is About?

Don’t get discouraged by the failures of the startups which did not achieve success. If you’re the owner of your startup or are planning on launching a new business, take a look at these five pieces of advice from the experts of management:

1. Listen to your team.

In managing remote team members, I’ve found that one of the most effective practices is to sit down with your team and discuss what both sides think an effective work-life balance looks like (…).Maintaining good levels of communication and ensuring satisfactory work is completed is only possible when a manager understands and agrees upon the routine and process that a remote team member must go through in order to work diligently. Jake Tully, Head of Creative Department at TruckDrivingJobs.com  truckdrivingjobs.com, @JakeTTully

2. Talk to your team about your expectations and motivate them.

The key is to communicate your expectations with your team before you start each project. Explain the overall purpose of the assignment, make your team feel like they’re part of the effort by keeping them in the loop of changes and results. Employees do not like being talked at, who does? Making them part of the process is a true motivational factor that can mean the difference between success and failure of your plan. Bob Shoyhet, CFO of Melillo Consulting, melillo.com, @bobshoyet

3. Arrange meetings or video calls to stay in touch. Organize feedback sessions.
   

I hold weekly meetings with my team members to review projects, discuss concerns and vet new ideas. To help build camaraderie and build relationships between team members, it is a good idea to build in some fun, social activities. For example, we recently hosted a Cinco de Mayo party for onsite team members and hosted dinners for remote employees in Pittsburgh and Denver. Sally Kane, Content Director for PaperStreet, paperstreet.com, @sallyannekane

 

4. Take care of your team’s members.

Successful leaders recognize the importance of the “human side” of leadership and that it is important to help people succeed in life as well as in business. Leaders capable of feeling empathy and compassion have a significant edge on those that keep things “strictly business.” Bruce Bolger, President of the Bruce Bolger Company, brucebolger.com, LinkedIn

 

5. Use communication software.

When it comes to collaboration tools, one of my favorites for managing my team and streamlining communication is through an app called Slack.Instead of trying to communicate through phone calls, texting, email, and Skype, everything runs smoothly because it’s integrated directly through the app. It’s really cool because I can talk about various subjects in different channels so that everyone on the team is able to see any updates, pictures, files and more. Tanner St. James, Marketing Coordinator at The Scott Resort & Spa, thescottresort.com, @thescottresort

Communication Software

Now that you know the five tips to improve communication in your team let’s take a look at nine best tools to help you exchange ideas and information. Maybe you’ll find something appropriate for your business?

1. HeySpace

Trello and Slack combined! Taskify your messages directly from the chat, track progress and interact smoothly with your team. You can @mention your team members to get them notified, attach images to your messages and access the full history of your chat – all of your messages are safely stored. And the best thing is – up to 10 members you can have it for free.

2. Slack

Don’t let the name mislead you! Slack is one of the most popular communication software available on the market and enables you to organize contacts. You can create groups to chat with your teams or talk individually. Slack allows sharing, uploading and downloading files.

 

Check out TimeCamp integration with Slack

3. HipChat

HipChat is an app suitable for startups with the small financial budget. It has a simple interface and, despite its sophisticated functions, is easy to handle. HipChat supports most of the available platforms.

 

Check out TimeCamp integration with HipChat

4. eXo Platform

eXo Platform helps your team build a great communication, either individual or group. It has excellent functions for a good price. eXo is particularly useful in large enterprises.

 

 

5. Microsoft Lync

Microsoft Lync (previously Microsoft Office Communicator) is integrated with Skype Business and other Microsoft products. It provides your team with standard function of video calls. It’s great for collaborative communication, exchanging files and information via messages.

6. Skype

Who doesn’t know what Skype is – one of the most popular and most often used apps for communication? It offers key features, such as voice and video calling and recording, sharing and managing files. Skype is a freemium software supporting every platform.

7. Fuze

You can use Fuze as a free member, or premium with prices ranging from 20$-40$ per month. Fuze offers video calls and video conferences in HD and is simple to handle.

8. RingCentral Video

RingCentral Video is a freemium software with all the main features that are important in communication. It simplifies transmission of information and gives your team access to all needed functions.

 

Let’s put it all together

Communication in startup companies requires much more endeavor than in regular ones. With employees working remotely, it poses even more obstacles. How to maintain stability? How to keep everyone in contact? And, finally, how to accelerate the progress of your company? If you apply the five tips mentioned in this post to your business activity, you’ll achieve success. You will boost it even more if you start using communication software. And why not choose the option from the software listed above? Remember, communication may seem a minor problem, but for your company to sustain a stable point, it is crucial. Think about your team, motivate it and listen to its needs. It will enhance not only communication between your team but also between your clients.

Looking for the best price time tracking? Check out TimeCamp!