How to communicate with your team - from 2 small business owners who went through the process

Communication is the key to any relationship, especially when it comes to your small business team. And for Morgan and Andy Sommer, owners of Houston-based store Forth and Nomad, it's the cornerstone of their success.

The entrepreneurial couple learned the hard way that disjointed communication can lead to an unhappy team and even layoffs. As a result, they have a solid system in place that allows them to keep everyone informed and in sync, without having to walk into the store themselves.

Here they explain how you can do it too.

Open a path for anonymous comments

It was an unfortunate experience that prompted Andy and Morgan to increase the lines of communication and provide a way for team members to express their feelings anonymously, but with a happy outcome

"We had a case where we had the wrong manager who didn't know the lines between management and associates," Andy says. "By the time we heard about it, it was already so bad. Nobody wanted to work with them, but nobody wanted to say anything because there was no clear path for someone to to file a complaint or suggestion, so we've revised this feedback process to allow people to give anonymous feedback and monthly reviews of their manager to identify these things sooner.

Create a clear reporting structure

Organizing an effective reporting structure has helped the Forth & Nomad team keep expectations clear, says Morgan.

"We have a fairly specific work plan that everyone knows very well. Andy is specifically responsible for our cafe and back-office teams, and I'm specifically responsible for our retail part. And so we funnel that down. We work directly with the heads of those departments, and then everything trickles down from the heads. The employees don't talk to us directly about anything business-wise. They go straight to the head, who then comes to us.”

A communication path with more than one point of contact keeps the business running smoothly, even in a crisis, says Andy.

"So you have your low level associates who talk to their main manager, but under the main manager you still have an assistant manager and a team leader that they can talk to if the manager isn't there "And that really covers us too. For example, last week our manager was out with COVID. It all happened between the other two and it worked out really well."

Apply the processes you have in place

For a system to work, it is important that everyone follows it.

“We regularly remind team members of the communication path,” says Morgan. "If people skip different levels, we kindly remind them, 'That's a great question for your manager.'

Setting clear expectations for team meetings and performance is also key, adds Andy.

"We have identified six KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for each department and position. In meetings with managers, we talk about these and what influences them. No one likes to sit in meetings which really don't produce anything. We certainly don't want to waste time, so we provide clear guidelines on what is going to be discussed and recorded."

Let managers communicate on their own terms

You hired your managers because you trust them to lead your team. And giving them the freedom to relay information in their own way not only improves communication, but also builds your confidence in their unique abilities.

“We tell every manager to lead their team as they see fit best. As long as they pass information to their team, they can do it however they want, with their own style,” says Morgan.

It's an approach that both improves the culture and empowers managers, says Andy.

"We found that our managers don't like to discover something at the same time as their team. I think it gives them a sense of belonging. They all have their own style of communication too, which creates a really cool and unique work situation, so I feel like it also helps to build morale and that sense of community every time they explain it in their own way, to their own teams."

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