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While at work, it is common for employees and team members to turn to the office manager for any questions or concerns they may have. To be an effective leader and facilitator while in the office, there are many skills that are important to obtain, and having good communication skills is one of them!

This may lead you to ask yourself, why is it good for an office manager to have communication skills?

Office managers that communicate well are more likely to run a successful office, and to form accountability within the team as a whole. Of course, it's also important for hygienists to have communication skills, and we shared a bit about that in a different article. Today, we'll start with a few of the main types of communication you'll use as a dental office manager.

What Are the Main Types of Communication Skills?

There are five main types of communication that are all crucial to becoming a successful communicator in the workplace:

1. Verbal communication: Verbal communication is the form of communication from speaking with and engaging with others. There are formal and informal types of verbal communication, depending on if you are having a business-related meeting, or just chatting with other employees and team members on a more casual level. 
2. Non-verbal communication: Non-verbal communication provides communication without the use of any words. This can include things such as facial expressions, eye contact, hand and arm movements, and posture. 
3. Listening: Listening is an extremely important type of communication, that gives you the ability to properly respond to employees and team members. By actively listening to others, you can engage with them correctly and maintain a correct and professional conversation with them.
4. Written communication: Written communication can be found in a variety of ways. This can be words from an email, a letter, a report, a social media post, a memo, and much more. To have good written communication, you have to be able to use the correct words to portray a clear and concise message directly. 
5. Visual communication: Visual communication can give meaning to something by just looking at it. This can include any type of image or video, such as within emails or on social media posts, that allow the viewers to understand what message is being conveyed to them.

Why Is It Good for an Office Manager to Have Communication Skills?

Now that you know what the five main types of communication skills are, it is time to learn why it is good for an office manager to have communication skills. Here are some of the top reasons that office managers need to have good communication with their employees and team members to make the office run smoothly and efficiently.

Improve Employee Relations

Having good communication skills is a great way to improve relationships between employees and team members within the office. To have strong relationships in the office, office managers need to be able to facilitate communication between all employees and team members, so that everything expected of each individual is understood and implemented. The office manager must also be able to handle any disagreements or issues that may occur within the office, so good communication skills on every level is important to handle these situations properly and effectively.

Increase Productivity

Proper communication within the office, leads to productivity on individual levels or as a whole. Office managers must provide clear plans and strategies to employees and team members so that everyone knows what their roles and responsibilities are to keep the office running smoothly. Office managers allow them to also know how the office should implement certain strategies, and how progress should be monitored and tracked daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Proper Delegation of Work

Office managers constantly have to delegate work and tasks to different departments, employees, and team members. If they do not have good communication skills, the employees within the office will not know what is expected of them and what their responsibilities are to contribute to the office. This leads to much confusion within the workplace, and can lead to many difficulties and uncertainties within the office. This can cause the office to not run smoothly and it will not be an effective workplace.

Higher Team Morale

When employees and team members are left out of certain workplace discussions, do not receive regular updates, or do not have new information properly explained to them, they can become confused and unmotivated. They may also not feel comfortable confronting their office manager with their questions and concerns, because the office manager does not communicate properly with them. Having constant conversations with employees and team members, both in groups and on a one-on-one basis helps to create a culture of good communication and understanding.

 

There are many ways to improve communication in your dental office. What's one method you use?

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