Manage team communications

This standard is about managing team communications in your own team and between different teams. It includes supporting employees who work remotely or at different locations to communicate and feel part of a team. You confirm the information that your team requires and the information provided to internal and external teams. You select the communication media and styles that your team will use, and methods that match the requirements of your organisation's targets, resources and available technologies. You monitor communication and provide support to your team for any issues that arise. The standard also includes reviewing the resource requirements for remote, virtual teams, identifying, developing and maintaining tools and process to support work. You provide guidelines and facilitate collaboration, encouraging team members to share information. You also evaluate the effectiveness of team communications to identify and plan actions for improvement.

This standard is for all managers and leaders.

1. confirm the information your team requires from you, other team members and other teams, and when they need it
2. discuss the preferred communication media and styles for different employees and situations in your team
3. agree the information your team need to provide to you, other team members and other teams, and when they need to provide it
4. outline when your team should discuss their work and issues with you, other team members and other teams
5. select the media and styles of communication that will be used
6. agree team communication methods which meet their needs and match organisational targets, resources, and available technology
7. agree the individual team contacts for specific work activities
8. agree the communication methods to be used in urgent or exceptional circumstances
9. provide information to your team as and when they need it
10. monitor that your team provide you, other team members and other teams with the information they need, when they need it
11. provide opportunities for team members to discuss their work and issues arising with you
12. identify the key communication challenges for remote, virtual workers with stakeholders
13. review the resource requirements for providing communication tools and processes for remote, virtual working with stakeholders
14. identify, develop and maintain effective tools and processes to support remote, virtual teams
15. identify networks, processes and systems that allow employees to connect to information and knowledge remotely
16. provide guidelines, training, coaching and support to facilitate and encourage effective use of communication tools and processes
17. provide guidelines to facilitate interactive collaboration between internal and external stakeholders
18. encourage others to share information and knowledge within the constraints of confidentiality
19. check that team members understand and adhere to regulatory, professional and commercial requirements
20. resolve records management issues arising from communication and remote/virtual working
21. evaluate the effectiveness of communication methods with team members and other teams to identify improvements
22. plan actions to sustain or improve effective communication
23. follow the industry legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role in managing team communications

General knowledge and understanding

1.      the principles and methods of effective communication and how to apply them

2.      the range of media (e.g. face-to-face, paper, telephone, e-mail, internet) and styles of communication (e.g. written, spoken, visual, demonstration) that can be used and their features, advantages and benefits

3.      the technologies that can support team communication and how to use them

4.      how to discuss and agree communication needs with team members and other teams (internal and external)

5.      how to review the effectiveness of communication methods with team members and other teams (internal and external)

6.      the importance of providing team members with opportunities to discuss their work and issues arising, and how to do so

7.      the range of tools and techniques available to support remote, virtual working, including face- to-face and technology-enabled solutions

8.      how to enable the management of information resources for remote and virtual teams

9.      how remote, virtual working interfaces with core business processes

10.   the records, information and knowledge management issues that may arise from team and virtual working and how to resolve them

Industry and sector specific knowledge and understanding

11.   the industry legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role in managing team communications

Context specific knowledge and understanding

12.   the types of communication needs that your team have, individually and collectively, to deliver the organisational objectives set

13.   the internal and external teams that your staff communicate with to get information, including when and how they access this

14.   why, how and when your team provides information to other teams and each other

15.   the importance of receiving and providing information when it is required and the implications when communication breaks down

16.   your organisation's working practices and how these affect teams, virtual teams and remote workers

17.   the employees in your area of work, their roles, responsibilities, competences and potential

18.   your organisation's requirements for reporting and providing information

19.   the technologies and other resources available within your organisation that can facilitate communication, and the strengths and challenges of using them

20.   the team members who should be contacted for specific purposes

21.   the types of urgent or exceptional communication circumstances that may arise and how to deal with these

1. Communicating
2. Decision-making
3. Empowering
4. Evaluating
5. Information management
6. Innovating
7. Involving team members
8. Monitoring
9. Motivating
10. Networking
11. Obtaining feedback
12. Problem solving
13. Reflecting
14. Reviewing
15. Team building
16. Thinking creatively
17. Thinking strategically
18. Valuing and supporting members of staff