"Keep me in the loop." This is one of the most commonly heard phrases in the corporate world. The need to be constantly aware, updated, and keep the right people involved in task progress is a given in workplaces. One slip up—be it not adding your leadership to an important decision-making process or leaving your reportee out of an email thread where follow-ups are required—could cause the tower to tumble. Sometimes the impact is huge, sometimes it is negligible, but in the end, it's on us to remember to keep everyone in the loop and not leave the relevant people out of it.
What is the loop?
In the corporate world, keeping someone in the "loop" means that you want to share information with specific people.
You want to keep your manager informed on everything you do. Just in case you get into trouble or need their expertise, they're added to every chat group, email thread, and meeting. Nothing happens without their knowledge, not even moving a pin.
Keeping people inside and outside your team informed on updates. Be it a new marketing campaign you are planning on running that needs to be confidential, or a feature or release that needs input from the entire team, adding relevant people to conversations to impart information or fuel discussions is necessary.
Staying aligned with customer expectations and feedback. Not every team or member is involved with handling customers. However, it is crucial to funnel customer expectations and feedback to the team or the organization at large for better results.
These are some classic examples of how a loop is created and managed in an organization. The crux is, do you want to keep someone updated? If so, add them to the loop.
Why staying in the loop matters
Imagine having to repeat the same thing a million times because the relevant people weren't informed earlier. Keeping everyone in the loop, right from the get go, saves you time and energy, and prevents misunderstandings, if they occur. This also builds a sense of ownership, where you take charge of running the show while keeping everyone relevant in the know. This also fosters better decision-making as the people involved get together as a whole to discuss and arrive at conclusions without missing out on anything. Summing up, keeping everyone in the loop is the key to maintain transparency, building better rapport, and improving team collaboration in an organization.
Reasons why people fall out of the loop
It might not be intentional, but it is human to forget taking everyone into account during a decision-making process. While working with various people, it is imperative to keep a communication guide to ensure smooth handling and information transfers. When not using proper modes of communication, resorting to personal messaging instead of using internal communication apps in the organization, information can go haywire, and you might miss out on keeping the right people informed. Moreover, while working on more than one task simultaneously, people tend to feel overwhelmed and might face slip ups, even notifying people concerned.
Another observation in workplaces is that some employees remain individual contributors who mostly work isolated from interactions with the rest of the team. When work is assigned to them, they take little to no effort to get input from others while working on it alone. The others in the team might not even be aware of their activities and tasks.
Using tech as a medium to fuel transparent communication
Take into account different scenarios. Prepare a workflow on how you will keep the relevant stakeholders informed when you handle information you've received, updates on tasks you are working on, or an idea that just sparked in your mind that you are planning to implement. The key is to not leave anyone out and keep them informed on what's going to be done right from the start of a task.
The best way to do this is by utilizing internal communication applications in your organizations and the tools that come along with them. Here are some ways through which you can utilize Zoho Cliq and its capabilities to keep employees informed:
Create a group chat, or start a meeting instantly and get everyone onboard to keep them in the loop.
Use mention tags to directly notify people, assign tasks to respective individuals, or set reminders in the chat, so no one misses out on anything important.
Schedule meetings or discussions ahead using the calendar and let people RSVP to the event. Don't forget to include an agenda so they are informed prior to what's going to be discussed.
Pin important messages, threads, and chats for easy access and better visibility.
Use bots as a personal assistant to keep everyone updated on routine tasks and updates. Bring updates in from external apps you use and send notifications about them in channels.
Leverage the power of AI in communication, from generating a quick overview of what should be discussed to running your meetings with AI agents; deploy AI to keep everyone informed.
Zoho Cliq helps businesses and users establish transparent communication, bridging the gap between leadership and the rest of the organization. It addresses bottlenecks through organized communication and task management tools and allows you to keep everyone aligned through its AI capabilities. All it takes is an understanding of how to get everyone to collaborate with one another, using Zoho Cliq to the best of its abilities to make teams productive and successful.
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