Much like a machine, the cogs and gears that make up a company need to move together to function properly. Likewise, the people and groups in your company make up much of its final product and overall success. To improve the processes within this system, opening a dialogue of communication and community is essential.

Talk to People

Big or small, the number of people at your company can determine how often you can speak one on one with them in an employee interview. What’s important, however, is that you never stop doing just that. In general, you should go out of your way to get to know them and their strengths as they apply to your company. No matter their position, one employee’s insights can help you see your company from a different angle and understand how to make it more efficient and successful.

Improve Communication

If you want to have a well-functioning business, it’s important to communicate clearly with your employees and clients. Embedding checkpoints and chances for feedback can greatly improve the direction of information so that is not simply one way. Also, communication between different groups reduces inefficiency and lost time, rather than isolating different departments and teams. Find ways to make communication two-way in your workplace, and its processes will greatly benefit you.

Encourage Ideas

Feedback on current processes is very helpful—but even more beneficial to the way a company runs is implementing a way for its many workers to contribute ideas based on their unique position and consequential insights for the company. What this looks like for your company will be determined by its size, function, and culture, but generally should include brainstorming sessions and safe spaces for anyone to offer even a “bad” idea. Some companies have open surveys always available for employees to take for this reason, while others bring it up in meetings.

Behind these specific examples lies a principle: people make all the difference. While there are online systems and filing methods that may on a smaller scale help your company run more efficiently, that kind of change is small in comparison to the makeover your company can accomplish by bringing people together. Look at your specific situation and determine how you can better communicate and work with your employees to improve the workplace for everyone.

Read this next: Habits That Can Help Every Manager Gain Employee Trust