Do interpersonal relationships matter in business in the digital age?
Interpersonal relationships. The idea may sound archaic in the era of the smartphone (and spending all day glued to its screen). When it comes to business, however, people skills matter too. All the digital marketing savvy in the world won’t save you from a customer relations disaster- or knit a feuding team into a cohesive bunch of go-getters. Here’s what you need to know about the importance of interpersonal relationships in business, courtesy of the Zebra 360 Marketing team.
What even is an interpersonal business relationship?
When we think of business communication, we tend to think of the client-business communication flow. Interpersonal business relationships extend a lot further than the client-facing side, however, and all employees should be focusing on building strong interpersonal business relationships regardless of their role in a company.
Why? Because, as the digital marketing age loves to hammer home, communication matters. Effective communication and understanding between employees, between businesses and their clients, between fellow businesses, and even between different departments of your business is critical. If the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing, and everyone spends more time arguing then achieving benchmarks, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Do interpersonal business relationships really matter?
Without these communication skill sets, you won’t get far in your business life. It doesn’t matter if you’re the owner, director, a solopreneur or a multinational company. When communication stops, so does effective growth and revenue generation- and without that, you won’t get far at all! The more bogged-down in miscommunication you allow your employees and your business face to become, the more wasted time, resources and goodwill you will face. Good interpersonal skills:
- Help employees build working relationships both with each other and clients
- Increase productivity from teams as well as whole organisations
- Foster positivity and a forward-thinking mindset.
How do I foster good interpersonal relationships in business?
Now you know why they matter, it’s time to address the million-dollar question: how do you build a strong base of interpersonal skills? The key is to keep the end goal in mind- you’re supporting the direction of your team and company. Good leaders start where they’re willing
