Surprisingly, in an era dubbed the "communication age," many managers consider inadequate information exchange between supervisors and staff a top concern. In fact, our company's survey found that 61 percent of executives said the biggest mistake companies make in managing their employees is not communicating with them sufficiently.

How can you promote a smooth flow of information in your firm? Several key strategies can help.

Invite Personal Interaction
While technology can be a valuable tool for conveying and receiving information, e-mail should never replace personal interaction. Face-to-face discussions and informal meetings often provide the setting employees need to ask questions, make suggestions and voice concerns that they might not express when communicating remotely. Simply stopping by someone's office to see how a project is progressing rather than requesting an update via e-mail can open the door for a productive exchange.

Listen Carefully to Your Staff
Along with talking to your workers, make sure you actively listen to them. Becoming a good listener begins with maintaining an open-door policy whenever possible. This provides employees a valuable outlet and resource, allowing them to turn to you for guidance on everything from concerns about a case to new operational approaches. Try to act promptly upon the information generated by these conversations. Acknowledging worker concerns and opinions lets them know their input is valued and often inspires additional ideas and solutions.

Keep Everybody Informed
Providing staff members a view of your firm's "big picture" is another key communication strategy. If possible, regularly share facts such as the progress and outcome of key cases. Imparting such information not only frees the office of rumors and speculation on these matters, it also gives employees an idea of how their own actions affect the firm's performance, often engendering feelings of loyalty in the process.

By making yourself accessible to your staff, sincerely listening to their concerns and continually updating them on your firm's progress, you lay sturdy groundwork for future success.