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Denise O’Berry, small-to-medium business blogger and author of “Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success,” recently highlighted the need for employees in small-to-medium businesses to interact with team members to increase productivity.

 “With a small business, you may find yourself reaching the end of your work day without ever actually speaking or communicating with a team member, which can be detrimental to any business,” said O’Berry in a press release.

“A small gesture, such as stopping by a co-worker’s cube or giving an employee a call to see how they are doing, can make a big impact on self-esteem, office morale and overall productivity. There is a variety of ways to stay close to employees, thanks to social media platforms, and also traditional ways, via e-mail or phone, that make it easier for you to communicate in a business environment,” she emphasized.

Communication tools are available to make the process of reaching out and connecting to co-workers easy. Some of the team communication channels recommended by O’Berry include

e-mail, which allows communicating to many people at the same time although it is not effective for engagement and decision making.

Social media networks like Twitter and Facebook (News - Alert) help team members to keep in touch and build on relationships which will further enhance understanding at work. Text and Internet chat allow for short and non-critical communication, and team members can maintain consistent communication. Using video when communicating allows people to see one another, study reactions and learn about different communication styles.

However, the easiest way to communicate is by using the phone, which is most suitable for both short, informative chats and long, complicated discussions. But the most effective communication methodology is a face-to-face meeting, which will bring team members together, O’Berry said.

To enable cost-effective communication for small-to-medium business customers across multiple industries, AT&T telephony products offer a Synapse Business Phone (News - Alert) System, which serves up to 50 extensions and provides easy installation and management. This system is scalable up to 16 outside lines without adding unnecessary expenses. Also users can add accessories like cordless handsets and headsets, so employees can enjoy mobile and private communication in larger work environments.

The SynJ Extended Range 4-Line Phone System allows SMB employees to work in a variety of places from small offices to large warehouses. The SynJ extendable range phone system provides cordless handset extensions, Push-to-Talk functionality, and up to a half mile of extended range by using DECT (News - Alert) 6.0 repeaters. It also enables mobile page and conferencing for high speed communication.

AT&T also offers cordless headsets which allow users to be hands-free at work. The devices are light and comfortable featuring multiple wearing styles. Employees can multitask and move farther from the base with these headsets.