Organizational Communication Review

Organizational Communication Review Format

Communication Channels

How effective are our current communication channels?

This area covers the tools you use to share information: email, chat, video calls, your project tracker and anything else. Ask which channels people actually check, which ones they ignore, and where the same update gets posted in several places. Look for gaps, such as no clear home for decisions, and for channels that overlap, then agree on what each one is for.

Information Flow

How well does information flow within and across teams?

Information flow is how updates, decisions and context travel through the team and across the organization. Ask how people find out about changes, how late they hear about them and whether what they hear is accurate. Look for bottlenecks, such as one person who holds all the context, and for structural causes like reporting lines or time zones that slow things down.

Collaboration and Feedback

How well do we collaborate and provide constructive feedback?

This area is about how the team works together and how it gives and takes feedback. Ask whether people feel safe asking for help, raising a half-formed idea or challenging a decision. Talk about what gets in the way, whether that's feedback that lands too bluntly, conversations people avoid or roles other teams don't understand, and how the team can make better use of the different ways people communicate.

Interpersonal Dynamics

How well do we navigate interpersonal dynamics and conflicts?

Interpersonal dynamics covers trust, respect and how the team handles disagreement. Ask whether there are tensions that affect how people work together, and whether difficult conversations happen or get avoided. Keep the discussion on patterns rather than individuals, and look for agreements the team can make about how it raises and settles conflict.

When to use this retrospective

• When the same communication breakdowns or misunderstandings keep coming up, inside the team or with other groups
• After a reorg or restructure that changed who talks to whom and through which channels
• As a quarterly or yearly check on communication habits, before small problems settle in
• When onboarding new people or merging teams, to agree on communication norms early
• When teams start working in silos or decisions arrive without any explanation

Suggested icebreaker questions

• If our team was a communication channel, which one would it be and why?
• Share a funny or memorable miscommunication story from your experience.

Want a warm-up your team plays, not just answers out loud? Browse free icebreakers →

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

• Have everyone add notes privately first, so candid points about communication aren't filtered by who's in the room
• Invite someone from each team you hand work to or receive work from, so you hear both ends of the handoff
• Keep notes anonymous when the topic touches managers or other departments; people are more candid that way
• Pick the top two or three issues and give each action an owner and a date
• Repeat the review every few months, because communication habits drift as the team and its tools change
• When a channel or habit works well, write it down and share it with other teams

Frequently asked questions