If you are working with or managing a team of professionals from afar, team communication is more complicated than in a physical office space.
But if you can effectively work with remote teams, you can open many doors for yourself in today’s changing work force. To get to this remote working ideal, you should keep the following 5 communication tips in mind:
1. Get really good at email
Email communication is an art. Here are some tips for everyone on your team so that email can be maximally used.
- Use simple subject lines so that everyone understands what the email is about. It will also make retrieving the email easier in the future.
- Use distribution lists sparingly: if you send a lot of email to one group, many will start ignoring your potentially important messages.
- Be as clear and concise in email as possible. Long, windy emails are the worst, and much less likely to get read.
- Make sure to address the important key points in your reply. If you are responding to a lengthier email, try writing your responses in-line.
- For anything too complicated or sensitive to address in an email, pick up the phone. It may seem archaic, but a phone can be an amazingly efficient tool for so many conversations.
2. But don’t just email. There are other great online communication tools out there
Skype, Google+, and IM messengers of various kinds are often more effective than emailing back and forth. They’re also easier to respond to quickly.
One important value to drill into your team is that they must keep their online/offlice statuses up to date. This way you won’t be wondering why someone hasn’t responded in a prompt manner to a request. It’s also important to encourage remote workers to be fast in responding to email for the same reasons.
In addition to individual messengers, there are also great group communication tools, such as HipChat for group-level IMing, Google Hangouts for video chats of up to 10 people, and Zoom for large video conference calls.
3. Figure out how much you should be in communication with each remote team member
Some team members will need a weekly check-in, others will get anxious if you don’t respond to their questions on a daily basis, and others could go by without hearing from you all week. You’ll have a different relationship with each of your remote workers, and will need to figure out how much contact each of them needs to thrive in their role.
4. Let your team members express their communication preferences
Along the same train of thought, let your team members make their communication preferences clear in the beginning: some love the phone, others love email, while others respond best to Skype. It’s good to know early on which ways they most enjoy communicating.
5. Schedule large in-person meetings, such as retreats and at conferences, a few times a year
Trust and motivation are two of the key elements that are hard to develop in a remote office setting. For this reason, it’s wise to have several long periods of in-person, group face time among your team during the year. This will make them feel more connected to their coworkers and able to grow professionally.
What advice do you have for working with remote teams? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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