The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced numerous organizations to transition to remote working. Although this approach has played a role in reducing the spread of the virus, managing a remote team may be difficult, given that most defining features of office setup are absent. Remote working can pose a significant challenge when it comes to communicating effectively with your team. However, the tips given below can help you keep remote communication strong.

 

Determine the primary medium of communication

Too many tools mean too many platforms for teams to comment and convey information, leading to missed messages and making people feel overwhelmed or bombarded. Choose an all-around app that your employees can visit where you can upload schedules, meetings, and tasks at once. Such an app is helpful that even if you cannot communicate with them, they can see how they should work. This way, you’ll keep everyone motivated to work towards a common goal.

 

Show empathy

Be empathetic in your communication. Remote working has its challenges, and the perfect way to determine your employees’ well-being is to ask them. Don’t presume that your workers are okay or what works for other teams will work for your team. Assure your employees of your support and encourage them to air their concerns and ask questions. Creating an open dialogue with compassion during these stressful times can make a difference.

 

Switch to video meetings

Working from home can prevent your employees from establishing solid and long-term relationships, affecting the entire team’s performance. Video communications help teams develop emotional bonds. Seeing each other frequently establishes familiarity that cannot exist when you hold a conference call with people you cannot see. Emotional connection helps your team to communicate, connect, and collaborate better.

 

Leverage one-to-one text messaging

In a traditional workplace, your employees used to have numerous one-on-one conversations with you and amongst themselves. However, this becomes challenging in a virtual setup. The best way to encourage one-on-one communications in a remote team is to have a messaging tool that allows your employees to communicate with you or their colleagues outside the group.

 

Don’t micromanage

Managing a remote team is challenging because you cannot walk up to others and check what they do. You might get tempted to call your workers severally to follow up on their progress. Even though it might be okay to enquire about urgent tasks through calls, it’s not a great idea. Your workers are responsible grownups, even if they work from home. One major factor that makes remote work successful is encouraging team members, not bombarding them with emails and calls concerning their activities. Ensure you make them feel wanted and trusted.

Communicating with your remote team doesn’t have to be daunting. Focus on the communication practices outlined above, and your remote work environment will become more coherent and conducive.

James Durkin