How To Efficiently Communicate With Your Team Remotely

Communication in the workplace can be challenging, even without considering the added complication of remote work. Remote work usually means that employees work from home, where they have many other matters constantly drawing their attention away from work.

If your team is mainly working remotely, or you have team members who have to work from home for a few months, it’s essential you find a way to communicate with them. If you’re looking for a way to better your communication skills with remote employees, then this guide is perfect for your needs.

If you want to spend less time and effort on electronic communication with your team, then it is worth it for you to invest in a computer. You need an efficient and modern computer with quality.

For instance, if you are a videoconferencing with someone and they have some files related to the project you’re working on, having a shared desktop in the meeting can help expedite the process of passing it around for review.

Buying a desktop computer is an easy way for anyone in the office–spanning all skill levels–to work together efficiently.

Opt for Video Calls

Aside from the physical distance posed by remote working, there are other distances that you will have to overcome when communicating with remote teams. The first one is operational distance – that is, the processes aspects that limit communication, including the size of your team, their skill levels, and so on. The other is affinity distance, which is the ability to connect with other team members emotionally and mentally.

Affinity distance can have the biggest impact on performance, as better-connected teams communicate – and therefore work – better. Video calls can help reduce affinity distance by allowing team members to see each other regularly, thus encouraging them to build emotional bonds that they may not be able to do were they communicating with faceless people over a conference call.

Ensure Access to Information

Aside from affinity distance, one of the biggest challenges that remote teams must overcome is access to information. Many businesses do not make sensitive information available to remote workers, which can sometimes hinder their abilities to perform to their capability.

There are several different service providers that can help your business overcome this issue. The secure mobile solutions at Saicom give you insight into how you can help your employees stay fully connected with your business, even when they’re not present in the office. This ensures that your employee feels connected to your business as a whole and is able to communicate with you more efficiently since they have access to all necessary knowledge.

Don’t Micromanage

Working with remote teams means that you are unable to keep track of people’s progress at their tasks as easily as you would be able were they working in the same location as you. For example, you as a manager cannot simply walk over to their desk to check their work.

This issue can lead to managers opting to micromanage their employees, checking in with them numerous times throughout the day. While it can seem like a great way to ensure work is done on time, it can significantly negatively impact employees and lower team morale. Instead, enable your team members to work on their own and allow them to feel trusted and wanted. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t check in from time to time – but make sure you’re not going overboard.

Make Sure Your Teams Know Which Tools to Use

Today, there is an abundance of tools available to help improve remote communication. If you don’t have a clear guideline on which tools to use, it can be easy for team members to go into tool overload and download dozens, leaving them completely confused about which option they should use.

One way to limit the tools that team members will have to use is to narrow them down based on function. For example, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Skype all serve as options for setting up video conference calls. Instead of alternating between them during each online meeting, choose and stick to one option that works best for your needs. This helps reduce the amount of confusion and allows team members to become completely familiar with only the most relevant tools.

Create an Online Office Culture

While remote working has its advantages, it can also leave employees feeling lonely and disengaged. This can have a significant impact on their performance and productivity, as well as increasing employee turnover.

One of the best ways to reduce this issue is to create a collaborative office culture online. This can include team activities like shared lunches, virtual trivia nights, after-work happy hours, and similar activities. You can even consider hiring a specialized business to design a personalized team-building program for your team.

Such activities help build interpersonal bonds and make employees feel connected to each other. They ensure that your team feels valued for their own individual selves and not just the productivity they offer, which, in turn, increases employee loyalty.

While remote working can have its unique challenges, communication doesn’t have to be one of them. This guide can help you communicate and connect with your remote workers efficiently, allowing you to create team bonds that can rival even those shared by teams that work together in person.