5 Tips to Maintain Team Communication When You Work Remotely

Did you know that almost 70% of full-time workers in the U.S have worked remotely? Yes, more than half of the workforce was driven to #workfromhome since the start of the pandemic, and many are still working from the comfort of their home until now.

However, many companies weren’t ready for the shift to remote work. Communication became such a hassle and project distribution and progress weren’t monitored. This drives companies to return to working on-site, even though many workers have even stated they prefer remote, with 82% saying it is better for their mental health.

So, what to do?

With more than a combined 20 years of #remoteworking experience, I have learned so many lessons about remote team communication. And I'm proud to say at my agency Chykalophia, we now have the upper hand in this situation! What’s our secret, you ask? Here you go, five tips to maintain team communication when you work remotely.

Clear Processes & Documentations

Take time to document all work processes, expectations, and KPIs. This will save a lot of time and effort in the future – onboarding becomes more seamless, project delegation easier, communication more effective. In general, teamwork becomes more efficient, which can help increase productivity and job satisfaction.

Utilize Tools

Beyond the widely-used Zoom and Slack, more and more tools are created and launched to support remote and online working. Here are the tools we utilize to make remote work more effective, and fun!

• Notion. For documents and all things are written.
• Plutio. This is the project management tool we use. It’s easy to delegate work, create sub-tasks and track the man-hour.
• Rocket Chat. To draw the line between work and personal life, all work-related chat is done on this platform. #Worklifebalance for the win!
• Gtmhub. We use this tool to set and track personal, group, and company KPIs or OKRs.
• Google Meet. Many of our clients use the good ol’ Gmeet, so we rely on it to communicate and catch up with them.

Continuous Feedback & Review

Conducting 1:1 reviews and pulse surveys regularly can help understand employee sentiment, satisfaction, and overall engagement and experience. For bigger companies, investing in a 360 review tool can also be an excellent way to help retain the best talents.

Turn On The Cameras ??

Don’t forget that we are a group of people working together, not some robots that only take commands. So, make sure to have regular video calls, with the camera turned on, to have “direct” communications. At Chykalophia, we have brief stand-up meetings daily to update our progress and keep everyone in the loop. We also have weekly meetings with the whole company for work updates. Plus for fun!

Make Sure to Have Fun

Yup, we love having fun! –?who doesn’t, right? Make some time during the less busy time of the week or month to have team-building activities. Be it quiz time, movie night, charades, or a book club, these activities can help boost teamwork and improve employee engagement. And, oh, if you ask what we do, we love playing some online games together.

Remote working has its challenges, but we can make the best of it with these tips. Do you have more tips to maintain team communication in remote companies? Let’s discuss this in the comments!