Communication Tips For A Remote Team

By this point, most of us have come to terms with remote work being the future of work. In fact, the Global Mobile Workforce Forecast Update estimates that 1.87 billion employees -- over 40% of the world’s working population -- will be mobile by 2022. In highly developed countries like the US, the figures could soon reach 75% (International Data Council (IDC)).

With this unprecedented shift into the virtual workplace, a new form of communication is needed, and a change in management style. Why is communication more difficult with such a rich tech stack available to us? The root cause: coordinating across time zones and cultures is hard. With human, face-to-face, nonverbal cues, building real relationships is difficult BUT not impossible. 

Challenges of effective remote communication

1. Lack of oversight 

If you are the kind of manager that micromanages, remote work can be frustrating. Without seeing your team face-to-face, it’s hard to know who is actually online working, who is on holiday, and who is slacking. It could even be difficult to learn who is the right person to contact for a specific task and normal micro-interacts in an office environment become wasted 15-minute calls.

Effective communication means that the right people are getting the right message and the right time. For that to be true, your remote employees need to know who should be in the loop regarding different things

2. Limited context

When communicating with someone who is working remotely, you don’t have the context that direct communication provides. You don’t see a person’s body language, most of the time you don’t know what that person has been doing recently, what’s their mood, etc. For example, a short message can come across as both efficient but also dismissive. Depending on your mood and your perception of others, miscommunication can arise.

3. The difficulty of staying connected

People working in remote teams have to make a conscious effort to stay connected. Communication can easily feel strained with short message exchanges on Slack or long email threads, especially if people’s roles are independent or they’re working in different time zones. As a team leader, you can foster team spirit by encouraging you to have regular video calls, team-building activities, or even a chat channel that’s dedicated to posting memes (you can see ideas for other culture-strengthening channels here).

4. Little opportunity for 1:1 meetings

Love them or hate them, 1:1 meetings are essential for building rapport with your team. It’s the best opportunity in a week or month to sit down, hear what’s on your colleague’s mind and help them grow. Granted, this challenge is not exclusive to remote teams. In-office team members may also get fewer chances to meet with their boss than they need. When it comes to remote workers, however, you need to make sure that they get an opportunity to talk to you every once in a while. You can schedule a fixed time for these meetings or remind employees regularly to pick a time slot for a 1:1. This way, you’ll be able to connect with your distributed employees better and also build trust with your team.

How to improve your team’s communication 

1. Have regular video-on meetings

Granted that not all meetings should use video for reasons we outlined here, but there is a time and place.  Trust is huge on a virtual team. If you’re interacting by phone, you can’t see their faces or read their body language, which is why traditional emails and messaging apps should be complemented with regular video conferences so team members can see each other. Live meetings help relationships start well, and nurture and grow them over time.

Since remote teams don’t have natural opportunities to bond over lunch or after work, try to actively create ways for members to inspire, connect and motivate each other. Whether it’s lunch and learn, online training, or even storytime, think of how to build relationships in your team beyond simply daily tasks.

3. Get the right stack

A recent Zogby Analytics study found that 41% of remote teams are still left to coordinate via text, Skype, and Facebook messenger, instead of being given mobile platforms that are specifically designed for remote project management and communication.

This leads to information loss, confusion, and wasted time. Invest upfront in getting your team the right communication stack for growth. 

4. Emphasise mission

“To help your team combat us-vs.-them thinking, reinforce what is shared: the team’s purpose,” says Mark Mortensen, associate professor and chair of Organizational Behaviour Area at INSEAD. “Ensuring that the team’s goal is clear, challenging, consequential, and commonly-held yields the biggest benefit. This holds true whether your subordinates are down the hall or around the globe.”

Once you’ve set your team’s mission, make sure you frame each team member's contribution to that overall picture. Sell them the ‘why’ behind what they do, and make sure to reinforce that when discussing their trajectory in 1:1 meetings. Allow each individual to step out from the feeling of the silo and see how their work leads to a positive overall impact for the company.

5. Build a kickass onboarding

Micromanaging is a waste of time as it is, but it’s even worse in remote teams where you can’t see the team and where communication is inherently slower. Set your team clear objectives and set them up to succeed. Create processes that make this as comprehensible as possible, such as an amazing onboarding. There should never be a new hire, working remotely by themselves, and wondering how to do their job. 

Communication is difficult in a traditional workplace, but it is more difficult and more critical when employees work in different places and time zones. Make sure to set up your team for well-contextualized, seamless communication by investing in the right places.