Distanced but not Forgotten

Give me your isolated, your distanced, your sometimes forgotten employee. Why is it so hard to keep a connection with a distanced employee/colleague? And by distanced, I'm referring to those that work from home, in another office or multiple sites.

Many organizations have multiple locations as well as employees who work from home. Teams are more distributed than ever before. We have technology that allows us to connect in an instant. And yet....employees are feeling more distanced from each other than ever before. 

When I speak to managers or teams about staying connected at a distance, I find that they often either don't see what technology can do for them OR they let it paralyze them. It's best to take a step back from technology, think about what you are trying to accomplish and then fold in the appropriate technology. Focus on the behaviors and outcomes and the technology will follow. I found this theme in this recent post by Rita Zonius where she speaks about "putting people first in the digital workplace". As she mentions in her post, start with the people first, the outcomes and then the tools. This is similar to connecting with distanced colleagues/team members.

Think about it this way: 

• Consider with whom you are trying to connect: What type of communications and follow up do they like and need? Quick hits? Daily check-ins? More focused connections? 
• Identify your goals for your connections: Is it a social/personal connection? Is it a project or task check-in? Is it a critical conversation or feedback? Is it one on one or via a group?
• Determine the best method and tool for your connection: Quick hit? Skype, text or other messaging tool. Project/task check-in? Collaborative task tracking tool, email, phone call. Critical conversation or feedback? Video chat or phone call. Group convo? Slack, Workplace, SharePoint or other discussion based tool. 

Those are just a few examples of connections you can make from a distance. The key is to make them.

You wouldn't pass someone in the hall without saying "hi", would you? Then why would you let days go by without saying "hi" to a distanced colleague?

If you are just getting started with making connections with those at a distance, you may need to set yourself some reminders until it becomes a habit. Just do it! You will come to cherish those connections.

Looking for more tips on communicating at a distance? Check out my recent contribution to the RISC Inc blog: Connecting and Communicating Across the Distance