Clear, effective communication is a cornerstone of a productive workflow. The muddier the communication, the more opportunities there are for miscommunication and obstacles in the production pipeline. While this is true for nearly any workforce, it’s even more common for teams of remote workers.
Remote work has numerous benefits, from greater worker flexibility for employees to lower overhead for corporations. However, these benefits do come with their own set of challenges. Because remote workers don’t operate in the same physical space, they can be subject to great degrees of miscommunication. This can cause both social and financial issues for your company down the line.
So it’s important to ensure your remote team can communicate and operate as smoothly as possible. With this in mind, here are three remote collaboration tips your team can employ to avoid miscommunication and boost productivity.
1. Ensure Everyone Is on the Same Page
One of the benefits of meeting in person is that everyone can see the same materials and literally be on the same page. Whether it be a PowerPoint or a physical memo, each person interacting with the information should take away the same message. The more people who are physically absent from the room, the harder it becomes to ensure everyone is getting the same information.
Now, many video call technologies like Skype and Zoom do offer screen sharing capabilities. These capabilities can help alleviate this issue somewhat. So make sure to familiarize yourself with them so everyone is privy to the same information at the same time. That said, you can take it one step further than simply sharing your screen.
By using a screen recorder, you can pre-record tutorials and other more complex information ahead of time. Say you need to walk workers through how to use your task management software. With a screen recorder, you can show them what buttons to push while explaining what they do. And that’s true no matter where they are. And you can even share the presentation with everyone after the meeting so they can reference it during their work.
2. Schedule Regular Check-Ins
If you’re like most people, meetings probably feel like the bane of your existence. However, if you really think about it, the most annoying gatherings are the ones where nothing gets done. On the flip side, they can be one of the most useful tools in a remote team’s arsenal. When done right, meetings can help everyone work more effectively together. They help everyone understand what the rest of the team is doing, and that way, you can all play to your strengths as a unit.
To get the most out of your remote meetings, make sure to set clear objectives for each one ahead of time. Prepare an agenda with clearly set bullet points like “discuss weekly deliverables” or “offer team feedback.” Doing so will help the team stay on task and save time. That way people will be less likely to doze off and more likely to pay attention.
Whenever possible, encourage participation from the team too. If the meeting doesn’t have many opportunities for participation, consider if the information could be shared another way. Email is a much better avenue to relay simple announcements and weekly memos. Unless there is elaborate information to convey, use email, Slack, or other forms of communication whenever possible. That way your check-ins will feel more important when they do happen.
3. Upgrade Your Calendar
Speaking of meetings, once remote workers play a major role in your company, you may need to increase your awareness of time zones. Because remote workers can operate from different time zones, it’s important to make sure people are aware of each others’ schedules. This is the case for check-ins but also for deadlines. You don’t want Carl to confuse a 9 a.m. EST deadline for a 9 a.m. PST deadline, for example.
Thankfully, an incredibly easy solution is to have your entire team use one shared digital calendar. Digital calendars are a simple way to sync everyones’ schedules so they all operate on the same time zone. Google Calendar and Apple Calendar are two incredibly popular options. You could also branch off and explore offerings that are explicitly focused on providing a great calendar experience. Calendly, Zoho Calendar, and Calendar.com are three such options worth considering.
You can take your team’s digital connectivity a step further by leveraging a project management tool. These tools go beyond just syncing up time zones. They provide in-depth information about your team’s entire production pipeline at a glance. Trello, Asana, Jira, and ClickUp are just a few of the many options out there. No matter the size or location of your team, a project management tool may be just what you need to take things to the next level.
Prioritize Effective Communication
As your remote team continues to grow, it’s important to leverage the right tools. Without them, your team is liable to encounter more and more instances of miscommunication. Not only can this problem cause severe production issues, but it can also hamper trust and innovation within your team. So take the time to invest in technologies that will improve team communication and collaboration for years to come. It’s worth it.