Effective communication is what keeps your business ticking over. After all, it’s a place where people come together to collaborate and create value for customers. This was all pretty routine stuff until fairly recently, but the way we communicate at work has changed dramatically over recent years. With flexible working patterns becoming the norm, digital platforms have largely replaced face-to-face contact.
Effective remote team communication is key to staying connected. It enables collaboration, boosts productivity and helps to overcome the physical distance between colleagues. Getting this right means that everyone is informed and aligned with the goals of your business.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the main challenges to communication in remote teams, as well as what managers can do to help. By the end, you’ll have practical strategies to keep your team connected and engaged—wherever they are in the world.
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Why Is Remote Team Communication Important?
Just as we need to talk to our friends and family to maintain relationships, remote work depends on strong communication to keep teams connected and engaged. Traditional office settings offered countless opportunities for interaction. Whether that was a quick catch-up with a colleague over coffee or a post-work pint, conversation wasn’t hard to come by.
This ad-hoc interaction also cleared up misunderstandings. You’ve probably heard the statistic that 55% of communication is non-verbal. While it might sound trivial, being able to read the body language of colleagues can tell us whether they’re confused, engaged or in agreement. In the long term, these non-verbal cues can help to foster smoother communication.
Finding ways to replicate all of this in a remote environment is the secret to maintaining effective teamwork. Often, the answer lies in technology—through video calls, instant messaging and clear written communication. But there are also plenty of things managers can do to replicate a traditional office. Here are some proven strategies to enhance remote communication: Explore How Digital Workplaces Enhance Collaboration
How to Communicate Effectively With Your Remote Team
- Set Clear Communication Guidelines
The first step to strengthening remote team communication lies in outlining what’s expected of your workers. Most managers provide guidelines to new starters on the basics, covering everything from preferred channels, response times and tone of voice to more formal client-facing communication.
While it may seem simple, it’s important to recognize that not everyone has the same experience of remote work. Some companies do more than others to set expectations, and those doing more don’t always do it well. In any case, revisiting your communication policy every so often wouldn’t hurt—if only to keep everyone on the same page.
So why is this important? There are plenty of benefits to working remotely, but one of the pitfalls is that communication can suffer, leading to misunderstandings and delays. Managers can mitigate these by setting clear protocols for remote team communication, prioritizing key information and making sure team members can access it when needed. Doing so helps employees and businesses alike get the most from remote work.
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- Use the Right Communication Tools
We touched on this briefly in the previous section, but remote workers depend on digital platforms to stay connected. What’s more, many teams juggle multiple platforms, increasing the risk of important messages getting lost in the noise. Without the right mix of technology in place, delays, misunderstandings and disengagement usually follow.
So what’s the solution? When establishing communication guidelines, you need to be clear about when to use certain channels. Urgent messages, for instance, should be sent via an instant messaging tool. Likewise, you’ll want to have your 1-2-1 over a video call. Embracing asynchronous communication is a great way to keep colleagues in different time zones in the loop, so consider recording important updates for later viewing.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to finding the right communication tools. If in doubt, try to find a mix of real-time and asynchronous solutions to keep your team informed without overwhelming them.
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- Allow Time for Regular Check-Ins
It’s not uncommon for remote workers to feel disconnected from the rest of their team. This isolation often stems from a lack of face-to-face interaction with other team members and the need to be proactive in building connections. In fact, a recent Gallup poll found that only 28% of remote workers feel connected to their organization’s mission and purpose.
The solution is for managers to provide meaningful interactions with their employees, aiming for at least one conversation per week. This could be done during a 1-2-1 or weekly stand-up. Just be sure to leave the door open for casual conversations, as you would do in the office. Studies indicate regular check-ins to be among the most effective ways of boosting engagement. The same Gallup poll suggests that employees who have regular chats with a manager are three times more likely to be engaged at work. You can thank us later!
Check Out 5 Ways to Keep Remote Employees Engaged
- Encourage Informal Communication
Leading on from the last point, and as we’ve touched on throughout this article, there’s no substitute for casual conversation. When it comes to building connections within teams, it’s normally the stuff that happens away from the office that’s most effective. Thankfully, remote work doesn’t spell the end of chit-chat, and there’s plenty managers can do to encourage it.
For starters, you might want to set up a dedicated channel for non-work conversations—think of it as a virtual break room. You can set the ball rolling by sharing what you’ve been up to away from work—whether that’s a photo or weekend update. Starting meetings with a lighthearted question is a great way to strengthen remote team communication. It might feel awkward at first, but you’ll see people get used to it in no time at all.
See Why Workplace Culture Matters More Than Ever
- Be Clear in Your Written Communication
It’s not unusual for a lot of in-office communication to take place over email, but for remote workers, it makes up most of their interactions. As we’ve established, written communication is open to misinterpretation, which is why it’s important for managers to be wary of their tone when sending messages. Installing a plug-in can help with striking the right style, but it doesn’t always make your writing readable. To get around this, make use of bullet points and numbered lists for extra clarity.
You may also want to consider using emoji to convey tone in more casual messages—especially if they’re on the shorter side. For instance:
“Got it.” – Sounds abrupt.
“Got it 🙂” – Feels more positive and engaged.
And finally, make use of asynchronous communication to keep remote workers in the loop. Taking minutes is particularly helpful for meetings—doing so can reduce misunderstandings by up to 25%.
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Huler: Strengthening Remote Team Communication
Remote work is here to stay. What’s more, it offers a world of benefits to both employees and business owners alike. That said, it’s important to acknowledge some of the difficulties, among which you can count communication. Setting expectations for remote team communication and getting the right platforms in place can help to mitigate problems encountered. Managers also have an important role to play in keeping workers engaged.
Is your company getting communication right? HulerHub is an employee intranet designed to enhance how remote and in-office teams connect with their work and one another. We aim to bridge the gap between technology and people, creating innovative solutions to challenges that arise in the modern workplace. Curious to see how it works? Book your demo, and let’s make it happen.
Oh, and if you’d like to learn more about remote working, here are a few more posts we think you’ll love:
