Some businesses have successfully worked with remote teams for years, while others have been forced by the pandemic to adapt quickly. While the perks of working remotely and collaborating with teams from all over the globe have been known for a while now, especially to those who have successfully implemented those collaborations over the years, some businesses still struggle with establishing a long-term bond with those remote employees and freelancers.
In fact, your communication strategy with your remote teams can be as pivotal to your success as any other segment of your growth plan. That strategy alone can help your employees feel valued, respected, acknowledged, and provide them with the support and help they need to handle more difficult tasks outside the office. To help you navigate the confusing waters of communication with your remote teams, we’ve assembled a list of useful tips for establishing a successful strategy.
Regular video calls are a must
In the past few months, we’ve definitely had plenty of time to test out a slew of conferencing tools and software solutions to see which one works best. For the time being, many companies are using software such as Zoom or Zoho to set up video conferences, presentations, share files, chats, and to stay connected with the rest of the team.
These calls are essential for keeping your company culture alive, even among your remote employees, and to make them feel included, valued, and heard during every get-together. Schedule a weekly call with your employees to share their ideas, go over your workload for the week ahead, and exchange concerns, if any. This will enable transparency, which is key to keeping your business strong.
Source: Freepik
Opt for a VoIP phone system
Working remotely has so many perks: your employees can work from the comfort of their home, a coffee shop that boosts their zeal, they can use their phones as well as their laptops and tablets, and they only need a strong internet connection to stay on top of their work tasks. As for your internal communications and your customer support team, you should make sure you don’t depend on your office landline system – it’s outdated and it prevents your remote employees from doing their jobs effectively.
When you switch to a VoIP-based phone system, your customer support agents can work remotely from their own devices at any time, and every employee under your wing can use that system to communicate. Such internet-based systems are incredibly feature-rich, as they come with numerous free additions which include emailing, video conferencing, faxing, and more. All of this can help your remote employees stay connected on various different levels.
Find a suitable PM tool
According to some of the latest research, 73% of survey respondents have noted they would focus on changing their remote work policies in the upcoming months. This has surely been prompted by the pandemic and the need to send employees home, but it’s a brilliant opportunity to reassess your existing policies and help them evolve their tech.
More specifically, project management and task management software solutions have been considered essential for a while now, but their relevance is increasing. To truly enable simple collaboration and seamless communication among your employees, you need to find intuitive, easy-to-use tools that are not just designed for managing projects, but for simplifying communication.
Source: Freepik
Ask for feedback
Your employees might be too busy working on the latest solution you’re providing to your customers, or they might be improving your marketing strategy – but they should also be able to share their impressions of your existing remote management ideas.
After all, they are the ones either enjoying or suffering the consequences of your ongoing strategy, so it’s best to keep them in the loop and ask for their feedback. By keeping an open mind and allowing them to suggest better and more effective solutions, they’ll feel like valued parts of your company and your communication will reveal its potential to become even more effective than ever.
Set up a regular happy hour – even remotely
Most companies focus on enabling remote communication that’s strictly work-related. While this will help with increasing productivity and make sure everyone has what they need to work with ease, you should keep in mind that your employees are, above else, humans. By getting to know one another outside their work environment (even this digital one), they can improve their communication skills and find simpler ways to work through issues at work.
Much like you hosting weekly meetings via Zoom or on similar tools to go over your agenda for the week, you should also schedule regular video calls with everyone to simply chat and share a cup of coffee. You can even organize game tournaments and allow your remote teams to enjoy some friendly competition. If someone is celebrating a birthday, it would be great to send them a gift basket and get together to chat for a while to commemorate the occasion.
Employees, remote or otherwise, are the lifeblood of your business and the foundation of your future success. Having clear, transparent, healthy communication is essential for making your employees happy and enabling them to work productively and without hindrances. Empowering such communication should be one of your main goals, so use these ideas to your advantage and to help your teams connect everyday, and to grow your business through stronger bonds.
