Communication is the key when working on a project as it promotes teamwork and can lead to better project collaboration. At the same time, effective communication also ensures that the management and the team are on the same page, avoiding misunderstandings. Effective communication is also crucial when working with offshore clients, as you want to be sure that you’re building a project that would meet the client’s business objectives. But communication with remote teams can be demanding as you have to overcome numerous challenges like different time zones, changing work hours, poor internet connection, and so much more. So how do you get a remote team to communicate effectively?
With remote work now the new norm, it can be difficult for some people to adapt to this sudden work environment change. In this blog, we will discuss the challenges faced when communicating with a remote team and will be relaying some tips that will help you overcome these challenges and improve communication with your remote team.
The Changing Landscape Of Work Structure
COVID-19 took the world by storm in 2020, which led to the most rapid transformation in the workplace. The pandemic forced many people to work from home for the first time. According to a survey, about 64% of the people felt like working from home came naturally to them, while about 7% still have difficulty settling into their new work routine.
Contrary to expectations, employers saw an increase in the productivity of their employees who were more comfortable working remotely as their performance increased up to 13% during remote work. Initially, everyone had a bit of a difficult time coping with the new situation of the world and having to stay at home without any social interactions. Still, remote work did wonders for the employees who could now work from the comforts of their home offices, resulting in increased employee retention.
Companies also realized that remote work could save them money as they won’t have to pay for rent and utilities, cleaning services, and food. This period of uncertainty required us all to be supportive, and control has now given way to trust with people learning what does and doesn’t work when working remotely.
However, studies have also shown that numerous companies are eager to call their employees back in the office five days a week as the managers feel disconnected from their employees and cannot communicate effectively in virtual meetings. Although remote work increases productivity, surveys have shown that remote workers have experienced elevated levels of harassment, work pressure, anxiety, and teamwork has declined since the start of the pandemic. To guard against these problems, companies want their employees back in the office and are currently trying to implement the hybrid work model so that the employees and the employers get the best of both worlds.
Post-pandemic employees loved working remotely and wanted to continue, while some wanted to get back to the office with plenty of social interactions all day. This is where the hybrid model comes in, which is currently being adopted by most companies. The hybrid model allows some employees to remote work while others can work onsite. According to statistics, most employees want a hybrid culture implemented in their companies, with about 40% expecting to work from an office premise only three days a week. It is a flexible work model that supports a blend of in-office, remote, and on-the-go workers and offers autonomy to the employees to choose to work in a way that they feel comfortable and productive. According to statistics, most employees want a hybrid culture implemented in their companies, with about 40% expecting to work from an office premise only three days a week.
Pandemic changed the landscape of our work culture, with people realizing that the way they worked before wasn’t actually ideal as it exhausted them, with most of the people hating their jobs. Their jobs required them to wake up early, take long commutes, and work for nine hours straight with minimum breaks in between, resulting in the employees being exhausted and having no time for family or friends.
In contrast, the hybrid work model empowers employees and enables them to work in a way that best suits their needs and increases their productivity and retention rates. Employees now prefer to work in their own time, which increases their work rate and allows them to set time apart for their family and friends. According to a survey, about 94% of the respondents feel well-equipped to transition to a hybrid work model, while about 66% already have the tools and processes.
Challenges Of Remote Communication
While remote work has become the norm, communicating with your team while remote working comes with its own challenges. Poor internet connection, inability to communicate with the team, and different time zones can lead to misunderstandings and result in a poor end-product. According to the statistics, about 44% of the employees fear a loss of connection with their colleagues and their communities while working remotely. Here is a list of some communication challenges with virtual teams.
No Direct Communication
Remote Work can result in the employees feeling isolated, inhibiting productivity. With Zoom meetings usually being direct and to the point, it leaves little room for casual chit-chats and personal conversation. These situations prevent remote workers from getting to know each other and building healthy work relationships. According to statistics, about 56% of the remote workers felt burned out during the pandemic due to a lack of communication with their teammates.
Workload Management
It’s easy to figure out who’s being overwhelmed or underutilized when working in the same office building. But it can be difficult for managers to distribute and manage workload when they’re overlooking a remote team. This can be an even bigger issue if your team members aren’t vocal about their workload and are not communicating the risk of missing deadlines. A workload disbalance can negatively impact your team’s productivity, while a balanced workload means that everyone in the team is contributing. Lack of communication can increase work disbalance resulting in employees experiencing burnout and feeling unsatisfied with their jobs.
Building Trust
When working remotely, you wouldn’t have a lot of chances to meet your team physically, which can result in difficulty when trying to build a relationship of trust between employees. According to the Neuroscience of trust survey, high-trust teams experience less stress and have more energy at work. A team that does not trust each other cannot create successful projects together, and this lack of trust can inhibit productivity when working remotely.
Scheduling
Numerous teams rely heavily on shift work and might have trouble adapting to the remote work. Managers might not notice someone who hasn’t logged in on time, or different time zones can result in some team members completing their hours before the others have even logged in. All of this can cause a bit of difficulty when scheduling weekly, monthly, or yearly meetings. It can also make it difficult for the teams to find a standard time to collaborate.
Tips On Improving Communication With Remote Teams
Here is a list of tips to help you effectively communicate with remote team members and improve your communication skills.
Learn The Communication Preference Of Your Team
Statistics have revealed that about 16% of the people find it challenging to collaborate with their team members remotely as they might feel uncomfortable during video calls. Therefore, as a team member, try to find the tools that each member feels comfortable with during communication. Some members would be most productive during video calls, some through email, while some might bring out their best ideas on messaging threads. So, figure out who likes what and then try communicating to meet their needs.
Well-planned Virtual Meetings Increase Productivity
Online meetings can be an anxiety-inducing endeavor for some employees. Therefore it is essential always to keep your online virtual meetings brief, deliberate, and result-oriented. Holding meetings with a large number of recipients can also inhibit productivity. So, if you have a large team, it is better to hold multiple weekly meetings with different sets of people so that everyone’s voice will be heard. Managers should also hold 1-1 meetings with their employees weekly or monthly to create a productive and inclusive work environment.
Add Buffer Time
Providing your team with a venue to talk about non-work-related things can increase camaraderie between the team members and allow them to get to know each other personally. You can also add some ‘water cooler’ time in every meeting, where employees talk about their week and personal growth. Weekly coffee time and virtual lunches will also help develop team spirit. This buffer time can lead to a better understanding between the team members and help them develop a strong relationship.
Flexible Work Schedule
According to a survey, about 52% of workers prefer a more flexible working model. Tying employees to a fixed schedule seems counterproductive when working remotely. Enable your employees to complete their hours in a way that suits them. This tip will surely increase productivity and build colleagues’ trust. Some of your employees might also be working from different time zones. It is also essential to be mindful of when your coworkers are on the clock and to message them accordingly.
Finding The Right Tools For Your Team
It will be impossible to collaborate with your team without an asset of the right tools in your arsenal. Numerous tools available for file sharing, project management, and conversation can help improve communication with your remote team by increasing visibility, collaboration, and productivity. You can use project management tools like Jira, Trello, Basecamp, and HubSpot, video conferencing tools like Zoom, and communication tools like Slack that will provide you with the right platform to communicate and collaborate with your team during projects.
Setting The Right Guidelines For Communication
Effective communication between remote teams will not happen overnight and will take some work. Finding the right tools is not enough if your team will not use them frequently and effectively. It is crucial to set guidelines and rules on how to use the tools and work them in general. These guidelines will help remote workers avoid missteps like lagging responses and communicating in silos and should determine how, when, and where communication takes place.
How Genetech Solutions Works
Our company, Genetech Solutions, is an award-winning software solutions company in Pakistan. We have always valued our employees and have successfully implemented the hybrid working model to better accommodate their needs. We have a team with some entirely remote employees; some work from the office, and some have a hybrid work routine.
Communication is vital for the success of any project, and our teams regularly use tools like Basecamp, Zoom, and Spark to ensure effective collaboration. Weekly meetings are a norm in our work culture, with teams relaying their personal and professional growth in the check-ins to promote team spirit. At Genetech, managers also regularly participate in 1-1 meetings with their team to ensure that the projects run smoothly.
We also offer flexible work hours to our employees and empower them to work according to their schedules. Our flexibility has made Genetech Solutions one of Pakistan’s most gender-inclusive companies. We currently have offices in Karachi and Jamshoro, and teams collaborate remotely, sometimes traveling according to the needs of their projects.
Conclusion
So here is the list of tips to help you improve communication with your remote teams.
We hope you learned something valuable from this blog. Feel free to contact us if you have any queries or comments.
