Communication Best Practices for Distributed Teams
Distributed teams present unique challenges and risks requiring specific strategies for optimal productivity. No matter where your team members work - at home, at another office location, across the country (or even internationally) - communication best practices must be followed for success.
1. Make Meetings a Priority
Miscommunication can be at the core of many team problems, and working remotely increases this risk exponentially. Without face-to-face methods of solving issues and setting clear expectations, distributed teams become vulnerable to confusion and misalignment.
Team leaders must sometimes reevaluate how and why meetings occur, mainly as an issue arises or something needs to be crossed off a list. Scheduling meetings quickly wastes valuable time spent doing more pressing work.
Opt for asynchronous communication whenever possible and meetings as the exception. This will allow your team to be efficient while at the same time giving each member of the group a chance to connect and feel part of a more significant effort that's working toward common goals. Furthermore, distributed teams should have opportunities to give and receive feedback, which can significantly increase workplace productivity and satisfaction. This can be accomplished via meetings, written communication tools, or project management software, but leave your distributed team with a manageable amount of feedback, as this could become overwhelming and counter-productive.
2. Create a Culture of Connection
Though office-based teams connect and interact in ways similar to office workers (think brainstorming around a whiteboard, dropping by with quick questions or problems, or meeting for lunch), distributed team members can still find ways to stay connected through communication that are written down, accessible, and shared.
Managers on distributed teams should prioritize meetings and asynchronous communication as top priorities to decrease employee feelings that work never ends when employees are not physically present and avoid miscommunication due to missed notifications. Team managers may set communication hours during which any messages sent outside these hours should be considered part of the next working day.
Remote teams can also foster a culture of connection through activities like team outings, party nights, or themed team-building contests. Building community is central to team success; for remote workers, it may be even more crucial since they don't benefit from in-person relationships like their colleagues do. Remote managers should utilize this to get creative about creating tight-knit distributed teams that function smoothly.
3. Take Advantage of Technology
Distributed teams have grown increasingly popular among employers and employees due to the flexibility they afford both parties. However, remote work poses unique challenges regarding communication and teamwork; therefore, managers need to employ tools explicitly designed to facilitate smooth workflow.
Implement a tool that facilitates easy written and video chat communication and collaborative working features that connect your team. Some devices allow multiple units to use them simultaneously - ideal for distributed teams! Look for one with comment threads and history so it's easy to recall previous discussions.
Distributed teams need to set aside regular opportunities to come together in person or virtually and collaborate face-to-face, whether by scheduling monthly brainstorming sessions within your virtual room or hosting informal video conferences to review project progress and identify any problems or obstacles you might encounter. Engaging in such Facetime helps foster trust between team members even if they live across different states or countries - therefore, this practice should always be encouraged!
4. Build In Opportunities for Giving and Receiving Feedback
Distributed teams must take more steps than offices that all work under the same roof to cultivate an atmosphere of connectivity, including providing opportunities for water cooler chats or social gatherings to bring people closer. Furthermore, it must enable regular feedback exchange.
Feedback is vital to distributed team success, yet it can be challenging to gauge how your employees perform when they're out of sight. Therefore, it's essential that communication tools designed for distributed work and asynchronous collaboration, such as Slack or Zoom, be selected; also consider tools with synchronous and asynchronous elements like Mural for maximum success.
Remote workers tend to have less opportunity for socialization and bonding with coworkers, making them less comfortable giving or receiving feedback. Therefore, it is wise to be gentle and generous when giving or receiving it; if someone's email comes across as abrupt or abrupt in tone, assume they didn't mean for it to come across that way - they may be experiencing stress related to an intense project or an uncomfortable home situation that's making life challenging at work.
5. Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Distributed teams have become a reality for many companies today, meaning team members may be scattered across different locations or time zones. To help keep them aligned, leaders should communicate goals and expectations clearly in writing - this may include setting out which tools and methods will be used for communication - whether email, Slack/Miro collaboration tools, project management platforms, or text messaging apps could all play their role.
Distributed teams should also choose communication tools that facilitate collaboration and connection among their members, such as real-time update tools that provide comment threads to enable communication within the context within real-time - this makes tracking conversations and responses much simpler while giving managers quick access to necessary information if any conflicts arise.
However, it's equally essential that distributed team meetings include some form of "Facetime," preferably via video conferencing, whenever possible. This helps build rapport, develop trust, and capture nonverbal cues lost over distances. Furthermore, facetime meetings provide a great way to address disengagement and reduce any impact from proximity bias that often comes into play when teams operate remotely.
6. Be Aware of Information Asymmetry
Communicating when working remotely takes many forms: meetings, water cooler conversations, visits to people's offices for in-person questions or quick brainstorms, and all the small ways teams connect daily must all be preserved and communicated to members who work remotely.
With nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and intonation to guide communication, misinterpretation may occur, leading to miscommunication and creating trust between team members, resulting in them feeling distant from one another and leaving them disengaged or disconnected from their roles within the group.
Managers must also be mindful of time zone differences among team members and establish expectations regarding when it is appropriate for team members to respond to emails or chat messages; otherwise, employees may feel their work team could be more responsive and consistently interrupting them.
Distributed teams provide numerous advantages to employers and employees alike, but that doesn't mean they're immune from problems that could harm the whole company. By adhering to best practices for distributed teams communication, it is possible to keep teams productive, happy, and connected while working remotely - it just requires some planning and effort on everyone's part!
7. Be Flexible
Distributed teams can save companies high costs on overhead expenses, such as real estate and operating expenses while offering employees more freedom to fit work into their daily lives and be more productive while on the job. Employees appreciate this flexibility that allows them to enjoy their jobs more and find a balance between work and personal life. This increases employee retention as they want both careers more.
Team managers should refrain from micromanaging the work of distributed teams, as this can create distrust and decrease productivity. Instead, they should prioritize asynchronous communication - such as emails, chats, or video calls where team members can submit inquiries or resolve concerns at their convenience - to reduce pressure placed upon remote workers who must always be immediately available and set expectations about when to respond back to emails or questions from team managers.
Team leaders should provide distributed team members with opportunities for check-in meetings or group sessions to get an accurate sense of how each member feels about their work and work remotely, ensuring everyone stays up-to-date. No one misses critical information or updates.
Comments
Post a Comment