4 Ways To Balance Under And Over-Communication As A Remote Work Manager

It’s really important for remote leaders to set rules around how, when, and which communication tools to use when working in virtual teams. When to use Slack? Which situations call for an email? Under what circumstances should an ad-hoc meeting be scheduled? 

Set up project collaboration tools to track project updates. If a project would benefit from creative and energetic exchange of ideas, then schedule a call for clarity. Complement video calls with traditional emails for company-wide communication.

Micromanagement can be a costly management style that can lead to low employee morale, high staff turnover, reduction of productivity, and overall dissatisfaction. 

Avoid constantly asking for status updates as this can come across as having a lack of trust in the team to do their work, and that’s a slippery slope no manager wants to be on.

Micromanagement can lead to impostor syndrome, and also lead to disappointment and lack of motivation for certain employees, so watch out for those common signals that managers may need to take a step back.

• Synchronous communication includes every form of communication that happens in real-time, and there’s an immediate response.
• Asynchronous communication includes every form of communication that doesn’t happen in real-time, and responses can occur intermittently. Asynchronous communication is impactful for teams that work across time zones, as there’s no expectation of an immediate response.

It’s down to the managers on how and what tools they want to implement with the team.