The Right Tools For Effective Communication
Communication, especially the asynchronous, written variety, is the main pillar of remote working.
Communication tools like Slack are to be used smartly to be really effective, and not to be turned into dumping grounds of information that is hardly visible to all remote workers. When needed, one can use real-time communication to touch base with everyone, enabling connectedness and a sense of belonging, without being imposing.
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Remote working needs to be deconstructed and distilled based on ‘first principles’ of what problem is getting solved, and how best a project or task can be handled by the entire team in an entirely new setting.
Instead of resorting to old habits (like making a phone call to colleagues for simple things) or insisting on doing stuff only for the sake of it, one needs to completely rethink about work interactions, methods and values.
Remote work requires thoughtfulness, precision and planning. Things cannot be done ad hoc in office corridors and lobbies anymore.
Many colleagues share different time zones and cannot participate in a synchronous exchange of information.
- In a remote setting, you have to critically think and plan ahead, and communicate a query with complete information and context.
- You can refer to previous solutions to the problem in order to save the time of others, who might try the same thing.
- While answering a query, you have to be well-researched, contextual, and thorough, even going to the extent of providing references and documentation to support the suggested solution.
- Not everything that was done in the office is effective or even advisable in a remote setting where everyone is at home juggling work and personal stuff.
- We need to understand the various subtleties and the many touchpoints of working closely with a remote team, and understand that it is not one-size-fits-all.
- We need to adapt and fine-tune our interactions to facilitate a thriving relationship with our peers and bosses.
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Most companies embracing remote work also have dedicated headquarters. But remote-ish teams have even more communication and collaboration challenges than fully remote teams.
For example, in hybrid teams, remote employees are often left in the dark. Office workers are often heard, recognized, and promoted, while remote workers are forgotten.
Accept that you have to put in place remote work systems, even if more than half of your employees ultimately revert to office-based work.
- If done right, a remote-first infrastructure will allow your employees' flexibility to be productive whenever, wherever.
- It also opens up the ability to hire the best people regardless of locale.
- It gives your organization a high degree of resilience.
CEOs and Leaders: Here's how to prepare for an extended period of remote work
medium.com
Visibility at work is when you are included, recognized, and valued by networks within your organization. Its how you get credit for your work, get considered for advancement and build influence.
Visibility is also necessary for teams. Research points out that remote team members who don't feel "seen" are less collaborative, innovative, and supportive of each other. Remote teams can face isolation from company culture, lack of face time with management, fewer informal networking opportunities, time zones, and technological problems.
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