(Newswire.net — February 25, 2021) — For managers, it can be challenging to communicate with teams especially if they’re working remotely. That’s why we’re listing down five communication ideas to help you address some of the common problems that remote workers face, especially those who are working from home for the first time.
1. Fewer Words, More Images
Verbal instructions are important. But when you’re working remotely, it’s harder to convey the message you’re trying to send. Your team is also vulnerable to distractions at home so you don’t get their full attention at all times.
To keep your team engaged, you’ll need to use visual tools so that everyone’s always on the same page.
There are plenty of online tools that can help you get annotated screenshots for macOS and PC. You can also use videos to better illustrate your point. And if you have the skills, you can even create graphics that explain what the team needs to accomplish in the next couple of days.
Your visual aids can also work as references that you can distribute to the team after the meeting is over. This lessens the need for your team to write things down as you conduct your meeting.
2. Schedule Meetings Judiciously
Ask: does this need to be synchronous?
It’s also important for managers to set up regular meetings not only to discuss tasks but to hear feedback from the team. “Working remotely means people don’t get to catch up as often as they’d like”, shared Brad Hanks, Head of Growth at CloudApp. “So having a meeting where everyone can keep others informed of their progress is important.”
There are virtual meeting apps that provide all the tools and features you need to quickly jump on a call with your team.
Some of the things that you have to keep in mind when choosing a meeting app are security and encryption, recording options, a text feature, mobile device compatibility, a built-in calendar system, and technical support.
But a word of warning — Don’t overdo meetings. A quick update once a day should be enough. If your team takes too many meetings within the day, there’s a good chance that they won’t be able to get things done.
3. Set Clear Goals
Having long-term goals is a good thing. But you should make it clear to your team what their weekly and daily targets are. Not only will this give them purpose, but it will also motivate them toward achieving the same goal.
When giving instructions, make sure that you are clear and specific. It also helps if you break down each goal into steps. Take note of all the setbacks that your team encounters and learn from your mistakes.
There should also be accountability so that people will follow through with their tasks.
All goals should be SMART: That stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
To help you create goals for yourself and your team members, you will need to use a project management tool like Trello or Asana. Here’s how you can use them:
- Create different boards for your respective projects and add the members working on each.
- Create specific tasks (which will serve as their goals) under each project so you can break down the exact things your team must do to complete it. You can set the deadline for the task to keep them in check.
- Assign the person for the task and monitor the progress. You can leave comments on these tasks regarding the status. This way, you and the concerned team member can resolve any potential issues out of the way.
- Since the tasks are complete, either add more tasks or close the project and mark it as complete.
The idea is to organize your projects and keep everybody accountable to their assigned tasks. This way, you can manage the projects more effectively as you let your team do their magic.
4. Focus on Output (Not on Time)
You should pay attention to what your team accomplishes while they’re working from home. It’s tempting for work-from-home employees to slack off and neglect their duties. So you want to keep an eye on their progress.
However, there’s no need to go as far as using time-tracking tools to manage your team. You need to give your staff the benefit of the doubt. Using time-tracking tools can lead to team members losing faith in you as their leader. Plus, this leads to unnecessary pressure.
Project management tools can help get the job done here. Instead of looking at how much time they spent working on a project, the tool simply keeps you up-to-date with their respective tasks.
The goal here is accountability. While some people do well with time-tracking tools, others don’t work well under the scrutiny of something monitoring their every move.
Think of it this way:
They are hired for the job because the company feels they are capable of getting the job done, so let them do their job the way they’re comfortable with. As long as things are getting done before the allotted time, then you should be good.
There are cases when your team members have to deal with important matters at home such as taking care of their kids. So you need to consider their situation too.
5. Give Each One a Voice
Listening to your team’s opinions and concerns is equally important. When doing virtual meetings, it’s easy to ignore members by accident. Make sure that everyone has the opportunity to voice their thoughts.
You could allocate a couple of minutes each call for your team to speak their mind. They may have suggestions to improve your workflow. So it’s worth setting time aside for them.
You can do this during meetings where you let people air out their thoughts about a task or project. Giving them a platform where they can freely speak out and taking their thoughts into account gives them a sense of fulfillment in their jobs. They’re not just spokes in a wheel but a vital and much bigger part of your operations.
You can also give them a voice even when the meetings are through if you’re using a chat software like Slack or Telegram. You can reach out to your team individually and ask them their input about work or the projects you’re working on. The key is to show your willingness to lend an ear to what they have to say.