Your Strategy To Communicate Effectively With A Remote Team

If you work in a remote or hybrid setup, you know that communicating with your team is critical to the success of not only your team but also the whole organization. But if it's not done effectively, miscommunication and frustration can arise. 

The solution? Learn how to communicate with a remote team so that everyone understands each other clearly and has the information they need when they need it

Create A Digital Space Where Your Team Members Can Gather

This will be a place for people to discuss things, get to know each other, and share content that will help them in their work. For example, you can set up an online chat room or shared document that allows people from different time zones to interact with one another at convenient times.

Share content with your team that they might like. You don’t have to limit yourself to videos or articles; podcasts are also a great way of sharing information with your team as well as helping them keep up-to-date on industry news or simply providing them with good listening material.

Take The Time To Understand What Each Individual Needs From You

The most important thing to understand when communicating with one another is that no two people are alike. Therefore, it's crucial to take the time to get to know your team and their needs as individuals. The more you learn about each individual on a personal level, the more comfortable they'll feel communicating with you.

Start by asking them what they need from you, as well as what they need from their team members or manager(s). Also, ask them what they need from their organization because this can have a great impact on how effective your communication attempts are in general.

By taking these steps, you'll not only be able to communicate better with your team members but also help them feel more comfortable sharing their needs and ideas for improvement. This can be a great way to build trust over time because each person feels heard.

Create A ‘Watercooler' Channel On Chat Tools Like Slack or Teams

The best way to get comfortable with a remote team is through casual conversation. Most companies set up ‘watercooler' channels on their tools like Slack or Teams, where people can share news, memes, funny videos, etc. It's also a great place to chat about personal things and ask questions—it's more inclusive than an email chain and less formal than a conference call.

Don't be afraid to get personal: share something that happened in your day or ask someone how their weekend was. It might feel weird at first if everyone else is talking about work stuff (and some people will probably post more often than others), but it's important not only to show an interest in what other people have going on outside of work but also to make sure they feel comfortable sharing their non-work thoughts with you in return.

Host Virtual Team Activities 

Hosting virtual team activities is a great way to keep your remote team connected. Virtual team activities can be as simple as a video call where everyone talks about their week or getting together to have a virtual lunch. 

The easiest way to get things started is by having fun and engaging icebreakers before you start off your meetings. This way you begin on a good note and if your team knows there’s something fun happening beforehand, they will even look forward to the toughest meetings. If you want to step it up a notch, you can even create weekly team rituals that will create a positive and strong bond within your team.

All these strategies help in building trust within your team, which is a crucial component for successful teams.

Remote Team Communication Is Easy Once You Know What Tools And Strategies To Use

Remote team communication is easy once you know what tools and strategies to use. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Trello can help you stay in touch with your team. Create a digital space where your team members can gather. Talk about the latest project updates or ask questions about upcoming projects that need to be completed.

We hope this article gave you some great ideas for how to communicate with remote teams. Whether your employees work from home or in a different city, the tools and strategies outlined here will help you communicate effectively with them.

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Further Resources

• Forbes - Five Strategies To Improve Communication With Team Members
• Science Direct - Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Empirical Study Using SEM

Image Credit

• Photo by Helena Lopes
• Gifs by Giphy