3 Tips for Effectively Communicating with Your Remote Workforce

If you’re in a leadership position at your company, you already know the value of having excellent communication skills—and how communication is essential for fostering your team’s productivity. Whether conveying important information to clients or disseminating tasks to internal teams, great communicators are able to share essential information while simultaneously inspiring and connecting with their team.

So what are the challenges that leaders face when attempting to clearly relay ideas, objectives and other essential information to their remote employees? Because hand gestures and body language—which are both fundamental modes of communication—aren’t easily experienced through phone calls and video meetings, remote workers are already at a disadvantage when compared to their on-site coworkers.

Here are some simple adjustments you can make to your remote communications strategy to help optimize efficiency, clarity and productivity.

1. Practice active listening

Active listening is an exercise in comprehending and reacting to what others say, as opposed to only hearing their words. And because it is often used by counselors and trainers, active listening is a valuable resource when you need to resolve inter-team conflicts or confusions.

Take advantage of active listening by engaging with the following best practices:

• Avoid distractions by choosing a quiet area for virtual conferencing.
• Mirror the writing style of your remote employees in email and other written correspondence to help them feel more comfortable speaking with you.
• Record and refer to key points of previous conversations to help contextualize current conversations and maintain relevance with each discussion.
• Repeat or rephrase what your remote employee has said to demonstrate your dedicated attention.
• Ask relevant, engaging follow-up questions to further the conversation and your understanding of their situation.
• Streamline your communication tools

How many different channels of communication are you currently using? Do you juggle between Slack, Google Hangouts, and other messaging platforms throughout your day? Because these tools are the primary method for communicating with remote teams, finding a way to simplify your communication channels will help guide remote requests and minimize confusion when your remote workforce needs to reach out to you.

In order to optimize the use of each tool, think about its intended purpose; likely, you would find overlap between the functions and solutions that each tool offers. Maximize efficiency when corresponding with off-site staff by crafting a documented methodology for the intended purpose of each channel. Try consolidating your communication needs with a unified communications suite or by eliminating certain tools completely if their functions can be replaced by higher-performing solutions.

2. Read (and re-read) your messaging

Without the help of facial expressions, eye contact and tone of voice, your intention in emails and chats can become lost at best and completely misconstrued in worst-case scenarios. Double checking the language in your messages to remote employees may appear to be time-consuming, but getting your tone and voice right in the first message is crucial. Unlike your team in the office, you won’t have the luxury of being able to correct your language intent by stopping at their desk or calling an in-person meeting.

It’s also good practice to double check important times, dates and information for meetings and other conferencing before pressing send. While most typos are harmless, there are plenty of examples of simple, yet preventable mistakes that had a considerable impact on a business’ productivity and reputation.

3. Have personal conversations

Several studies have shown that remote employees are more inclined to feel distanced and disengaged when compared to those who work in-person with their team. One major contribution to this sentiment is the inherent isolation and lack of opportunities for communicating with others that comes with working remotely.

You won’t see your remote team having lunch in the break room or pouring an afternoon cup of coffee in the kitchen. In order to replicate these natural gaps in the workday, make an effort to begin or end meetings with small talk, where team members can share personal updates. You should also take the time to check in with remote workers individually, through messaging or with a quick phone call, to see how they are feeling in both their professional and personal lives.

Investing time for conversations with your remote team will likely yield improved engagement at work, a stronger sense of camaraderie and a greater investment toward your leadership.