7 Ways to Communicate Effectively with a Remote Team

Let’s say that you have built up a team, but much of the team resides in different parts of the world. For that reason, having an in-person meeting doesn’t always rank on the list of possibilities.
Good communication becomes one of the keys even with a remote team because this eliminates some of the most common blunders. You understand the objectives of the project so that everyone works towards the same goals.
#1: Meet-Up Annually but Connect Regularly
Perhaps you can’t meet every day, but you could still choose an annual place to have an in-person meeting.
Communication has its importance. Keeping in touch through different media can help you to communicate.
Meanwhile, having an annual meet-up can bring you closer together so that you feel like a part of a team.
#2: Concise and Clear Communication
Online communication becomes a different beast from communicating in person.
If you don’t express yourself clearly in writing, you leave room for people to misunderstand your project objectives.
When you communicate in writing, try to keep it short, clear and direct. Use only a few sentences to get your point across. This makes it so that nothing gets lost in translation.
For anything that takes longer, you may want to call via phone or try a video chat with your business colleagues. That simplifies communication for when you work with a remote ream.
#3: Make Yourself Available and Make Your Team Available
No one likes being ignored. On a team, this can mean the success or failure of your group.
Let’s say that you have an important question that you want to address to another teammate. You should leave the lines of communication open.
Remain open for communication, but also keep yourself open for questions to keep the project on track. Everyone on the team should understand the importance of availability.
#4: Chat in Real-Time with People
When you chat in real-time with someone, you can get answers more quickly than through slowly getting answers via email.
This system of communication feels more like speaking to a real human being. Meanwhile, you have a better reaction time that feels more like a natural conversation.
Not to mention, getting a quick answer helps you to keep the project moving smoothly. You can get the answer and keep working toward the finish line.
Let’s say that you get distracted easily by the alerts. You can turn off this feature while working to keep the project on track.
Read also: 25 Helpful Google Calendar Hacks You’re Probably Not Using
#5: Understand the Potential for Errors
A good communicator doesn’t necessarily have the most flowery language. In fact, they take instructions and boil them down their finest parts.
As Einstein once stated, “Things need to be simple, not simpler.” That means taking the project and communicating in such a way that everything goes straight to the point.
Think of the areas where someone could potentially make a mistake with the project.
#6: Conduct a Video Conference
Obviously, remaining in non-stop video conferences do not add up to much productivity. Having one every week, however, can eliminate the potential for errors while giving real direction to team members.
How do you know when you need a video conference? As a general rule, if you can’t say the words within a couple of sentences, you may want to conduct a video conference.
Video conferencing becomes a necessity when you have a remote team because it eliminates the potential for errors.
Project errors can cost your business, so you want to eliminate the potential for them as much as possible. Mistakes happen, but you don’t want them to happen all the time.
Many remote workers like to travel, and in some cases, they do it for your business. What happens, however, when you can’t pull up a secure internet connection?
Instead, lower the video quality and you should have no problem with a video conference. You could even use audio conferencing solutions instead to lower the need for data.
Read also: 5 Best People Management Strategies for Distributed Teams
#7: Use Email
Email has its uses. Let’s say that someone left for the night, and you can’t reach them immediately. You might write them an email instead.
Using email also makes sense when you want to communicate with someone from outside of the company.
When you have a remote team, it can work as well as a regular team. The key comes from keeping good communication and staying available as other team members may need your help with other aspects of the project.
Through understanding this, you can get the most out of your remote team. You can accomplish your project mission while still allowing for the maximum level of freedom.