Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Mary Walton –editor at BigAssignments. Her opinions are her own. Mary also helps people create winning cover letters at Online Resume Writing Services. She also has a blog.
If you all work in the same physical space, working as a team is easy as anything. When you’re a remote team though, it can suddenly feel a lot harder. However, it is possible to take steps to make it easier, and help the team gel together no matter where they’re all located.
These 7 steps will show you how to improve your communication and improve your productivity.
1. Do the rounds remotely
In an office, you can get to know a new team or a new team member by heading over to their desk and introducing yourself. With a remote team though, this becomes a lot more difficult. How do you do this when there’s no desk to go to?
Try setting up an initial online video chat with your new team members. Set it to 15 minutes, and use the time for everybody to introduce themselves and get to know each other. This can help break the ice and get everyone on an even keel.
2. Let your team set boundaries
Sometimes, team members will need to take a break from the rest of the team in order to get something done. The problem with this is that online, you’re always contactable. Set a rule with your team that if they need to go silent for a while, they can. Ask them to tell you how long they’ll be gone, and give them the space they need.
3. Use online tools
There are plenty of online tools that can help improve communication. You might want to give some of these a try:
- Flowdock: This gives your team a chat space where you can all communicate.
- Elite Assignment Help: This service can help you improve your business writing and communication.
- Calendly: Schedule meetings quickly and efficiently, wherever you are.
- Ie vs Eg: This site will give you all the tools you need to improve your grammar.
- Word Counter: Check the length of your messages with this tool.
- Paper Fellows: This consultation team will help you improve your email writing skills.
- Uber Conference: Use this easy to use conferencing tool when you need to chat with your whole team.
- State Of Writing: This site is full of writing guides that you can use to get the most out of your writing.
- Academized: This service will proofread any message before you send them.
- Mikogo: This tool makes it easier to do online meetings and training.
4. Get to the point
Whenever you’re communicating with your team, your goal should be to get to the point as quickly as possible. If you’re strapped for time, they will be too, so don’t make them wade through lines of text to get to what you want from them. Put it right in your first sentence, and use the rest of the communication to elaborate on it if needed.
5. Only send messages if you need to
Most people will find that their inboxes are overflowing on most days. Your team members will know that feeling as well as you do. Because of this, you should really think before you send that message. Do you really need to send it now? Can it wait at all? Does it even need to be a message? Maybe you can call someone, or use video conferencing instead. Your team members will appreciate it if you can keep one more message out of their inbox.
6. Embrace emojis
When you think of emojis, you think of teenagers texting each other. They certainly shouldn’t be something you’d use in the workplace, right? In fact, the opposite is true. Written communication only contains a tiny fraction of what we mean, so it can be hard to really get across what you’re trying to say. It’s very easy to accidentally offend or upset someone without meaning to.
If you use emojis, you’re instantly getting across your real meaning, and your team members won’t have to spend time deciphering your messages. It’s a good way to emote over text, so encourage the sensible use of it.
7. Always proofread and edit
Finally, always proofread your messages before you send them. It’s a tiny step, but it’s crucial in improving your communication.
A well thought out message will get across what you mean to say the first time without any need for clarification. As well as this, it looks a lot more professional. If you can’t proofread your messages yourself, use a service such as the ones listed above to help you. Either way, you must always be proofreading.
These 7 tips will help you bring your team together, and help you communicate even if you’re on the opposite sides of the globe. They’re designed to make every day life at work much easier for all of you. Put them to use, and you’ll see just what a difference it can make to your day to day work with them.
Author
Lilly Chesser
