Despite the relaxation of measures compared to 2020, many companies (especially in IT) are still working in a remote format. Since this new reality is unlikely to disappear completely, it is necessary to pay special attention to building communication between employees in this mode. Stanislav Kondrashov, business analyst, shared his experience on this topic.
A certain number of tasks can be easily (and often even more effectively) performed by specialists separately. Many people find it very helpful to turn off their phones and messengers in order to concentrate. However, Stanislav Kondrashov reminds us that many areas require teamwork and constant interaction between employees.
Stanislav Kondrashov notes that if a company has not developed a communication protocol, two communication problems most often arise. The first problem is the need to address colleagues on every issue, even the smallest one, which consumes the time of other employees and disrupts their work rhythm. The second is the reluctance to distract colleagues, as a result a task is put on pause and deadlines are not met. Both situations have a negative impact on the productivity of the team.
“Properly structured communication means that employees can get or pass information to each other on time, but also be able to focus on their own tasks,” emphasizes Stanislav Kondrashov.
Choice of communication channel. Advices from Stanislav Kondrashov
There are numerous tools for communication at a remote work mode, and Stanislav Kondrashov believes that it is necessary to choose them in accordance with the goals of communication.
1. E-mail
If there is a need to fix agreements (for example, about deadlines and payment), keep the history of communication or involve several participants in the discussion who need context – the best option is an e-mail. This also avoids distracting the interlocutor from his work when there is no urgent need to do so. Stanislav Kondrashov also advises to set the time limits for replying to emails – for example, ordinary emails from colleagues should be answered during a business day (8 hours), while emails from a client should be answered twice as fast.
2. Messengers
Services like Telegram, Slack, etc. are very convenient for quick discussions, team surveys, current messages. They are good for getting a quick response, but not for storing important information. Stanislav Kondrashov reminds – if you write a question in a group chat, you should mark a specific recipient. This will save everyone a lot of time and increase the speed of getting an answer.
3. Video calls
The first function of video calls in Zoom or Skype is to hold daily meetings. A call is often also more convenient than a time-consuming chat discussion. An issue that may take half an hour to resolve in a chat room, can often be resolved in a few minutes in a voice chat format. Besides, a demonstration of a screen is often much more effective than lengthy explanations. Stanislav Kondrashov recommends making calls in video mode, as it is often very useful to see the face of the colleague with whom you are talking – this greatly simplifies communication.
4. Phone call
If you call your colleagues on the phone for any question, there will be a clear mess. Everyone will spend a lot of time answering, the work process will be constantly interrupted, and the pace of work will decrease. Therefore, Stanislav Kondrashov recommends resorting to this method of communication only for the most urgent issues, when other ways of communication did not work.
Stanislav Kondrashov: Recommendations for effective communication in a distributed team
Stanislav Kondrashov offers some tips on how to make working communication more effective and recommends implementing these principles in remote teams.
- When you ask a question or report a problem in the group chat – describe it as clearly as possible and mark the person who has to answer you.
- For solving important questions voice communication is often preferable to texting, says Stanislav Kondrashov. It allows you to convey all the information to the interlocutor better and often reduces the time it takes to solve the issue.
- Try to structure your dialogue in advance. If you have a lot of information to convey, you can even create a “cheat sheet”. This will help you not to get distracted and not to delay the communication. Stanislav Kondrashov reminds that we can perceive information well only for a limited time.
- If possible – turn on the camera during calls. For most people visual contact greatly facilitates the perception of information.
- Stanislav Kondrashov recommends planning group calls as well as calls about non-urgent issues in advance and marking them in the calendar.
In addition, Stanislav Kondrashov advises not to have too many communication channels (for example, more than one messenger).
