The global pandemic has left everyone locked inside their homes. It has acted as a catalyst for remote work as nearly 75% of the companies around the world are planning to conduct their operations permanently through online channels.
For employees, the direct shift to online channels has been overwhelming. While some can adapt and communicate efficiently in work from home environments, some are finding it challenging to communicate effectively with their team. Though there might be several hurdles for effective communication to take place, research has shown that employee productivity has gone up by 40%, ever since the employees started working from their homes.
To make sure that your team members can communicate effectively with one another from their homes, we are presenting four communication tips that you should introduce and follow. Moreover, you can also take professional assistance from an employee engagement agency to effectively utilize communication channels within your organization.
#1. Embrace the latest communication tools
Work from home might be an alien concept for a lot of your team members. To ease this transition for them, you must embrace the use of the latest communication tools. For instance, there are several platforms available online that enable you to share files and organize virtual meetings.
Moreover, project management tools, such as Trello and Basecamp, would allow you to divide larger projects into smaller parts. Through such tools, you would be able to monitor the progress of your team. At the same time, you could also answer any questions or doubts as and when they occur. When every member embraces such tools, communication and efficiency while working remotely would ultimately become seamless.
#2. Give a higher preference to video calls
Since meetings and get-togethers with your team in person are no longer feasible, video calls would play a significant role in your day-to-day work life. Staying connected with your team through virtual video meetings would promote better communication as it would take the place of face-to-face meetings.
Today, there are several platforms available through which you can organize video calls, such as Zoom and Google Meets. However, keep one thing in mind- make sure that your meeting invitations include the words of video chat. This is because several of your team members might get caught off guard and may not be ready to attend a video call.
#3. Establish fixed daily communication points
Daily interaction is crucial to maintain easy communication between members. Whether it is a call to discuss leads or a call to set targets, fixed communication points are vital in maintaining the vibe between the team. Apart from discussing only work-related issues, you must also encourage setting video calls to catch-up socially.
For instance, a morning coffee Zoom meeting or a digital lunch would keep the team spirit alive. It would make them comfortable with every member hence eliminating any hindrance towards swift communication.
#4. Set day-to-day goals and priorities
The last thing you want is failure towards meeting overall goals because of a lack of communication amongst team members. To avoid such things from happening, schedule a virtual meeting daily before everyone gets to work.
The primary focus of this meeting must be to discuss the individual targets of each member. More importantly, discussing which tasks must be given priority over others. By communicating the blueprint for every-day operations, there would be no ambiguity amongst team members. It would ensure everyone works towards their goals.
A key component for effective workplace communication is listening to the feedback of the team members. Bringing every operation on to the online platform is a huge change for employees. To make sure that your team communicates effectively through online channels, keep these four tips in mind.
