With most teams still working remotely, communication has never been more important. Or, more specifically, clear, concise, and thoughtful communication has never been more important.

That said, sometimes creating thoughtful and clear communication isn’t so simple. We may think we’ve delivered the message perfectly when, in fact, that isn’t the case. A wrong inflection or even a misplaced word can change how the listener or reader receives our message. And now, communication problems can arise due to technical difficulties beyond our control.

With so many people working remotely, everyone needs good communication skills. Especially as the leader of a (now) remote team, your communication matters more than ever.

Communicating Remotely Is Challenging (But Necessary)

While there are different types of corporate communications (PR, advertising, written policies, etc.), some of the most critical communication happens with employees. And though communicating with employees is an essential part of management, many managers are uncomfortable communicating with staff.

A 2015 poll asked 616 managers how they felt about communicating with employees, specifically about performance issues. Nearly one-third of respondents (37%) stated they were uncomfortable giving employees direct feedback or criticism about their performance.

However, beyond giving direct feedback about performance, an astounding 69% of managers said there was something about their managerial role that made them uncomfortable communicating with employees.

Specifically, managers were uncomfortable with:

• Talking about the mistakes they’ve learned from—even if it’s relevant to the employee’s performance and could help them learn and grow (20%)
• Praising a job well done or acknowledging an employee’s achievements (20%)
• Providing clear instructions (19%)
• Giving credit to others when they have a good idea (16%)
• Having a face-to-face conversation versus a written conversation (16%)

Clearly, communicating with employees is something many managers would rather skip.

Costs of Bad Communication

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Putting aside the types of communications, all workers—not just managers—dislike certain aspects of communicating in the workplace. A different study of 1,025 employees (managerial and non-managerial staff) found that the majority of respondents will avoid uncomfortable conversations when they can.

Specifically, nearly half of those who avoid uncomfortable conversations waste seven days avoiding. Instead of having the conversations, workers instead complain to coworkers, dwell on the problem (instead of solving it), and do unnecessary work. And, these workers estimate that for each conversation they don’t have, they cost the company, on average, $7,500 in lost time and resources.

However, poor, limited, or avoided communication costs the company more than money. The same study found that poor communication harms employee morale, engagement, and culture, which can cause employees to seek work elsewhere. Given that it costs, on average, $4,000 to recruit, hire, and train a new employee, too many staff members leaving the company due to poor communication can really add up. So, how do remote teams create a culture of healthy and useful communication?

Communication Tips for Remote Teams

Clearly, communication is a crucial element to your company’s success. Communication isn’t always an easy task but with time and practice, your team can learn to communicate clearly and effectively.

That said, as many companies and employees have learned during the pandemic, remote communication takes thought and intention. From Zoom calls gone awry to a misunderstood instant message, remote team communication isn’t as easy as firing up a video chat and saying hello.

Creating thoughtful and intentional communications isn’t only ensuring miscommunications don’t occur. An MIT study found that remote teams with effective communication perform 13% better than teams without it. And effective communication includes making intentions clear, being responsive and supportive, and staying open and inclusive.

So, how do you communicate effectively with a remote team?

General Remote Communication Tips

No matter who you are communicating with—employees, customers, vendors, etc.—you should establish some defining principles for remote communications. This includes:

• How to communicate across time zones
• When asynchronous or synchronous communications should be used
• When you should choose written communication over verbal (and vice versa)
• Defining what a “timely response” is and is not
• Being an active listener
• Remaining mindful of your body language on video calls
• Ensuring all communications are clear, consistent, and timely

Remote Employee Communication

Communicating with remote staff means thinking about communication differently. When your team is distributed, you can’t just “pop over” to help them out. So, keep the following in mind.

Help Staff Prioritize

Whether you’ve always been a remote company or shifted to remote work because of the pandemic, remote staff sometimes have trouble prioritizing their tasks. Without clear, consistent communication on what tasks are important and what can wait, staff may guess what the priorities are.

Employees need some guidance, just like when they are in the office. So, consider setting up a weekly or even daily chat to help them prioritize their daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

This isn’t meant to shift your management style to micro-managing. You should trust that your employees will get the job done no matter where they are. However, a regular chat can serve as a touchpoint for anyone who needs a little extra help managing and prioritizing their duties. And, regular meetings build camaraderie, enabling the team to work together.

Don’t Avoid Performance Issues

Face-to-face or remote, don’t let performance issues fester and grow. When someone’s productivity drops, address it as soon as possible. It can be, as noted above, an uncomfortable conversation, but it is a part of managing.

But don’t use remote work as an excuse to put off the conversation. Even if you’re temporarily remote and headed back to the office soon, addressing performance issues when they happen can help improve performance now and result in better performance in the future.

Explain Who is Remote

Some companies can be fully remote, while others can’t be remote at all. However, there are also companies that fall somewhere in between and use a blended office. Some staff can be fully remote, some staff can be partly remote, and some staff must be in the office.

Make sure everyone understands why the in-office people have to be in the office, and that remote staff understand why they can’t or shouldn’t work in-person. You should have a clear explanation of your reasoning and what variables you used to make that decision.

Get Them Out of Their Lane

One of the biggest communication challenges with remote teams is the lack of communication. Or, more specifically, the lack of random encounters that might happen when everyone works in the same office.

That doesn’t mean these encounters can’t happen. It just means you have to help employees “mingle” more. Create opportunities for staff to connect even though they are distributed.

Have a monthly staff meeting and give everyone a chance to ask questions or voice concerns. If you can (and when it’s safe again), host meet-ups for teams or even the entire company so everyone can put a face to a name and a voice.

Also, encourage teams to set up their own meetings to chat about whatever they want. It can be a weekly team meeting so everyone can check-in. Or it can be a coffee break, happy hour, or virtual lunch. Anything that helps recreate the “in the office” feel will help your employees connect and communicate.

Remote Communication for Leadership Teams

The leadership team needs to communicate not only with staff but also with each other. Help your company’s leaders communicate more effectively with the following tips.

Be Consistent

A consistent message from the entire leadership team helps create an engaged and productive workplace.

A consistent message can also help minimize the rumor mill. That’s not to say that rumors will be eliminated. However, when there is a clear and consistent message from leadership, staff are more likely to dismiss gossip as mere speculation and not possible fact. It also shows that your key people are aligned on important items

Welcome and Encourage Feedback

Though some managers may welcome performance feedback from their direct reports and others may not, remote work requires managers to place an emphasis on performance rather than facetime.

Whether you’ve always been remote or were thrown into remote work, a change in staff performance could indicate a problem with your procedures. Encourage staff to bring process problems to your attention, even if they can’t provide a solution. You may discover that the way you were doing things doesn’t work anymore, and it’s time for a change.

Communicate Often

Over-communication should be the default for remote teams. However, when everyone works from their home (or the coffee shop), it’s easy to forget that you’re part of a team. That doesn’t mean you forget about staff or coworkers. It’s just easy to neglect to include them in the conversation. Make sure leadership is communicating often with staff. This can and should be about the company, but can also include personal conversations where appropriate.

Can You Hear Me?

As companies continue embracing remote work, staff will need to improve their communication skills. This means having uncomfortable conversations when necessary and planning thoughtful and intentional communication. It’s something that doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but with time, practice, and our tips, you can improve your communication skills and help your staff improve theirs.

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