The Covid-19 pandemic significantly shifted attitudes and expectations around remote working and, as a result, an increasing number of people now work remotely some or all of the time. This new way of working has both benefits and drawbacks, and one of the main challenges now for employers is communicating with your employees in the age of remote working.
In this article, we’ll look at the different methods of communicating with your employees in the age of remote working, the advantages and disadvantages of these and how to manage communication when your employees work remotely.
Methods of Communication For Remote Working
Email is widely used and is now the standard form of communication for many organisations and businesses.
Pros:
- Most people already use email, whether in a personal or professional capacity, so it’s unlikely to require any additional training.
- It’s a quick and efficient way of communicating, either with an individual or group.
- Easily accessible anywhere with an internet connection, meaning employees can view and respond to their emails no matter where they are using a laptop, desktop computer, tablet or phone.
Cons:
- Inboxes can quickly become swamped, so it can be easy for an important email to get missed amongst hundreds of others competing for an employee’s attention.
- Your employees may experience ‘email fatigue’, becoming overwhelmed and anxious about the sheer volume of emails to read and respond to. This may have a detrimental impact both on communication and their ability to do their job.
- Sending an email doesn’t guarantee an instant response in the same way that a telephone call might, for example, as you have no way of knowing when the receiver will next check their inbox or respond.
- If sending sensitive or confidential information, you need to be certain that your email platform is secure.
Communication Apps
There are a wide variety of communication apps and messaging platforms available, such as Slack and WhatsApp, that employers can use as a way to communicate with employees and for a team to communicate with each other, whether through private or group conversations.
Pros:
- A quick, easy way to communicate with employees and for employees to keep in touch with each other.
- Allows for a more natural flow of conversation and keeps communication channels open.
- Helps teams stay in touch when working remotely and helps build and maintain positive working relationships and camaraderie.
Cons:
- Easy for them to be abused and for employees to end up bombarded with irrelevant, inaccurate or contradictory communication.
- In a fast-moving group chat, it can be easy to miss an important message amongst hundreds of others.
- You need to be certain that whatever platform you choose is secure.
- Conversations can go off-topic and become distracting rather than helpful.
- The communication is not likely to be routed through official recording systems, potentially meaning there is no formal record of decisions reached.
Video Conferencing
During the pandemic, many of us became familiar with using video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams for the first time.
Pros:
- Virtual meetings allow us to see our colleagues face-to-face, providing much-needed human interaction for remote workers.
- Communication is easier when we can see each other’s expressions and body language and hear the other person’s tone of voice. This means we’re less likely to misunderstand a person’s meaning or take offence.
- If employees don’t understand something, a video call allows them to seek instant clarification, which is more efficient than needing to send follow up emails, for example.
Cons:
- Your employees need to be familiar with the platform and comfortable utilising its features. This may require additional training and you may encounter some initial teething problems.
- Employees may experience what has been termed, ‘Zoom fatigue’, which can lead to stress and burnout.
- Unforeseen issues and technological glitches can result in meetings running longer than anticipated or needing to be cancelled or rearranged at the last-minute, which can lead to frustration and resentment.
Telephone
Though telephone calls may be seen as old-fashioned, they’re still an effective way of communicating with employees working remotely.
Pros:
- A phone call can be the quickest way to get an immediate response from another person, making it ideal in situations where information needs to be conveyed quickly.
- Less formal than written communication and allows for a back-and-forth conversation with the other person.
- When working remotely, employees may go several hours – or even days – without speaking to their colleagues so a quick phone call can go a long way to reducing isolation and loneliness.
Cons:
- Remote working means that teams are often working on different schedules, perhaps even in different time zones, which can make phone calls difficult to coordinate.
- If an employee is in the middle of a meeting or undertaking a task that requires extensive concentration, a phone call can be a distraction or disturbance.
How to Improve Communication When Working Remotely
If you’re experiencing communication issues with your employees, here are some of the ways you can improve communication when remote working.
Plan Ahead
Try to plan for potential issues with video conferencing.
- Build in additional time to the start of meetings in case employees have difficulties gaining access.
- Ensure that all employees understand how to use the chosen platform and are familiar with the technology required, such as headsets or microphones.
- Invest in a high-speed, reliable broadband service and know how to troubleshoot common problems.
Set Expectations
Be clear about your expectations.
- Let employees know how they should present themselves in virtual meetings. Do you have a dress code? Should they have their camera switched on and microphone off? Send out an agenda ahead of time to help meetings stay on-topic.
- Let your employees know what standard response times are for emails or messages sent inside or outside of work hours.
- Be clear about what information or contact details employees should display in their email signature. Do you expect employees to set up an out-of-office reply when taking time off?
Have Policies and Guidelines In Place
Ensure that you have guidelines and policies in place that cover how and when different methods of communication should be used.
- What is your policy on communication outside of working hours?
- How will employees share files or sensitive information?
- How should employees handle grievances or report issues?
- How will you handle appraisals, attendance reviews and disciplinary meetings when working remotely?
Put It In Writing
Bear in mind that some types of communication will always need to be written and signed, whether in-person or virtually, for example, employment contracts, job descriptions and performance reviews.
Meet Face-to-Face
Whilst your employees may work remotely, there may be times when you physically need to meet face-to-face. For example, for mediation between employees or for hands-on training that can’t be delivered remotely.
Admittedly, some employees who work remotely the majority of the time might be reluctant to attend face-to-face meetings. But, ultimately, if it’s a requirement of their role, then this is no excuse. Highlight the benefits of collaborating in-person and use face-to-face meetings as a way of strengthening the working relationships between your team.
Get Advice From Your Local HR Specialists
Metis HR provide specialist HR advice that is uniquely tailored to the specific needs of you and your business. We work with you in order to reach a considered decision that is best for your business.
If you need advice on communicating with your employees in the age of remote working or want to know more about the services we offer, just get in touch with the experts at Metis HR.
Send us a message via info@metishr.co.uk or, if you would prefer to speak directly to an experienced HR Consultant, call us on 01706 565 332. We look forward to hearing from you.
