Six amazing tips to effectively communicate with remote employees

The advancements made in technology today and the changing needs of the marketplace and its consumers have opened an opportunity for a new workplace phenomenon – remote work. Although the concept has received controversial feedback, research suggests that there is a range of benefits both for the employer and employee from working outside the office.

Employees share that their productivity increases, stress levels drop as there is no need to plan the time and money necessary for commuting, creativity is easier to be found, and overall their level of satisfaction is higher. Research reveals that 61% of employees share that loud colleagues are a significant distraction preventing them from working effectively in the office. Because of this and additional reasons, 86% of employees have a preference for working alone in order to reach maximum productivity.

It is interesting to see from the same study that 46% of workers communicate over email, instant messaging tools, or phone with the aim of reducing the distractions related to face-to-face communication. As the quality of the written material is essential in business communications, often companies rely on professional writing services such as those provided by Handmadewritings.

With the rising trend of remote work, it is only natural that management turns a focus towards communicating properly and effectively with remote employees to maximize productivity and reach business objectives. Let’s look at a few tips that can improve communication with remote employees and result in better business relations and successfully achieved targets.

1.    Outline specific expectations and deadlines

One of the most important aspects of communicating with employees, local or remote, is setting clear expectations and deadlines. In order to be on the same page and work towards a common goal, it is essential that employees have an understanding of their specific tasks and are given a deadline that they will be working against. This will allow remote workers to organize their daily and weekly tasks in a way that will benefit the company in the long-term.

2.    Arrange regular meetings

Remote employees often require regular meetings to keep track of ongoing tasks or completed work, share feedback, and exchange new ideas. There is a range of platforms that can be used for setting up online conversations such as Google Hangouts, Skype, or other instant messaging tools. Regular communication with remote workers will ensure that they have a sense of belonging and are included in the company’s team spirit and culture.

3.    Provide access to necessary materials

In order to ensure that the workflow of remote employees is easy and undisturbed, make sure that you have organized an online platform or library of all the necessary information that will be needed. For instance, give remote workers access to contact lists, marketing materials, or other business resources that they will require as part of their responsibilities. Often, the work process is stopped if the information is unavailable and time can be wasted in reaching management for authorization or approval.

4.    Provide systematic online training

Depending on the personal characteristics of your employees, remote employees’ motivation can be lower than that of local employees after a certain time period. This is why it is necessary to stimulate workers by offering regular online training or video coaching in which employees are updated with innovations in the company or industry. This can recover the lost creativity and motivation for work. In addition, it will ensure that remote workers are equally as skilled and trained as local employees for their designated tasks.

5.    Make the workflow transparent

Especially if the remote employee is part of a wider team of colleagues and their work will be dependent on others, it is mandatory to make the progress or workflow transparent for all involved members. For instance, it will be unfavorable to have a remote employee working on a task that has just been completed by someone else simply because there is no available information regarding the progress made.

6.    Be available at all times

Being unavailable at a time of emergency can cost the business a fortune and can result in destroyed bonds between employees or even clients. Due to the inability of a remote employee to walk up to your office in times of need, ensure that you are available at all times or arrange backup that can respond to queries. For instance, this can be a colleague from the office or it can be a whole team of employees all working on the same project that could assist remote employees, if needed.

Remote employees play a significant role in the way business is done today but they do require an adapted form of communication and a pre-organized system that has considered all the potential weaknesses. The suggested tips above will help you tackle the world of remote employees with a smile on your face and will ensure flawless communication and exchange of information.

About the author:

Donna Moores is a successful blogger and CMO at Writemyessaytoday.us. She has gained an outstanding marketing experience within the biggest industries and businesses, which she pleasantly shares with the readers. You may reach out to Donna on Twitter or LinkedIn.