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Communication is Vital Even When Virtual

Virtual communication is here with no sign of leaving. We are more connect digitally than ever before. However, it is very likely that you and your teams feel emotionally distant.

The working world has made gigantic leaps forward with digital communication. However these new technologies have created a new and growing chasm within our teams.

What is this Chasm?

With the expansion of remote work, organizations are seeing their team members work more as individuals and less as a team. This means, that no matter how many collaboration tools you use, your team can fall into the trap of complacency. When communication is totally virtual, we lose the emotional connection to our work and lose sight of fulfillment with our roles.

How can we fix virtual communication?

To fix the communication challenges, we need reclaim the water-cooler moments. In the virtual world, it is too easy to eliminate niceties and pleasantries. When you do this, it eliminates the opportunity to forge relationships in the working environment. Your team needs a way to connect outside of standard work elements, requests, deadlines, and correspondence.

Three tips for better communication:

1. Schedule a donut. Mark Sedgley, founder of MemberClicks, has every team member schedule a 15 minute ‘virtual donut’ to meet with another employee, remotely, but to talk about anything but work.
2. Continual Checkins. Most leaders are great about checking in with their team members weekly, but how often do employees check in cross functionally and upward? To solve this, create an environment that pushes your employees or staff to randomly checkin on people emotional, physical, and physiological well being.
3. Bring them back to purpose. Everyone wants to feel like their work is making a difference and the truth is they are. It can be hard for people to remember what doing a great job means to those that depend on them. This is especially true in times of stress, anxiety, and high levels of uncertainty. Work with your team move beyond what their role is and beyond what their does. We need to help them know hat their role means.

You can find out more tips for communicating effectively in a virtual workplace HERE