The secret to effective communication with remote employees

Let's explore 6 tips to effectively communicate with your remote team so you can start enjoying the benefits right away.

Never assume that employees always understand what you are saying

Many people think that online communication is the same as face-to-face communication. However, while online communication allows us to get messages across more quickly and easily, it lacks empathy, connection, and emotion.

When we interact face-to-face, we speak content while also signaling emotions, attitudes, and intentions through body language. This is difficult to achieve when communicating via email, phone, causing information to be misunderstood.

“Effective communication refers to correctly understanding the message being conveyed. It minimizes misunderstandings and ensures that messages are sent and received correctly.”

Always make your intentions clear

If the purpose is clear, there is no room for misunderstanding. When assigning tasks or giving instructions to the group, clearly explain all the details by answering the following questions:

- What should employees do? For example, “Please complete bank reconciliation for all accounts in bank X”.

- What date and time does the deadline include? For example, “I need to review the reconciliation by Thursday noon.”

- Who does the employee need to work with to complete this task? For example, “Please speak to Y to obtain all bank statements or any missing documents”.

- Why is this mission important? For example, “This is the first part of the audit period, that is why you need to make it a priority”.

Once you've finished your content, whether it's an email or a quick message, reread it and see if it makes sense.

Avoid ambiguous words and abbreviations

Using vague words confuses the recipient. This happens when you think the employee understands the exact context you are referring to. Confusing words to stay away from include it, that, this…

If you write a message like “I changed that in their opinion. But if we change this, we should also change the content of other items.”

It's hard to understand, isn't it? The above example lacks context for what “that, this” is. With so many tasks to perform, employees will be confused and forced to ask themselves, “What task exactly does the manager mean?

To clarify, try “I changed the revenue on the second page of the audit file. If you agree with this change, we should also change the conclusion. Let's discuss this on Monday morning."

The secret to effective communication should combine three elements: contextual, clear, and concise.

- Context: Provide appropriate context for the recipient to know the purpose of the message.

- Clear: Information is expressed in simple language.

- Concise: Keep the message short and straight to the point.

If you want to use an acronym, try to explain it from the start. Not only does this show thoughtfulness, but it also eliminates questions that might get in the way of communication.

Choose the right medium for the message

Email is the best choice for sending complex instructions because it can be saved, printed, and re-read by employees as often as needed. On the other hand, it is advisable to convey information that requires urgent response via phone or messaging application to immediately confirm whether the employee has received it or not while email may be delayed.

It is important to provide news and confidential information over the phone to prevent the content of the discussion from being accidentally leaked.

Visual communication

Would you rather listen to a keynote or read an interesting infographic explaining the new company policies? Most probably will choose the latter because images have the power to attract and help people absorb information more easily.

Visuals also help improve remote communication without overwhelming people with too much information. They provide consistency in communication, ensure everyone on the team gets it right, and limit confusion.

Here are some ways to use visual communication in the remote workplace that you can apply:

- Use icons and graphics to make technical information easier to understand;

- Communicate changes in company processes with diagrams and mind maps;

- Create slides to summarize what to do after online meetings;

Provide checklists to help employees keep track of their tasks.

Use emojis and GIFs

Another key to effective communication is that when communicating through text, it can be difficult to gauge someone's feelings. For example, “X, I need to talk to you” can be interpreted as really angry, happy, or neutral. Try putting an emoji with something like “X, I need to talk to you