5 communication tips for remote workers

5 communication tips for a remote workforce

March 10, 2022 2:41 PM

Remote and hybrid work have enabled millions of people to lose the long commutes and gain more flexibility in their daily lives — but working from home still has its pitfalls.

In a study of over 61,000 Microsoft employees, respondents reported spending 25% less time collaborating with co-workers across teams than they did before the pandemic, while hours spent in meetings also decreased by 5%, suggesting communication was suffering for this remote workforce. And when software company Buffer asked remote employees to name current work challenges, loneliness and communication made it into the top three.

For Marie Kretlow, people experience and programs lead at productivity tech company Superhuman, these pitfalls are unsurprising, but solvable — once leaders appreciate just how different remote and in-person working environments are.

“If you go into the office, you can understand the vibe and the norms of that workplace by watching others interact and be part of that environment,” says Kretlow. “We don't have that luxury when working remotely.”

Kretlow advises leaders not to take any expectations or rules for granted, no matter how “unspoken” it may seem. Here are Kretlow’s five best communication practices for a remote and hybrid workforce.

Explicitly state norms

Whether these norms are related to daily productivity goals or communication expectations, managers and team leaders need to say and write what is considered normal in their digital workplace, explains Kretlow.

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“I had a prior boss who said it best: take what is often implicitly understood and make it explicitly available for people to understand,” she says. “We cannot take those norms for granted — that’s how the organization operates.”

Especially for new hires, Kretlow stresses having written documents where these expectations are laid out, taking the guesswork out of the equation. For example, an employee should know who to connect with (and how) when they have a question or have reached a checkpoint in their work because that process has been stated and documented beforehand.

Set expectations by communication channel

This tip asks that managers clearly communicate the expected response time and purpose of every messaging tool a company uses. For instance, for urgent questions and comments that need a quick response, employees should use Slack; if the question or request is more complicated, employees should use email, Kretlow explains.

“This empowers people not to feel pressured to constantly monitor every communication channel,” she says. “We also shouldn’t be making different assumptions about these channels and end up missing something really important.”

Limit meetings

For Kretlow, more meetings do not translate to better communication. Instead, meetings may be distracting and even exhausting.

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“On the surface, it may feel counterintuitive, but if you want to be better communicators, you should communicate synchronously less,” says Kretlow. “Fewer meetings means we are using our time together with great intention while creating more space for folks to have deep thinking time where they can focus, hit their flow and get work done.”

Superhuman even has “Focus Tuesdays,” when employees are free from internal or one-on-one meetings so that they can have the day to themselves and their work.

Combat proximity bias

Kretlow stresses that all meetings, events and announcements should be accessible to remote and in-person employees for an inclusive work environment.

“If you’re in the office with someone, that person is more accessible to you and consequently, more top of mind,” Kretlow says. “Allowing for more asynchronous work and ensuring everyone is included in meetings means everyone can contribute and connect.”

Document everything

To ensure employees can collaborate asynchronously, it’s essential to document as much as possible, explains Kretlow. This not only goes for norms and expectations, but project updates, important discussions and concerns voiced by employees.

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“This is definitely an aspirational value but it’s a tactical and practical way to reinforce the points I’ve mentioned before,” says Kretlow. “We are working to make sure as much information is available as possible.”

At Superhuman, teams use project management and note-taking software tool Notion to document different aspects of their work and company culture and refresh content when new information is introduced.

“We are challenging ourselves to clearly communicate and even over-communicate what we do and why,” Kretlow says. “We are looking at communication through the lens of inclusivity and empowerment in a remote world.”