5 Remote Team Common Communication Challenges; How To Solve Them.

As remote work becomes a new reality, effective communication has become essential, as teams spread across the globe, it can be challenging to convey the intended message.

As there are no tone or body cues, and can lead to misunderstandings and bad teamwork.

In this article, we’ll see what are the main causes of bad communication, its side effects, and how to effectively communicate as a remote team.

Why is communication important in remote team?

Communication is a crucial aspect of remote work, It improves team dynamics, productivity and overall teamwork.

In remote work settings, clarity is of the essence, as we’re not in person, It’s easy to be misunderstood or misinterpreted.

There are many causes and side effects of bad or miscommunication.

Causes of bad communication.

• Lack of communication skills: Lack of communication skills can lead to misunderstandings, being heard differently than intended, and confusion.

This can delay response from employees and inconsistent messaging, which could affect overall progress and impact the whole team.

• Lack of active listening: We all love sharing our ideas, but sometimes it can be irritating or rude to the other person.

Consistent interruption could mean devaluing your team members and hurting your teamwork.

This leads to missing important details and unclear instructions, repeating the same project over and over.

• Unstructured conversation: Conversations without any purpose and unclear agenda is a waste of time.

Unclear goals and not setting clear expectations will lead to confusion and inability to achieve team goals.

• Bad management: Good management is what inspires the whole team if your leadership cannot effectively communicate, set clear guidelines and is indecisive.

It will lead to unmotivated employees, lack of dedication and inconsistent communication which will create a stressful working environment.

• Language barrier: This one is especially true if you have a remote and diverse team, as it can be challenging for the team members to communicate effectively who may not be native to the main language.

Furthermore, As for natives, it can be challenging to keep up with formal or jargon tones. And may lead to miscommunication.

Remote work challenges with communication.

1) Misunderstanding.

When working remotely, it’s easy to get misunderstood, which leads to errors in deliverable tasks resulting in reworking on the same task and delays.

Misunderstanding and lack of clarity lead to confusion on assigned roles, responsibilities and due deadlines, which leads to inconsistent performance and undermines teamwork.

2) Lack of trust.

When teams don’t communicate, it leaves a gap that makes it challenging to build trust and work together. That creates doubt and suspicion.

This may lead to micromanagement, making your employees feel insecure about their standings and hurting the team’s overall morale.

3) Bad teamwork.

Teamwork is essential, especially in a remote work setting and without it, It can be challenging to work and collaborate as you don’t know how much other members have made progress.

This also leads to an us vs them mentality and may isolate you from the rest of the team.

4) Self-isolation.

Overthinking and already struggling employees might not reach out to small or trivial questions. As they may feel silly.

And will leave your employees with vague instructions, leading to stress and burnout.

Which compels your employees to isolate and avoid discussing ideas or sharing personal opinions.

Relevant Read: 5 signs of loneliness as a remote employee.

5) Decreased productivity.

Miscommunication can lead to decreased productivity and missed deadlines, as unclear goals lead to a lack of direction.

Causing employees to put their energy on wrong tasks and priorities and may cost overall working efficiency and company resources.

5 ways to effectively communicate?

1) Practice active listening.

Effective communicators are not the ones who talk the most, but who listen. It’s not an easy skill, as we all have the urge to be heard.

Effective teams leverage both, active listening and effective communicating to ensure both sides communicate properly.

Tips:

• Pay attention to the speaker.
• Avoid multitasking.
• Listen carefully.
• Ask questions if a point is unclear
• Write down important details.

2) Keep your message clear and concise.

When working remotely, clarity and brevity are essential, but it doesn’t mean we should neglect the intent to communicate effectively.

If giving a little context to your instructions or conversation can help your team, go for it, but it doesn’t mean it has to be a paragraph long.

Keep it concise, and to the point, and have a clear goal when talking. Never make assumptions, it’s rude and could lead to misunderstanding.

Tips:

• Keep your tone simple.
• Get to the main point.
• Use bullet points for instructions.
• Encourage questions.

3) Use different forms of communication.

Consider different channels of communication, if it means you can effectively communicate with your team.

Like using different tools that are easier, and more accessible. Stay up to date on your team’s progress and status reports. If they have any questions or problems, offer a solution right away.

And ensure, all tasks are completed on time.

Tips:

• Choosing team preference.
• Leverage video calls.
• Use accessible tools like Slack

Check the list of communication tools that can help you with it.

4) Give other people time.

Avoid over-communication and give other people some time, the last thing you want is over 99+ notifications on your screen when you’re working. As it can be distracting.

One way to deal with overcommunication is to have a specific time for check-ins and discussion.

Avoid micromanaging as it indicates you don’t trust your team’s ability. Furthermore, make sure to keep your team’s time zones in mind.

Tips:

• Be patient.
• Schedule meetings.
• Mindful follow-up.
• Have specific timing.

5) Improve your communication skills.

Improving your communication skills is essential for ever-changing remote work dynamics.

Consider investing in your skills by buying books or a course on communication, and actively practice it. Seek consistent feedback to improve and become an effective communicator.

Tips:

• Understand the other side.
• Listen, don’t criticize right away.
• In argument, offer an alternative.
• When addressing, always remember a person’s name.

Conclusion:

Although there are some challenges when communicating online, with active listening, being mindful of other people’s space and improving your communication skills.

Teams and remote leaders can effectively communicate and avoid misunderstanding, bad teamwork and potentially negative impact on overall team productivity.