Here's how you can improve communication with remote team members.

Remote work has a massive impact on team engagement, and unfortunately it might be lower. Communication can be improved by building stronger relationships. There might be some time scheduled for some team online activities, regular team calls, coffee chats and 1:1. If meetings in person are not possible, relationships have to be built by those online ones. 🚀

Imagine leading a remote design team working on a website redesign project. Using Asana allows you to assign tasks to different team members, upload design assets, and track progress toward deadlines. Regular video conferences using Zoom keep everyone informed about design direction and facilitate real-time feedback sessions. - Tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com provide a centralized platform for PM. - Instant messaging apps like Slack for quick updates & informal discussions, video conferencing tools like Zoom or Google Meet for face-to-face interaction for meetings, brainstorming sessions & team-building activities. - Cloud-based document sharing & collaborative editing tools like Google Docs or Microsoft 365 allow collaboration.

Establish guidelines for communication frequency, preferred channels for different types of messages (urgent updates vs. project discussions) & expected response times. Ensure all meetings, both virtual & face-to-face have clear agendas & defined outcomes. Set clear expectations for individual team member availability. For example, as a remote PM, you can establish clear communication protocols for your team, and outline that urgent updates should be communicated via Slack, while project discussions and file sharing occur on the Asana platform. You also set core working hours during which team members are expected to be available for meetings and real-time collaboration.

What are you preferred ways of catching-up with people in your team? Not everyone enjoys meetings that can be recapped in an email; make sure to know what's best and more efficient for your team.

Be transparent in your communication, sharing information openly & honestly - project goals, challenges & individual performance feedback. Acknowledge & appreciate the contributions of your remote team members & express gratitude. Schedule regular virtual coffee chats or team-building activities to informal interaction and allow team members to connect on a more personal level. For example, leading a remote sales team requires fostering trust. You institute a weekly video call where team members share their sales pipeline updates, and challenges & celebrate each other's successes. Additionally, you organize a virtual team-building activity like an online game night to encourage casual interaction and build rapport.

Online work can be isolating at times. We're all busy and sometimes don't take the time to ask or review feedback. A quarterly review is an excellent start to review progress towards goals and the team spirit.

It's difficult to adequately express emotions and intentions through writing. Sometimes you're busy and don't have time to ask how you are or add happy emojis. I'm learning to stop taking personal quick texts and add more emphasis on how calls go with the person.