The Communication Conundrum

How Remote Work Has Shifted the Balance Between Beneficial and Burdensome Communication

For years we have been teaching supervisors, managers and team leaders to over-communicate to their teams. We would encourage leaders to articulate with effective repetition our vision, rallying cries, day-to-day policy and procedure updates, team priorities, staffing changes. We would say, “Communicate all of these SEVEN TIMES/SEVEN WAYS.”

The theory behind this communication push was based on feedback from employees that leadership was failing to let them know what was going on. We wanted employees to feel more grounded in the comfort of knowing what is going on with the organization. THEN COVID HIT. And we continued to suggest the SEVEN TIMES/SEVEN WAYS/OVER-COMMUNICATE approach. After all, with our employees working remotely, they would have an even greater need to know what is going on.

Well…YES and NO.

What we have been hearing a lot is that, with the balancing act that characterizes working from home, employees are finding all the emails, ZOOM meetings, updates, and back-to-back virtual click-ins just a bit overwhelming.

So what to do? Where is our communication sweet spot where our team members get just enough to feel connected and up-to-date but not oversaturated?

Still working this out, frankly.

Here are a few things to consider in steering toward the sweet spot:

• A mindful approach to emails, chats, phone calls, and ZOOM meetings can really help your team to continue to feel valued and to stay engaged.
• Empathize with the inconvenience, novelty or general weirdness of remote work (or return from it).
• There are certain “work personalities” that adapt more effectively to working from home or remote. Tailor your messages.
• Get feedback and suggestions from your work team on how and when they would prefer to get information or meet.
• Revisit your meeting rhythms. Does this next meeting really get something done? Is it necessary to meet for a full hour? Is it necessary to meet at all? What if we did not “get together” this week? What would fall apart if we gave everything a little breathing space.
• Teach email etiquette and other workplace best practices for improving connection and understanding.

If we have a clear picture of how we want to communicate with shared expectations, our overburdening challenge may be alleviated. Pay attention to the THREE AGREEMENTS for remote communication

1. What are the normal working hours for the team? When will the workday begin, and when will it end? Clock in? Clock out?
2. How long will it take to get back to each other? If we reach out with a question, should I expect an answer immediately? Within an hour? By the end of the day? And will this change based on communication channel? Is it OK to respond to internal emails by the end of the day, but if I call you it means it’s urgent and you should pick up or call me back as soon as possible?
3. How will we notify each other when we will be unavailable and unable to meet these expectations (e.g., out at a doctor’s appointment, childcare responsibilities)? Will we just let the boss know? Or do we send a team email? Or use a shared calendar?

Lastly, look for employees and supervisors who have a natural strength in getting a message across efficiently and succinctly.  Encourage them to get involved. Great communicators love to be part of the reconnection strategy.

We love to hear your stories about communication challenges or successes. Please let us know what is working for you bswift@cascadeemployers.com.