When it comes to remote working, communication can be a real tightrope. Too little, and you leave your team in the dark, and too much is, well, you know the rest. Too much of it can lead to you being that terrible micromanager that no one likes to work with. But what if I told you that the opposite is true in remote settings, and one needs more communication? Let me introduce you to overcommunication—a concept that can help overcome several obstacles when working remotely.
Understanding Overcommunication
First of all, let’s explain what overcommunication means. It’s not about providing your team with endless messages or a flood of information they cannot process. Instead, it concerns everyone being in the same loop, feeling engaged and part of the team, and having all the necessary information. This is done intentionally to communicate clearly, frequently, and transparently, leaving no room for confusion or misinterpretation.
The Challenges of a Remote Workplace
Before diving into how overcommunication can help, it’s essential to understand the unique challenges that remote teams face:
1. Isolation and Disconnect
Everyone working from home will know it can be a rather isolating experience. Lack of casual coffee breaks, quick desk visits, and other informal interactions can make the person feel lonely and may demotivate him/ her to do the job.
2. Miscommunication
In a remote setting, messages can easily be misunderstood. Even the simplest of instructions may only be adequately conveyed with verbal or physical signaling since, for example, one may fail to communicate the intended meaning of words fully and correctly, especially by using body language or tone of voice.
3. Lack of Visibility
Remote workers tend to feel like they are in the background. They fail to be recognized for their efforts when they are not physically present in the office, and they can really feel like they do not belong to the team.
4. Coordination Difficulties
People work in different time zones, have different schedules, and might even come from various cultural backgrounds, making it challenging to organize a project.
How Overcommunication Helps
Now, let’s explore how overcommunication can address these challenges:
1. Building a Sense of Communication
Overcommunication helps recreate lost social interactions, a significant issue when working in a remote team. Quick meetings, virtual coffee breaks, casual, informal group discussions, or calls are beneficial. Employees understand that they are not alone and that their voices will be considered; hence, they contribute to the team. In other words, mentoring is not just about job roles and responsibilities; it is about creating community.
Pro tip: You can do more than just formal meetings. Fostering other forms of communication, such as casual ones, is essential. A simple text asking about another person’s well-being will be a great way of showing that you care about them.
2. Clarifying Expectations and Reducing Misunderstandings
It is always risky to make assumptions, especially when one is working in a remote site. The overcommunication of expectations, deadlines, and goals guarantees everyone is in one boat. It is wiser to repeat the message several times than to assume everyone will be on the same page.
Example: Following a meeting, it is appropriate to send an email underlining the main points and the next course of action. This confirms what has been discussed, and everyone will have a point of reference to hold on to.
3. Increasing Visibility and Recognition
Individuals working from home’s primary concern is feeling appreciated, and their contributions should be valued. Overcommunication, which involves constant acknowledgment of the values received, can prevent this. Hearing and acknowledging their efforts regularly, like using their names during briefings or simply sending a ‘Great work!’ note, can go a very long way in boosting their morale.
Tip: Designate an avenue for acknowledging and celebrating the team’s achievements. This will motivate the workers and encourage the other workers to work even harder.
4. Enhancing Team Members’ Collaboration
With overcommunication, coordination is possible even if team members are in different time zones. Information on projects’ progress, assignments, and time schedules to and from subordinates helps to minimize instances where tasks go unnoticed.
Best practice: By setting up and using collaborative parameters such as shared calendar, project management software, and chat, it is easy to keep every team member on the same page. Therefore, always communicate any changes or updates to make sure the team understands the change being made.
Balancing Overcommunication
Although constant communication is critical, it is equally vital to moderate the quantity of communication to prevent inundation of your team. Here are a few strategies to keep things in check:
- Use the Right Channels: It is not necessary that every conveyed or to be conveyed message requires a business email format. Instant messaging for brief information sharing, video conferencing for discussions, and project management to keep track of work.
- Be Concise and Clear: The degree of interaction is closely associated with business communication, which should be somewhat informative but concise. Do not use complex terms that are not required, and always stick to simple words.
- Set Boundaries: Admire work-life balance by setting time for communication only during working hours. Teach your team to log off after they are done working for the day and not feel obliged to respond to messages at odd hours.
Conclusion
In remote work, where employees are barely physically interacting, overcommunication should not be deemed frivolous but rather critical. With connection, building and managing expectations, enhancing visibility, and facilitating coordination, overcommunication can solve many problems with remote teams. It is, however, essential to do it with purpose and consistency so that it’s in the team’s best interest and does not create a feeling of overload. Therefore, there should be more communication – maybe that is all your team needs for remote work to succeed.
