When your employees are located in your home country, is easy and simple to communicate with them regularly. You simply pick up the phone, flick them an email, or jump on a video call. You may even visit them in their offices if they’re located close by.
This communication becomes a little more difficult when you’re working with global teams. Not only do time differences make it trickier, but it’s easy to get caught up in your day-to-day responsibilities at home- forgetting about your team abroad.
Of course, email, Skype, and collaboration tools like Trello make it easy for the work to get done. But the point of this communication isn’t just to increase productivity.
Regular communication helps you build relationships with your remote teams. We all know that these types of relationships are about more than deadlines and deliverables.
This doesn’t mean that you need to have a long, drawn-out meeting. Schedule in a quick chat each day, and commit to making these calls. This shows your remote team that you appreciate them and gives them a chance to speak to you directly when they have questions or concerns.
As a business owner, you’ve likely got numerous balls in the air at any one time. So you may wonder if adding to your schedule is worthwhile. If you’re hoping to increase collaboration between team members, overcome cultural barriers, and work more effectively with your remote team, daily communication is a must.
Even five minutes a day will give you enough time for a quick check-in. On the days when you don’t have anything business-related to address, simply spend some time getting to know your team members. Talk about their families, plans for the weekend, or even the weather. It’s not the topic of conversation that’s important- it’s the conversation itself.
These conversations will allow you to address any small issues before they become big problems. Your remote team members will have an opportunity to bring anything important to your attention, so you can ensure it’s immediately dealt with. This will have a massive impact on efficiency, productivity, and cost-effectiveness within your business.
So what do you think? Ready to schedule in a daily meeting with your remote team?