Communication is the key to success in any business. Whether you are working from home, or from office – you need to focus on certain communication skills.
The process of working from a remote destination and ensuring seamless communication is difficult. This is why you need to stress certain aspects right from the beginning.
With this being said, let’s get started on a few important tips to be remembered when you choose “working from home”.
1. Fixed Goals
Unlike in-office communication, working from home need a standard set of goals. All employees within the company are expected to stick to these protocols. The expectations and terms for a particular release should be neatly documented. It is the sole duty of employees to follow these notes. Of course, you may have a similar practice on normal days too. But, monitoring becomes difficult when you work from home. That is why the “rules” (goals) should be made more clear.
2. A proactive manager
Moving on, you need to be proactive in handling the entire process. This will help you ensure that everything is working as planned. Even when employees choose to work from home, they may take off. In such cases, you need to plan and schedule work accordingly.
3. Collaborate!
The focus on how to communicate when working from home will be incomplete without collaboration. This is the key tool for bringing the entire team together. Collaboration can happen through multiple channels. You can opt for video conferencing, Skype calls, or traditional phone conversations. Presentations make for more than 90% of all remote communications today. You can design highly effective remote presentations using tools like visually engaging PowerPoint templates and improve overall remote communication. The choice is up to your team and you. Always choose a platform that will help you interact without any hassles or tussles.
Over the years, Microsoft had come up with many tools for spotless collaboration. And, their most recent release would be Microsoft Teams. With the help of Teams, you can stay in touch with the rest of your team easily.
4. Discussions and feedback
Working from home should not stop you from lively discussions and feedback. These are crucial elements of career growth. A person who chooses to work from home should not be deprived of these benefits.
On the other hand, managers must encourage their employees to communicate any “problem”. They must not limit themselves to work-related factors. Even topics like “promotion”, “hike” and “career growth” should be on the table for discussions.
This way, you can reduce the chances of unexpected surprises.
