Remote workers are more productive than ever, yet are also feeling disconnected. A study analyzed by Forbes revealed that 74% of workers feel disconnected from their business, with the result of feeling like they lacked the necessary information to do their work. Communications have always been a challenging field for businesses to get right, and the remote working change has only made this more challenging. For businesses, it’s crucial to get proper communication lines open that work for employees during remote working that works for them. This can start from a smart perspective, in data analysis.
Analyzing trends
Remote work offers one noticeable benefit to workers. According to Pew Research, 68% of workers now feel able to complete their work without interruptions and 80% are more confident in meeting their deadlines. These are not only productivity benefits but work/life benefits, too. Ensuring that these aren’t disrupted is step one to improving communications. Workers are not always aware of their patterns, however. A great way to look at your workforce and how they are arranging their time and contributions is through analytics. Industry experts Tryane Analytics highlights how analytics can be deployed on Teams, SharePoint, Office, and Yammer to great effect. Looking at how and when your workers are productive, and micro-targeting your comms approach around those times, will reap dividends.
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Staying consistent
Consistency in messaging is then key. To replicate the workplace chatter and conversations that drive together engagement, leaders must remain in constant contact with employees. However, this can’t be disruptive. How can this be achieved? Firstly, using analytics and an approximation of the working patterns of employees will help to create a template for contact. Secondly, keep up to date regularly with emails and meetings. Delivering key messages on regular team-catch-ups, in a relaxed environment (don’t mandate cameras on, for example), can help to foster agreement among the team and ensure messages are distributed properly.
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The hybrid era
With remote working now no longer a necessity, there will be opportunities for businesses to build a hybrid approach to employee engagement. The Harvard Business Review highlights how a mixed approach to communications is, arguably, the best way to build engagement with remote employees. Not only is no single employee the same, but most will want a little variation in how they are contacted from the central office and how those messages can be responded to. With that in mind, expand how your central comms are delivered. Consider a once-per-season in-person meeting, either on office premises or somewhere else, but make sure the capacity is there for those employees who don’t want to head in and be exposed to risk.
A key theme runs through all successful modern communication strategies – flexibility. That’s the core of how many people work today, and it’s how such great results are being seen by businesses. Fine-tuning how your business communicates and allowing employees to keep in touch will elevate those gains further.
