4 Ways To Stay Connected When Working Remotely

Remote work arrangements nowadays are becoming more popular because of its benefits for both the company and the employees. However, there are also disadvantages to be aware of, and one of which is how to build personal connections with one another. Whatever the work set-up is, building connections is one of the most important factors in achieving a happy work life.

When you work at home, it’s important to stay connected because a lack of relationship with your workmates may greatly affect productivity and job satisfaction. With the advancement of technology, virtual connections are made possible. To ensure that you stay connected while working remotely, here are four ways to achieve it:

1. Choose the Right Communication Style

When you work in the office, meetings and other unplanned get-together activities are made much easier compared with working remotely.  In a remote set-up, a way to constantly stay connected is to utilize real-time communication apps and make sure that everyone's in the loop.

To assist you with constant communication among the team, the use of the right messaging tools may keep team interaction interesting. It could either be through email, chat programs, video chat, or through various project management tools.

Responding to chats or emails with a sense of urgency shows basic courtesy. If you have a flexible schedule, set a particular time amenable for everyone. Virtual communications shouldn’t only be for meetings, but it should be done regularly to check how everyone is doing. Having small chats each day comes a long way to stay connected when working remotely.

2. Take Advantage of Technology

The use of digital media in a remote work setup is helpful in sustaining the workflow of the company. Take advantage of it for communication and monitoring purposes. Tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slack, Asana, and other task management tools help in ensuring that every employee’s productivity is sustained. You may ask the team members about their opinion on what’s the most suitable and comfortable task management tool for them.

One of the benefits of different technological tools in the remote set-up is the transmission of documents. There are risks in sending sensitive files via email because you don’t have control over the recipient’s server. As you notice, fax machines are still an important tool in the office because they’re known to be the safest way to send formal documents in real-time. However, when you’re working at home, not all have the means to have a fax machine.

Good thing that there are now virtual fax machines, such as MyFax, wherein your documents can be converted into fax format to be sent out to your recipient’s fax machine. Send a fax online with MyFax in a more private and secure way.

3. Create a Virtual Communication Policy

If it’s quite a struggle to achieve constant communication, creating a communication policy will help set clear expectations about the importance of regular interaction. Virtual communication policy serves as a guide to why, when, how, and where the team communicates to avoid miscommunication. Since it’s a policy, everyone is expected to abide by it. It may be mandatory, but as long as you’re willing to communicate with your co-workers, it wouldn’t be a hard task.

If the team isn’t used to remote working, following the communication policy may be a challenge for a few days, but as soon as the team gets used to it, communicating with the team regularly becomes a routine, and it may no longer seem to be a regulation that you need to comply with.

4. Conduct Remote Team Activities

When working remotely, you might think that you no longer have ways to socialize, but socialization is still possible without the need for a face-to-face encounter. It can be done through remote team activities. Activities that can be done don’t have to be complicated; these can be as simple as having online game competitions during breaks or having virtual coffee or lunch dates.

Remote working can trigger loneliness. Through these simple activities, ensure that no one’s left out and that the team’s closeness and bond are boosted. Just like in the office set-up, team activities engage everyone to have strong relationships.

Final Thoughts

Transitioning from office work to a remote work setup is confronted with a lot of challenges, especially on how to sustain connectivity with your peers. However, through the advancement of technology and digital media, it’s still possible to ensure that everyone’s connected toward productivity and efficiency for a smooth workflow. With the right approach, your team can be successful even though you’re not all in one place.