source: Pexels
Whether you’re a team leader in a small business or the CEO of an international company, workplace communication needs to be one of your top priorities.
For things to run smoothly, and your employees to be satisfied, you need to make sure everyone’s on the same page. The only way to do it is to nurture open, smooth communication.
But, what happens when you’re dealing with a mobile workforce?
Well, even though you’re not physically in the same room, you need to make everyone feel like you are. To do this, you’ll have to find ways to improve communication across your mobile workforce.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find 10 effective ways to improve communication effectively and long-term. Just keep reading for all the details.
Let’s take a look at it together.
1. Introduce an “Open Communication” Policy
Everything starts from the top, and if you’re not willing to show openness and willingness to talk and communicate, no one in your team will do it either.
This is why, for starters, you need to introduce and actively nurture the open communication policy across your mobile workforce.
Let everyone know about the following:
- they’re welcome to talk to you at any point
- you’re interested in hearing what they have to say
- there are no stupid or redundant questions
Start from yourself and be the example you wish your team would follow.
2. Schedule Regular Meetings
Another fixed rule you should introduce is scheduling regular meetings between people working on a project or teams collaborating together.
Making these meetings regular and a part of everyone’s calendar will make them more significant.
Naturally, make sure they are useful and cover something that matters to everyone:
- the progress of a project
- updates and future goals
- revising the previous week
- introducing new ideas
Whatever the meeting is about, make it count.
Your employees will enjoy staying updated and in touch with everyone else. This will be motivating and inspiring for them to keep on working harder and better.
3. Establish Real-Time Communication
According to many remote workers and mobile workforce members, one of the downsides to working remotely is the lack of support from colleagues and socialization.
To bridge this gap, you need to introduce and establish solid real-time communication between your team members and yourself.
You could use tools such as:
- conference call apps
- team collaboration tools
- messaging apps
Marie Fincher, a team leader and head writer at bestessayseducation.com agrees:
“If a team member needs to ask a burning question, you need to provide the conditions for them to get an immediate answer. Establish proper real-time communication and you’ll improve your team efficiency.”
source: Pexels
4. Send & Receive Feedback
When it comes to workforce communication, feedback is gold. It’s one of the most important segments of your communication improvement strategy.
In a mobile workforce, sending and receiving feedback can be done through live video calls or simple written reports.
But, here’s what matters the most:
- provide both positive and negative feedback
- ask & receive
- create a regular feedback flow
- encourage it
Feedback needs to be an essential part of your communication flow.
5. Constantly Share Updates
If you want to be proud of the communication flow in your mobile workforce, you can never leave a person in the dark.
That means that everyone needs to be updated on everything, all the time.
Sharing updates regularly means:
- keeping everyone informed
- sharing valuable, important information
- allowing team members to share their insight
The more information you share, the more comfortable everyone’s going to feel.
6. Aim For Clarity
Depending on how big your team is, the communication channel can sometimes get clogged or chaotic. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, you should always aim for clarity in communication, and ask others to follow your example.
That means that you should stick to these rules:
- write simple sentences
- share only valuable information
- avoid jokes, fluff words, or repetition
- be concise and to the point
There’s going to be a variety of topics that you’ll cover in your mobile workforce communication. The important thing is that you do it clearly and without wasting anyone’s time.
7. Share Success Stories
You want your employees to have each other’s backs and even look up at each other. Sharing success stories with your team members could inspire hard work and better performance.
So, if you have an employee that’s done something worth praising, make sure you do it. It could be anything :
- pitching a great idea
- optimizing a process
- contributing to a project
- wining over a new deal
Share their success story and give them a chance to shine. Ask others to join in on congratulating.
A useful writing tool such as Classy Essay can help you better write the stories and make sure they have a more powerful effect on everyone.
8. Set Clear Deadlines
Clarity is key to having a winning, effective team, that reaches its goals. Without clarity, there can be no serious results.
This is why setting clear deadlines matters for a mobile workforce.
A clear deadline will ensure the following:
- everyone knows their role
- no one can stall or slow other down
- everyone’s working towards the same goal
It’s not so much about adding pressure as it is about uniting your team members around a mutual goal. Make sure you always include a clear deadline for any task or project.
9. Watch The Time Zones
In a mobile workforce, you can have people from all over the world, working on the same project. And while some are working, others are sound asleep, due to the time zone difference.
So, what can you do to improve communication when there are multiple time zones involved?
It would be best if each employee would:
- set a time when they’re not to be disturbed (unless it’s an emergency)
- set a time when they’re 100% present and ready to work
Also, there should be some overlap time between team members, if possible. This way, at a certain moment in the day, everyone will be working together.
This company policy will make everyone happy and thankful for respecting their needs and personal life.
source: Pexels
10. Allow Easy Access to Documentation
You don’t want your team members to have to reach out every time they need to access some files or important documents.
On the contrary, you want to make those documents available to them at any moment.
Therefore, make sure that everyone can access:
- project documentation
- monthly schedules
- client information
- reports
- dashboards
This type of project management on your side will be highly valued by your teammates and employees. Make it easy for them to stay informed and you’ll leave room for more important communication and conversations.
Final Thoughts
Nurturing effective and open communication across your mobile workforce is a challenge, but with the right guidance, it’s doable. Your job is to create a work environment in which communication is highly appreciated and carried out properly.
Use the tips shared above to improve communication and give your mobile workforce the wings to fly higher and work together better.
