Welcome to February. The month we talk about relationships, communication, and love. All things that have gotten so much harder, being in a pandemic.
A year ago we could stop by a coworker‘s desk and ask a quick question, or invite someone to a nice lunch to get to know them better. Now all we are left with is zoom meetings. All day, every day. How do we function with that?
With everything moving to the virtual arena, all of the ways that we usually get our communication across have been tied down. It’s like being in a straight jacket and trying to communicate with your hands.
Since we are stuck here for a bit longer I wanted to give you some tools on how to communicate more effectively without being in person.
Trust is a key element in our communication. trust has been hindered by our virtual state. Below is a fantastic article that takes in research from HBR and Delloitte to really help you with establishing trust in a virtual world. It talks about getting to know your coworkers, setting clear expectations and focusing on the results not the time spent.
Most research also points to the benefits of scheduling consistent communication so knowing when someone will be answering. On my team we have an agreement that we will answer any email within 48 hours. We also have times set up that are consistent weekly and monthly to discuss and celebrate issues and wins.
I have been encouraging my clients to get creative with their modes of communicating. I ask them to think about what it is that they gain from stopping by somebody’s desk or having lunch with them. Then they can come up with a way to get that virtually. Even if it’s weird to have an in-person meeting, where you sit on three corners of the room and yell at each other across the floor. For a team that has never met each other in-person that can be a game changer. I have a manager who had the fixings for a drink and fun snacks delivered to their teams houses and then they had a team game night online. It was a big hit. Think outside the box and get creative.
Communication can come across much more clearly when we look inside ourselves and deal with any of the personal beliefs we have that may cloud our communication and keep it from being understood.
How’s your communication? Reach out and schedule 15 minutes with Brenda to get quick tips and improve your communication on the spot.
https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/4-tips-for-building-trust-in-a-virtual-workplace/