How to Strengthen Internal Communication for Remote Teams
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Internal communication is not something a company should neglect. It allows every employee to speak up and share information. Thanks to this, they understand that their opinion counts, and get more involved in the life of the company.
With the rise of remote work, internal communication is strongly affected, because employees meet in person far less often and have fewer opportunities to talk to one another. Companies therefore need to support their teams so that they keep communicating with each other, if not more than before.
So, which best practices can help you improve your internal communication when working remotely? Here is everything you need to know!
Why Rethink Internal Communication for Remote Work?
Simply because the conditions have changed. Before Covid, teams could meet during working hours through meetings, and also on their breaks, over a coffee, for example.
With remote work, all these exchanges are hard to keep up. Internal communication has to take a new factor into account: distance. Communication can no longer happen the same way. Managers too must adapt their management approach, and find new ways to build connections remotely.
How Can You Stay Connected with Your Employees?
Despite the distance, HR and managers must make sure that employees keep in mind the values and the company culture. Team cohesion must also be maintained, in order to prevent a sense of isolation from setting in.
Several initiatives can help maintain connections within remote teams. So here are 4 essential tips for ensuring good internal communication when working remotely:
1. Bring Back Social Moments
Virtual coffee breaks and after-work drinks have become essential in remote work. These relaxed moments allow employees to catch up regularly with their colleagues and talk about more informal topics. All without having to come into the office. To do this, all you need is a video conferencing tool, or a collaboration platform.
2. Organise Events Outside the Company
Team building events (after-work drinks, seminars, and so on) are often very popular with employees. They help people get to know each other better and talk at greater length about their personal lives. What is more, having a drink with colleagues gives everyone a chance to unwind after a long day of remote work. So do not hesitate to organise this type of event regularly to keep teams connected.
3. Share Information with All Employees
All employees need to know what is going on in order to feel part of the company, even when working from home. This can take the form of weekly newsletters sent by email to every employee, or of announcements published on your enterprise social network.
Video is also a good way to capture your teams’ attention and preserve the human side of things. There are now video solutions such as Kannelle that make it possible to produce videos simply and quickly, using a smartphone. Ready-made scenarios, along with filming guidance and automatic editing, make it possible to create videos in 15 minutes. For example, the scenario called “key takeaway” can be used to get messages across to employees.
4. Give Everyone a Voice
Of course, internal communication is not just about pushing information down to employees. They also need to be included in discussions, and to be able to speak freely about the topics that concern them.
Setting up a collaboration platform such as Talkspirit is a good way to make remote exchanges easier, and to give employees a voice. Everyone can then share their view on the information posted by leaving a comment, publishing a message in a dedicated group, or answering a poll.
Want to find out more about the internal communication features offered by Talkspirit? Book your demo of the platform with an expert!
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Whether working remotely or on site, one of the main goals of internal communication is to keep teams united and motivated. This challenge is all the greater at a distance, because employees tend to switch off more easily. And that disengagement can seriously affect a company’s performance.
So do not forget: make sure that all employees receive your communications, and that they can express themselves freely on a dedicated platform.
Would you like to know more about the internal communication best practices to put in place for remote work? Find out in this practical guide how 10 of our customers are energising their internal communication:
Access the Practical Guide
In our practical guide “10 initiatives from our customers to improve internal communication”, you will discover: 10 examples of companies using Talkspirit to improve their internal communication, along with tips and tricks for sharing information better and strengthening cohesion within your company.
