Communication – from a global team handling perspective

Communication –

Communication is the lifeline of any business and when it comes to managing teams globally, it plays a vital role in the day to day functioning of projects. When you are sitting miles apart from the recipient, not just the physical distance needs to be factored, but also the cultural, geographic and demographic distance that needs to be borne in mind. It isn’t all hunky dory as it may seem where we may possibly think that Emails can be used as our single-best go-to option for all our transactions in communication. That’s a misnomer! Simply because, there are several separate conversations that need to be juggled — from the actual conference call to all the other micro-conversations happening in the instant message chat windows.

A few tips:

·         It’s important to take cognizance of the different media of communication available in an organizational setup. Here are a few often-used media:

o   Phone/VoIP Internet telephony

o   Email

o   Chat

o   Video calls

o   Join.Me

·         Now, whether or not it’s a combination of all of the above types or if it’s going to be any one at a time is dependent on the actual situation. In most cases, a chat conversation is commonly used; however the mistake made is that, it’s left down the drain and the breadcrumbs are hard to be tracked. The best practice is to always follow it up with an email that summarizes the chat discussion. Too many emails can be stressful and annoying. Again, not to underestimate the power of brevity that’s rich in chat conversations — the key is to differentiate and alternate appropriately with the available channels.

·         Phone calls/ VoIP are great and add a personal touch especially when working remotely/managing global teams. While emails and chats help, sometimes, it is nice to just pick up the phone and call. Many a time, the benefit of a phone call is ignored under the presumption that it could be time consuming. It actually works wonders instead, adding a personal tone of warmth! This is why 1:1s and catch-ups are proven techniques.

·         Video Calls are a cool way to connect and build rapport with your global counterpart. Remote managers can still have close relationships with team members, as video’s real-time face-to-face interactions are richer than any alternative to in-person phone calls, when done in the right measure.

·         Join.Me is great for conducting training sessions or sharing any subject that involves screensharing. The idea is to understand the benefits of using this tool and applying it. It’s so much easier when we talk over the phone and screenshare to explain processes. With the ability of sharing screens of both parties, and allowing mouse control, join.me is a simple solution to an otherwise complex-looking project.  

I hope this article was useful. If you have any additional comments or suggestions, please leave a comment!