Since the launch of Hark, as a team, we’ve found we’re not always in the same place at the same time and projects such as one we’re working on currently are seeing myself and our CTO being out of HQ around 60% of the time, both at home and in other offices.
We’ve learned that ensuring constant and open communication with the team necessitates a proactive approach.
We find it much easier and much more satisfying being with the whole team as face-to-face discussions allow for quicker and more clearer progression as a unit but we’re not always able to facilitate that so video calls are a massive part of our everyday life.
In order to make video meetings work effectively, we’ve drafted in the help of communications tools such as Microsoft Teams. The team call function has various elements such as screen sharing and text comms that keep us productive.
When communicating using text based chat, it’s been really important for us to adjust the way our ideas come through. It’s easy, when speaking, to convey an opinion but text is much harder to ensure the tone of voice is not misconstrued. With the constant use of IM tools, we’ve developed a code of conduct, one that has been purposefully discussed in and out of the office to establish an etiquette.
As with all things, when remote working hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away, timezone and schedule differences can impact how much we speak to the team. A consistent routine can be hard to find and we’re still working on how best to paradigm shift so we all feel comfortable.
Considering the above, one of the solutions we’ve tried and are coming to lean upon is collaborative brain storming using a shared digital whiteboard, that we can all draw on at the same time, so we’re really pleased with this.
Building your processes is hard work but it’s time well spent if you’re not always in close proximity to your team. Take the opportunity when you are together to grow and galvanise internal processes for both client and HR tasks.
