10 Communication Tips Remote Workers Need to Know

10 Communication Tips Remote Workers Need to Know Over 4 million employees now work from home at least half the time, according to Global Workplace Analytics, which also reports that 40 percent mora employers offer work-at-home options than just five years ago.From a productivity standpoint, those companies appear to be on to something a FlexJobs surveyshows that 65 percent of workers feel that they would be more productive working at home than at the office. Among the reasons for this befhigung boost for remote workers fewer distractions, less stress from commuting and less impact from office politics.But that doesnt mean that there are no pitfalls for those who work from home. To be successful, remote workers need support from their organizations. Ideally, this would include technology, training and policies that facilitate working from home. Its also important for managers and teammates to be on board with telecommuting and to see its benefits. No matter how diligent the remote wo rker, they wont be able to succeed if their team isnt willing to support them.But what if youre not a decision-maker yet? There are still things you can do to make your work-from-home job a success. The fruchtwein important area of focus communication. Working remotely can make it harder to connect with your colleagues, especially if you or they are new to the situation. To make aya everyones on the saatkorn page, be aya to1. Get expectations.Before you trade your pants for PJs and your commute for a quick stumble to your home office, you need to talk with your manager about expectations.Dont assume that you know what a normal workday will look like, now that youre working at home. Ask what theyll need from you and get specifics. When should you be angeschlossen (logging on and off)? How will you communicate with each other (messaging, emaille, video, phone)? What are your deliverables and how will working at how change the way in which you deliver them? Get as many specifics as you can.2. Keep a set schedule.Even if your employer is more interested in results than schedules, its a good idea to be consistent about yours. It may also help you to be more productive work is a habit, like anything else. Starting work at the same time every day may make it easier to get into the zone.But regardless of whether consistency helps you, it will be a big help to your colleagues. Theyll know when youre available and be more likely to reach out at the appropriate time. That will also help you to develop better work-life balance, as youll be less likely to get messages after-hours.3. Perfect your tech startup.Technical difficulties are the bane of remote workers days. Sometimes, theyre unavoidable your cable goes out, taking your internet with it, or a recent update doesnt install correctly and you have to spend part of your workday troubleshooting. But to the extent that youre able, its a good idea to iron out difficulties before you get started working from home.Talk to tech support while youre in the planning phase. Ask about any restrictions on the tools or programs you need to do your job, and about procedures for getting support when youre remote. If youre using your own devices to do some of your remote work, check to make sure that theyre supported.4. Commit to one-on-ones.Many managers schedule regular one-on-ones with their direct reports. Usually, the goal of these meetings is to check in about ongoing projects and make sure that things are heading in the right direction. Your manager may also use these chats as a chance to talk about your professional goals at the company, as a sort of mini-evaluation and coaching session.When youre working from home on a regular basis, these meetings are even more important than usual. Depending on your bosss schedule, they may represent the only time you get to talk to each other for days at a time. So, make sure you use these meetings to your advantage. Come prepared with a list of recent wins, ques tions about current and future projects and ideas for further discussion.5. Pay attention to individual preferences.Everyones different when it comes to communicating at work. Some people prefer to talk in person, which might mean video conferencing when one or both are remote. Others love Slack or other messaging applications. Some still prefer to email or even talk on the phone. And, some will use a combination of these methods to stay in touch.The method isnt important. Your goal is to figure out what works best for your boss and the other members of your team. As usual, the simplest way to do that is just to ask. Doing so will save you a lot of struggle later on.6. Be honest.As long as companies have used messaging applications to communicate with off-site employees, remote workers have used these same apps to pretend to be working when they were goofing off. Fifteen years ago, workers might log on to AOL Instant Messenger hours before they were really working, to look like they got an early start. Today, workers might lowercase their Slack messages, to appear like theyre on the web version instead of checking in on their phones. (The mobile version defaults to caps after periods. Sneaky, right?)Dont do these things. Youll almost certainly get caught and wind up explaining why it took you 40 minutes to answer a simple question. And anyway, the illusion of productivity doesnt make your to-do list go away.7. Be concise.Working from home means learning how to write clearly and effectively. Why? Because most of your communication will happen via writing.The most important thing is to be concise, so that youre not making your coworkers wade through a sea of words to get to your point.In all forms of communication, most of which will be some kind of written communication, strive for conciseness and clarity, writes Larry Alton at Inc. The more concise you are, the better youll be able to hold each others attention, and the less time youll waste with fluff. The cl earer you are, the less room youll leave for misinterpretations, assumptions, and other disastrous missteps.8. Do your job.This is possibly the most important communication tip for remote workers or any kind of workers do what you say youre going to do. Be reliable. Make sure that your colleagues know that they can count on you, no matter where youre working.Its especially important to be dependable when youve been granted a privilege. So, if youre one of the few telecommuters, make sure you dont give anyone cause to regret giving you the option.Looking for a new job? Find out how much you could be earning. Take the PayScale Salary Survey and get a free salary report in minutes.9. Dont forget the water cooler chitchat. This might sound like a contradiction of the last point, but its also important to make time to connect with your coworkers.Idle chat isnt always a distraction. Time spent talking with your teammates about your dogs or your upcoming vacations isnt time wasted. Its an investment in team building. You might find out that you have more in common with your coworkers than you realized, and those points of connection might help you to function more effectively as a team.While you must handle business issues, you also need to build a rapport and connection with coworkers if you want to improve your communication, writes Greg Kratz at FlexJobs. If you dont already have one, ask your boss to set up an online chat channel that your team can use for both task-related and casual conversation. The more you get to know each other, the easier it will be to work together.Of course, there are limits on socializing even when you work from home. Just as you wouldnt interrupt an in-person meeting to talk about non-work-related stuff, you shouldnt derail a group thread for the same. And obviously, you always want to be careful about how much personal information you share. Its no ones business whats going on with your personal finances or relationships, so dont feel the need to engage in TMI.10. Set a good example.Whether you work at home or in the office, work-life balance is a struggle for many professionals these days. When you can be online anytime, anywhere after dinner, on the weekends, from the beach or the sidelines of your kids soccer game its hard to unplug. But you have to practice doing so, for your teams sake as well as your own.Why? Because youll be more productive when youre not trying to be on 24/7. From a communication standpoint, this means being up front about when youre online and when youre away and respecting your coworkers time off, as well. Honor their away messages and avoid contacting them with non-emergencies. Youll encourage them to extend you the same courtesy and make it easier for everyone to get the job done. Jen Hubley Luckwaldt--This story originally appeared on PayScale.