The Beutler Ink Guide to Working From Home: Communicating With Your Team
Welcome back to our Working From Home guide.
In part one, we covered general tips for not only living the remote work lifestyle but loving it. In part two (this part!), we’re covering our communication stack and best practices.
Communication issues are common even when teams work together in an office. But when you're dealing with a remote, distributed team, communication problems become amplified if they're not addressed quickly.
Here are the Beutler Ink secrets for streamlining communication:
Identify your primary, formal communication channels
Use others as supplements
Share a rundown with your team so they know the appropriate use cases
Here’s what our communication stack looks like:
Teamwork
Function
Teamwork is for internal and external project communication, sharing project information, deliverables, resources, meeting notes, and setting and tracking tasks.
Details
Teamwork (or any project management system) is super useful because it allows a team to keep all critical project updates and resources in a single thread. If you've tried to manage a project via Gmail, you know that conversations get split up between different recipients and updates get lost in your inbox.
Teamwork consolidates everything, making it absolutely invaluable for project management.
Teamwork messages are also sent to your email inbox, so they're easy to search for if needed.
Pro Tips
"Star" projects that you reference frequently so you can find them faster!
We use this platform for both "internal" and "client-facing" exchanges. Make sure you know where you're posting!
Formatting can get pretty wonky, especially when pasting from Google or Word docs. Apple+Shift+V or CTRL+Shift+V allows you to paste without formatting.
Use the Task feature to make sure all assignments and deadlines are clearly documented and attributed to the correct team members.
Slack
Function
Slack is for informal chats, quick updates, live discussions during client calls.
Details
Occasionally Slack discussions can become more formal (especially when you're discussing rapid response issues). In that case, make sure to crosspost a discussion summary to Teamwork. ("Per our Slack conversation earlier today…")
Slack is also useful for letting managers know when everyone is available and online. We have a where-am-i channel where people post when they've signed on for the day, take breaks, and leave for the day. Most of us keep this channel muted, but It's helpful to reference if you're trying to get a quick response from someone.
Pro Tips
Don't be afraid to put Slack on snooze if you're getting too many notifications. Just be sure to let team members know that you're "going dark" 🕶️
Sync Slack with your calendar so you can schedule meetings and set reminders.
Avoid sending action items or messages you'll want to reference again through Slack, as these are not easy to save or find later (especially if you don't have a premium account with access to archives).
Google Meet
Function
Google Meet is for internal and external video and voice calls.
Details
Some processes are accomplished faster or more productively “in person” than by email. Checking in by Google Meet allows for real-time conversation, as well as screen-sharing options for presentations and training.
Pro Tips
Make sure meeting invites always include dial-in options for employees who may be on the go or dealing with inconsistent internet connections.
If joining from your computer, it's important to note we almost NEVER go on video. Make sure to turn your camera off by clicking the "video" icon before you click the "join" button. Some of us keep a camera cover or post-it note taped over our webcams to avoid any unknowing mishaps.
Gmail
Function
Gmail is for client and operations emails
Details
We put Gmail last here, but it's clearly the most essential communication channel on this list. It's exactly because Gmail is so fundamental that it's so easy to overload your inbox (as you're well aware). That's why you need to sort different types of communications to different channels.
Reserve Gmail for client communications that aren't handled via Teamwork, including outreach and inbound.
Gmail is also perfect for direct, formal conversations with team members. If somebody has a question that can't be quickly answered via Slack, best to send it over email. Email is also the best way to document official conversations.
Pro Tips
Subject lines are everything in email. Make them helpful! Ask yourself: if the recipient loses this email and wants to find it again, what would she search for to pull it back up? Think about putting those keywords in the subject line.
Reply vs. Reply All: Always take note of who is carbon copied. Did the original sender include several people? Do you want to reply to all of them? It's a rookie move when you forget to reply all and your lone recipient has to loop everyone back in. (You can read our email etiquette blog post for more tips like this.)
This is how we manage communications, but how about you? Anything we're doing totally wrong (or at least should be doing better)? We'd love to know. Hit us up at hello@beutlerink.com or just tag us on social.
Freebie
Check out our free Zoom backgrounds for your next conference call
