11 ways to improve team communication

Over Communicate Rather Than Under Communicate

Communication is the biggest challenge teams face, especially if you have remote employees onboard. When your team members are in some other location, it's impossible to over-communicate.
So, invest in communication apps and let your team communicate via chat, video, and audio. Also allow the team members to upload, edit, and share files so your team can be well connected, complete projects seamlessly, and communicate efficiently.

Set Clear Agendas for Meetings

Thanks to technology, you can touch base with team members at a moment's notice. However, holding meetings is still one of the best ways to communicate complex tasks or lengthy issues. To ensure you stay on topic and don't waste anyone's time, you need to have clear outlines for your meetings.
Meeting agendas ensure that the time you have with your team is used effectively so that no points are missed. Without a clear agenda, you're very likely to steer off topic and miss out important information.
A brief outline of your agenda should look like this:

• Who will be taking the meeting?
• What topics will be discussed?
• What is the goal/purpose of the meeting?
• How much time will it take?
• Are there any materials that need to be distributed?
• How can team members and speakers prepare for the meeting?

Have Regular Status Updates

Checking on your team and their work frequently is always a good idea. Host daily stand-ups or a check-in call where teams can discuss any roadblocks they might be facing before they become massive issues.
Holding consistent communication this way always helps unveil and prevent bottlenecks and workflow issues. It also ensures everyone is on the same page for the tasks at hand.
You can ask each member of your team what they accomplished, what they're going to start next, and if there are any challenges they're facing.

One-on-One Weekly Calls

Meeting the whole team is important but so is having individual meetings with the team members. Make it a habit to schedule weekly, biweekly, or monthly talks with your employees. These can be audio or video calls.
In these calls, you can talk with the employees about their issues, suggestions, workload, and thoughts. Take their feedback and implement it if it's practical.
These calls are a perfect opportunity to know your employee, their ambitions, ideas, and strengths. This can help you foster a relationship with them and let the employee know that they're an important part of the organization.

Schedule Video Calls

Most people like to shut their cameras off and have audio calls. However, being able to see one another on calls is key in managing remote teams. So, conduct your one-to-one calls, team meetings, and other business-related meetings via video conferencing.

Identify Company Goals

A company's goals and objectives need to be clearly defined for the employees. This way, everyone on the team will work toward the same goals and objectives.

Encourage a Two-Way Communication

Communication shouldn't just be where you speak and your employees listen. You need to make it a two-way street where employees can talk to you about potential issues, ideas, or other strategies.

Stay Interviews

Provide Virtual Trainings

Trainings aren't easy to conduct. They take time and effort. However, they're worth the investment. Providing your team with an opportunity to learn ensures that they'll keep up with growing trends and improve their skills virtually.

Try to incorporate virtual training that focuses on communication. This will help teams collaborate better and improve their ability to communicate effectively, build public speaking skills, foster relationships, and more.

You can also hold remote cross-departmental training either where employees get to learn about other roles in the company. This lets them get a deeper insight into the business and see how it works.

For example, having your marketing department talk to the development side will help the marketing team get a better understanding of how software features are created and integrated. This way they can sell the product better.

A Virtual Suggestion Box

Suggestion boxes are great. You can have one at your company and let people stay anonymous. This way they can give you positive feedback without feeling conscious.
Have an anonymous suggestion box where your employees can fill in suggestions and submit their responses.

Celebrate Birthdays, Team Wins, and Milestones

Celebrate with remote teams by announcing the event through email or the next video call that you have with your team. You can hold a virtual birthday hour, send a virtual gift card, or a small gift to them to make their day extra special.

Have a Corporate Newsletter

Sending out a virtual company newsletter keeps everyone updated and connected no matter where they are. Make the newsletter interesting by including different segments where you can feature employees, list down their hobbies, and anything fun they've done, and encourage participation.