Effective Ways To Improve Asynchronous Work And Communications
The recent world events have highlighted how technology continuously innovates our world. Businesses have temporarily moved their employees to a work from home setup. Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is proving to be successful in fighting the virus, there’s a pending question on whether people should go back to offices or continue working their jobs remotely. While some businesses might want to resume back to a more traditional setup, one survey showed that 58% of the respondents prefer a work-from-home setup post-pandemic, while 39% want a hybrid work environment. A majority of employees also prefer alternatives to staying in the office, such as looking for a new job, taking a 10% salary cut, or giving up vacation days, click here for more information about remote work statistics this 2022.
Moreover, companies have also started exploring other options when it comes to hiring talents. Managers can hire people from other countries as long as they have the right tech and an internet connection. The only problem with this setup is that some people who need to collaborate are in different time zones, and accomplishing tasks can be a challenge. Despite that, there is still a huge inclination towards a more modern WFH or remote work setup. Businesses are starting to figure out ways to adapt and improve working remotely, and that includes improving workflow while working asynchronously.
Set Alignment Meetings
Although people can choose what time they want to work, setting a weekly alignment meeting can help things run smoothly. Set a date and time when everyone should hop into a virtual meeting where people can discuss their own progress in the pending projects. Team productivity can be lost when real-time communication is required for communications that could be done in an asynchronous manner. Individual and team productivity can be slowed down by schedule conflicts, scheduling extra meetings, and having an unintentional blend of sync and asynchronous communication. Setting standards for how different types of information should be communicated helps team members set their own expectations for their workday.
Use the Right Tools
The advancement in technology made remote work possible, and through it, asynchronous work can also be made easier. There are a lot of tools, ranging from free to premium, that your team can use in order to keep each other updated with everyone’s individual work. When using project management apps, each team member can see what others are working on or if there’s a pending task assigned to them. Even companies that are not working remotely use project management apps. But this is more essential when it comes to teams working remotely. A team leader can check on the tasks that are currently pending and adjust the schedule when necessary. It’s up to the company which project management app is best suited for their style of work.
The most popular project management app is Trello, known for its simplicity and ease of use. It’s generally best for small teams who want to keep track of asynchronous work. There’s also Asana that is more geared towards teams who want to personalize their workflow better. Alternatively, you can create a custom project management app via Notion. It’s more powerful than those previously mentioned, but a bit more complicated to set up.
Keep Track of Work Hours
Keeping track of attendance and work hours for asynchronous work can be a challenge for human resource managers. That’s why it’s important that everyone in the team should keep track of their respective work hours. Since there is no set time in and time out of work, everyone should keep a timesheet. Having a timesheet can also be necessary if a company hires workers outside the company. Freelancers usually work asynchronously and thus, must send invoices to their employers or team heads regarding their work hours. When it comes to invoicing, it’s best to get a free invoice template Google Docs provides instead of using the integrated invoicing functions of most time trackers. Since those mostly require premium access, it’s not a sustainable choice for smaller companies.
Be Clear on Urgent Tasks
Since people are more likely to be working at different hours, employees might sometimes receive messages when they’re supposed to be asleep. If it’s outside their work hours, the best thing to do is to put that email off until it’s time for work. However, sometimes, there are urgent matters that need an immediate response.
If this is the case, there should be an agreement among team members about how to send an urgent message. For example, someone rarely checks their email but you can always find them on Messenger. It would be best to send non-urgent messages through email but when something important comes up, they should be contacted on Messenger.
Set and Define Your Goals
Even if everyone is working at different hours, your team should still be united with one goal. This goal should be defined at the start of the project, and all the subsequent decisions should adhere to this goal. Team leaders, specifically, should set milestones to ensure that the deadlines will be met on or before due, and there should be no delays. Having a clearly defined goal can instantly help boost productivity within the team.
Working asynchronously might be the new norm in the future. But companies are still trying to adjust to this new innovation of the workplace. It’s best to have complete tools, from project management apps to free software that can help you manage projects much better.
