Remote Work Communication Tips

Since AwardSpring makes it possible to manage scholarships and review applications from anywhere, many users decide to restructure their workflow to include remote work. Whether that means distributing responsibilities across several campuses, working with remote reviewers, or working from home occasionally yourself, there are a few important adjustments that should be made to include all team members, regardless of work location. Here at AwardSpring, we support a remote work environment for many of our staff, so we have some tried-and-true methods for maintaining clear communication without face-to-face contact. Read on for our advice, and enjoy the freedom that remote work offers you and your staff!

- Define responsibilities. The key to successful remote collaborations is to assign each team member clear responsibilities. In AwardSpring, grouping remote departments together under department administrators can help you manage this process better. Since department administrators are limited to managing only those scholarships in their department, it’s one way to define duties.

- Make expectations clear.  Once your team has divvied up tasks, you can create guidelines around timing, task milestones, measurable results, and anything else that’s important to your team. Make sure that everyone understands how and when they’ll know when it’s their turn to take action. Will there be someone responsible for tracking project progress, or are you using a project management tool? Creating a clear process will help everyone play his or her role at the right time.

- Choose a primary communication method. While your team may use a variety of formal and informal communication tools, such as instant messaging, email, phone calls, video chats, and texts, selecting one as your primary vehicle for important project-related messages will help ensure that no messages are missed. A project management tool like Basecamp is ideal for managing project-related communications.

- Communicate regularly. Structured meetings - daily and weekly - can help identify problems early, provide opportunities for collaboration or advice, and keep team members informed about progress. But don’t forget about impromptu check-ins; since you won’t bump into remote workers in the hallways, it’s important to make an effort to connect with coworkers occasionally to build and maintain a friendly relationship.