The Best Way To Communicate With Remote Employees Through VoIP
When it comes down to it, the best way to communicate with remote employees through VoIP (Voice Over Internet Prototcol) is straightforward. Because the world of remote employees has been a relatively new but cost effective phenomenon, initially the challenge was to find these employees. It wasn’t necessarily easy to find people who could be reliable, dependable, and capable without ever conducting face to face interviews and bringing them on board the old fashioned way. Yet, the new challenge of the era is to figure out how to increase their ability to produce through VoIP.
When you have an employee right in front of you there are many signals and cues they give off that tells you whether the message you’re sending has been received and computed. When you see the expression on their face and it resembles nothing of understanding or comprehension you know that a new approach might be essential. Yet try figuring out whether a remote employee understands your requests through an email and you’ll be driving yourself mad. You won’t know until after the project is complete and you have been able to review it.
When communications fail you either have to return to the remote employee and re-explain, condense the allotted time frame, or find someone else who can do the job better and fast. When you have successful communication you can see the end result at the completion of the project, and often throughout the project at periodic check points.
Communicating better with remote employees through VoIP is a good step toward helping everyone get on the same page before huge mistakes are made. The simplest communications are the ones that are best understood. It’s difficult to misinterpret short, clear sentences. “Close the door,” means close the door and there isn’t any other way to interpret it. Yet, “It would be my preference if the work you are doing is completed without any further interruptions from outside,” offers plenty of room for misunderstanding. Just ask any teenager to close the door with a long winded sentence for proof.
All of your employee communications should be clear, concise, and in simple language. Writing down your own instructions can be helpful so that you can follow your own list. If you believe you mentioned an important statement but forgot to you have a hard time trying to get that important statement in after the fact. Remote employees are a unique breed and they are often well aware of when the information was not communicated in the first place.
Encourage questions. Encourage remote employees to ask the questions they need to ask, discuss problems with the projects, and offer valuable input. Do not simply mandate that your employees listen like obedient children and turn in lovely pictures with all of the crayon marks within the lines. Allow for discussion to help develop both workability and communication.
Maintaining quality communications with remote employees is an essential part of developing a strong core of individuals who will help your business grow in the most cost effective manner. The best way to communicate with remote employees through VoIP is to maintain a higher level of communication skills by simplifying the communication process. Keep is simple and to the point and keep the door to your virtual office open.
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