Remote Communication as Employee Development

You heard about it when you were in the office and even more now that we’re working remotely: communication.

A big reason for such scrutiny is that the most intuitive form of communication – real-time, in-person conversations — was wrenched away from us in March. Nearly a year in, it’s clear that the many-headed hydra of email, text, instant messaging, document-sharing, and even phone calls doesn’t quite replace the ease, comfort, and depth of in-person communication. Grappling with the (likely lasting) effects of a communication disruption has introduced dissonance to the WFH rhythm.

A particular developmental challenge for junior to mid-level professionals, the move to asynchronous communication impacts how projects are sourced, how tasks are delegated and training is delivered, and how institutional culture shapes the employee experience.

An important first step to overcoming the communication challenge is acknowledging that a major piece of PD and training flows from the apprenticeship approach. The direct communication from a senior colleague — the explanation of best practices, demonstration of key tactics, sharpening of instincts through watching their reactions — has no scalable replacement in a virtual environment.

How can team members and organizations adapt? Start by asking questions that build awareness and enhance team engagement. Then (surprise, surprise) clear communication can help align expectations.

Think of when a team leader pops into an office to see if the junior employee has time to help on a new project . . . or when a last-minute client meeting that the junior employee sits in on begets follow-on work . . . or when making small talk with the rainmaker partner during an impromptu elevator chat leads to an invitation to staff her matter. Not only are we currently lacking in those natural interactions, but senior team members’ schedules may be more chaotic than ever juggling home and work demands while adjusting to the virtual environment. As a result, senior employees may continue to feed work to those they have worked with before; this could have a particularly negative effect for junior and/or underrepresented team members.

Junior employees

• What were your pre-pandemic strategies for sourcing new work?
• How have those been impacted by the virtual environment?
• What opportunities exist for synchronous communication?

Senior employees

• What criteria would help you meet the goals of including junior and underrepresented team members and creating PD opportunities?
• How are you leveraging any L&D professionals?

Organizations

• What steps need to be taken to ensure that work is being distributed equitably?

Once a project is underway, even the most sophisticated workflow systems haven’t replaced the knock on the office door or coffee run as a means to check in on the status of a project and provide guidance. Management by proximity is the default on a lot of teams. Proximity, as we all know, is in short supply. Where in-office communication would have allowed the junior person an opportunity to stretch their skills and receive input in a more organic way, the choppiness of asynchronous communication may prevent delegation and feedback. This weakening of training potentially results in developmental stagnation for junior team members.

Junior employees

• What are your senior team members’ communication preferences (mode, availability, frequency)?
• What do you need to feel comfortable reaching out to senior employees with questions?
• What can you reasonably do to limit barriers to real-time communication?

Managers

• What steps have you taken to clarify for your team any expectations around communication?
• What support do you need in delegating?

Organizations

• What are the expectations of communication within teams?
• What development efforts could encourage more apprenticeship interactions?

Relationships engender a sense of shared struggle and success; form trust and reliability, leading to promotion and championing; and form the base of an organization’s culture, what so many employees point to in saying why they enjoy working at an organization.  Important to a feeling of embeddedness in the organization and to the development of competencies, relationships are vital aspects of engagement and retention.

Attenuated communication also impacts how these more junior team members develop a sense of group identity and professional norms (co-workers can glance at each other across a room in a client meeting, you read the body language of a co-worker during the announcement of a long-sought after management initiative, hallway chatter passes along helpful tidbits and can soften difficult or sensitive news). The tiny squares we show up in on videoconference don’t convey the nuance junior team members need.

Junior employees

• Which interpersonal ties could use reinforcement?
• How might you informally engage with both junior and senior employees?

Managers

• What efforts are being made to keep relationships strong across the digital divide?
• In what ways could you be more intentional with your outreach to junior team members?

Organizations

• How are you monitoring morale and engagement?
• In what ways can you facilitate opportunities for social interaction among employees?
• What are the professional norms that junior employees should learn?

Even as vaccines roll out, we are likely staring down a hybrid world.  How organizations adapt communication practices and mindfulness could have a substantial impact on retention, hiring, culture, and the bottom line.

You can find more about how candid communication builds trust with Avenue 8 On Demand’s Speech Acts course.  To work with an executive coach on Communication, communicate with us at .