Companies of all sizes are embracing remote and hybrid work, and one of their biggest challenges is async communication.
What is Async communication?
Asynchronous communication is any dialogue that doesn’t take place face-to-face or screen-to-screen, meaning any type of communication that does not happen in real-time. A few examples of async communication are:
Sending a Slack message instead of a phone call
Emailing instead of a face-to-face meeting
Sharing a video recording instead of attending a virtual meeting
Commenting in Notion or another collaborative tool instead of spontaneous chats in hallways One of the biggest benefits of asynchronous communication is sharing information with your team while offering flexibility on when they can respond. In addition, team members can use this time to evaluate information further and discuss ideas with other team members collaboratively. Though asynchronous communication is a quick and easy way to reach your team, employees may not always understand the processes and tools necessary to do so correctly. Below are my 5 top tips to ensure your team implements asynchronous communication effectively.
Introduce the right tools
Establishing communication guidelines and standards in your company is an excellent place to start. For example, a dedicated app for async communication, such as Notion, allows your team to create announcements and share ideas, feedback, and decisions. At Optemization, we use a dedicated Notion database that everyone has access to called "Threads.
HiveMind threads database
Create templates for different types of async communications
Creating a set of step-by-step instructions (templates in Notion) helps your team carry out repetitive operations. Typically templates aim to achieve efficiency, quality output, and uniformity of performance while reducing miscommunication.
HiveMind announcement template inside the threads database
Create a Knowledge Base
Create a centralized repository for important business documents. When your team has readily available information about their jobs, it eliminates unnecessary emails or synchronous conversations and facilitates faster, more efficient workflows. Creating a knowledge base isn't a one-time pursuit. Documents should be continuously added and iterated. This ritual should become the norm for your team's internal communication processes. With practice, your team will be able to share information and collaborate more seamlessly, as well as document their knowledge in a way that enables both current and future team members to access it
HiveMind docs database showcasing company different type of company documents
Cut down on meetings
Asynchronous work frees you up from back-to-back meetings, giving you more time for deep work and increasing your productivity. Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself if it's essential. If a quick 5-minute conversation will suffice, avoid the meeting and opt for a chat instead. Of course, there are still plenty of valid reasons to schedule a purposeful, face-to-face meeting — for example, a brainstorming session or a meeting with a manager to discuss performance or goals.
Encourage feedback
As your team members begin to use new communication tools at your company, make sure to take the opportunity to not only provide support in learning how to use them, but also encourage feedback on how the new and existing tools affect their overall work lives.
Final thoughts
Async communication can make or break a business. To remain competitive, companies need to shift from dependent employees to independent, productive, and collaborative teams. Using tools like Notion and products like MindHive will help improve your team's productivity and promote alignment across the organization.
