# data[].attributes.body
Brief Description

Due to handover of portfolio to a new stakeholder, there was no proper understanding of the tasks / follow-up needed

No proper briefing and knowledge in the subject matter

Causes

Misunderstanding of job scope

Allocation of job role

Misalignment of accountability

Not being briefed properly about the tasks at the initial kick off meeting

How it could have been resolved

Mindset of managers needs to be aligned

Clearly define of job scope/role

# data[].attributes.body
Brief Des: Conflict btw business PM with the project team as the implementation was delayed and system bug-ful

Causes: Unrealistic project scope, timeline and application not being able to meet expectation (promised by vendor sales)

How: Re-define project scope, timeline. Strengthen the implementation process

# data[].attributes.body
Problem?
Shift of some responsibilities from A to B due to medical issue. A displayed unhappiness in behaviour - cold shoulder to team
eg. A left team's group chat

Cause?
Job insecurities, Competitiveness from A

How to resolve?
A can share thoughts on his own behaviour and suggest how/what can be done (eg. take back responsibility, advise as consultant)
Manager to have chat with A.

# data[].attributes.body
Staff A and B, both from different departments, went for an overseas project trip. Some objectives were not met due to certain shortfalls of Staff B. Instead of resolving the issue together, Staff A provided feedback about Staff B directly to the top management. Days later, Staff B received feedback by his immediate reporting manager on this issue.

Causes:
Lack of communication between staff A and B

How it could have been resolved:
Reporting managers should be more involved in the process and step in before the issue escalated.

# data[].attributes.body
* Conflict between EX and TA teams. The interdepencies between teams for hiring and onboarding of new team members.  Tension resulted due to lack of info-sharing.

Causes:  Due to high workload of 2 relatively new team members, communication fell through the crack.

How it could have been resolved:
1. Set up of weekly catch-up for alignment between 2 teams
2. Speak to own team to help them understand the other team's challenges and how to work better given the limitations.

# data[].attributes.body
Engagement

# data[].attributes.body
Inspiring, to do better

# data[].attributes.body
"Working with people not just numbers" / Team Agreement

# data[].attributes.body
Communication and Trust

# data[].attributes.body
TEAM
Expectations
Communications

# data[].attributes.body
Clarity

# data[].attributes.body
adaptable

# data[].attributes.body
Learning everyday

# data[].attributes.body
Getting to each other

# data[].attributes.body
Agreement

# data[].attributes.body
Commuication

# data[].attributes.body
Enlightened :)

# data[].attributes.body
T.E.A.M

# data[].attributes.body
1. We have weekly meeting within small working group and bi-weely meeting with the dept.
There are Job description set for the assigned tasks and memebers. Members will go through their responsible duties and brief the team the progress.

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1. visible work in my team context is paid media campaigns executed in markets. in the process of media planning and execution, any effort to challenge status quo and improve quality or efficiency standards is also recognised.

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2. Management can align among ourselves and promote collaboration among teams (build positive working relationship, support one another), be role model and cascade/ influence our team on the importance of having common goals/ visions. + provide guidance to team along the way.

# data[].attributes.body
Qn 1 What will “visible work” be like in your team context?

Usage of JIRA -> able to track tasks (epic & child problem) & status

Able to know the timeline and progress of the completion status of the tasks to be done for the project

# data[].attributes.body
1. Use data and dashboards to monitor and track work done - for less visible operational BAUs
2. Overarching vision can be reiterated in every team meeting, and guide decision-making.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Visible work mean where there are updates/ progress, achievement and results. Constant pulse check session to keep understanding and target align.

# data[].attributes.body
#3
Improve time management, prioritise tasks and split work into smaller tasks to have incremental result.

# data[].attributes.body
3. Look at partnering with the team through understanding needs and removing friction and helping them thrive instead of focusing on managing performance. Performance is an output of the team's contribution.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Updating on the progress or status during the meeting or via the MS Teams. Keeping the team in the loop of things.

# data[].attributes.body
2. How can leaders set and align expectations to organizational goals?
>>Get involvement and buy-in from the top (and also bottom-up with the working team) at the start where objectives and approaches are aligned, and subsequently, by keeping them abreast as the project unfolds and develops.

# data[].attributes.body
1.What will “visible work” be like in your team context?

- When internal and external stakeholders benefit from system enhancements, in terms of the convenience from automated / shortened work processes (Stakeholders are very vocal about it)
- Increase in volume / quality of work delivered (Eg. expedited bookings creation etc)

# data[].attributes.body
- On a weekly basis, set up fixed meeting schedule where the team comes together to track and monitor activities and projects
- Brief minutes can also allow project to be monitored regularly and action items to be followed up in an agreed lead time

# data[].attributes.body
1. Providing updates on Weekly Update meetings and also update on Jira

# data[].attributes.body
1. Visible work will mean an update of project status on tasks that they are accountable for and execution of ideas and plans.

# data[].attributes.body
1.What will “visible work” be like in your team context?
> Weekly team meeting to share and update on our own to-do items using JIRA

# data[].attributes.body
1. Once we have established tasks to different team members and timeline, they will update their completed work in Drop Box e.g. updating of ppt training slides, etc.

# data[].attributes.body
3. Setting work scope and timeline. Focus is on good work delivery and on target.

# data[].attributes.body
Q1: Revenue/ segments/ PLF

# data[].attributes.body
1. Frequent updates (keep the team informed). (Example; Project updates/status)

# data[].attributes.body
1a Unlearn - Moving away from using physical presence as an indicator of being present at work. Focus on outputs.

1b Learn - Effective communication & Adjust KPIs to more accurately measure productivity

1c Pick-up - Respectful of each other's time in terms of availability to discuss work related activities.

# data[].attributes.headline
Grp 1 - Loss of facetime (tracking performance)

# data[].attributes.subject
Grp 1 - Loss of facetime (tracking performance)

# data[].attributes.body
1) Things to re-learn:
- IT tools for hybrid co-working, e.g. Teams, Zoom,

- trust that laggy response to work chat means that they are busy and occupied at work

- outcome driven assessment of performance instead of interaction volume

2) Things to unlearn:
- needing face to face interactions to get project status updates,

- mindset that needs to see physical presence,

3) Things to pick up:
- project mgmt tools to help real-time update of project status

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Group 4 - Loss of Office Pantry (Team Bonding) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Group 4 - Loss of Office Pantry (Team Bonding) 

# data[].attributes.body
1. Things to Relearn

Team bonding activities (eg. employees monthly catch up session) to comply with current regulatory requirements. Move toward virtual session instead of F2F.

2. Things to Unlearn

Concise Meeting Agenda (keeping to 1hr) --> informal sharing of work updates

3. Things to pick up

Intentionally arrangement and set aside time despite work requirements

# data[].attributes.headline
Grp5 - Loss of office pantry-Team bonding

# data[].attributes.subject
Grp5 - Loss of office pantry-Team bonding

# data[].attributes.body
1.Unlearnt- no physical bonding place, must find online alternative or any outside cafe; no lunches in groups;
2.Relearnt- redefining concept of team bonding to better define relationship; building friendship; organise gathering to bond
3.Pickup- celebrate little success to share each other on; proactively contact each other

# data[].attributes.headline
Group 2 - Loss of spontaneous communication

# data[].attributes.subject
Group 2 - Loss of spontaneous communication

# data[].attributes.body
1 Things to unlearn:
Not to work in silo - not not-communicate
Not to be complacent and take things & people for granted
Not to make assumption

2 Things to relearn
Learn to communicate
Make small talks before e-Meeting while waiting for people to join
Collaborate with new technology eg. file sharing on sharepoint

3 Things to pick up
Intentionally listening
Making effort to be present

# data[].attributes.body
1. Shift in the way we track performance/outcomes. Task or project oriented.
2. Lesser team bonding and physical interaction.
3. New hire training constraints (Example, training and general engagement)
4. Arrange routine/daily meetings for updates.

# data[].attributes.headline
#6: Technology - not always a friend/ enabler

# data[].attributes.subject
#6: Technology - not always a friend/ enabler

# data[].attributes.body
"Caaaaan you seeeeee my screeeeeeeeeen"
"Sorry my building has an electrical outtage"
"My WIFI sucks today, I need to tether"
"Sorry, you're on mute"

# data[].attributes.body
1) focus better, lesser meetings/interactions
2) saves traveling & fashion/dress-up time
3) we become more adaptable

# data[].attributes.body
- Workload (high workload remain the same)
- Engagement (staff engagement: F2F vs Virtual)
- Compliance to Regulations remain the same!

# data[].attributes.body
It's harder to pick up on someone's reactions and actual mental state virtually, as compared to when you're in person, being able to pick up on their body language and other cues.

# data[].attributes.body
There is trust among the team members and everyone continues to contribute positively

# data[].attributes.headline
#4: Trust & respect for each other's time

# data[].attributes.subject
#4: Trust & respect for each other's time

# data[].attributes.body
Invite received at 5:59pm for a 6pm call.
Messages on Work Chat NONSTOP.

# data[].attributes.body
I mean... :)

# data[].attributes.body
Working in a hybrid environment with part of the team working on-site/ off-site

# data[].attributes.body
The lack of face-to-face meetings poses challenges because it takes more time to communicate and achieve something

# data[].attributes.body
With new people joining all the time, remote working makes it difficult to get to know people and to build the team to be closer to each other

# data[].attributes.headline
Legend (What do the different coloured posts mean)

# data[].attributes.subject
Legend (What do the different coloured posts mean)

# data[].attributes.body
Green - link and extra resources
Orange - Powerpoint slides
Blue - activities to be done on Padlet

# data[].attributes.body
https://form.jotform.com/Capelle/remote-working-readiness-checklist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Please click the link to complete this form.

# data[].attributes.body
https://capelleconsulting-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/p/teresa_wong/EhILYRLTZdBDpZfPf2AllMgBMw28qKvXnY3GXCE4GaN6Mw?e=WrS47W

# data[].attributes.body
https://padlet.com/muru_nagaraju/eflwppz6bc5k9dq1

# data[].attributes.body
1. Rock paper scissors tournament
2. Learn someone’s life story in five minutes

3. The aliens have landed
4. The birth map
5. Mindfulness ice breaker
6. Two truths and a lie
7. A picture of your life
8. 10 common things
9. Scavenger hunt
10. Guess the artist
11. Favorite things
12. A bucket list
13. One word exercise
14. Flat lay your desk
15. A tour guide

# data[].attributes.body
Good example of a team huddle and connecting remotely

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How Teams Can Meaningfully Connect Remotely | Simon Sinek

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Here’s a rundown of the top tools to help your remote and hybrid teams. Collaborate from anywhere and work smarter with these 16 great pieces of software.

A New Way of Working

Remote working was the biggest change for companies in 2020. And 2 years later, companies are still figuring out how to balance in-office teams with those who are still working from home.

For many offices, hybrid workplaces are filling this void. More and more, hybrid and semi-remote employees are now replacing 100% onsite teams. This structure helps to balance the flexibility of remote work, with the camaraderie and support that comes from being in an office.

And now with more companies than ever rolling out initiatives for this practice, other organizations are beginning to follow suit.

This is a huge shift for many workplaces. So with their rise in popularity, the question naturally becomes, what are the best tools for remote and semi-remote hybrid teams?

To help with that, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best and most useful tools for your hybrid and remote teams. These will cover all the important aspects of this new way of working. And help you to mitigate the inevitable challenges along the way.

Here’s our picks for some of the top tools for your hybrid teams and remote work, broken down by different categories.

For some more tips on remote and hybrid working check out a few of our other articles:

Our comprehensive guide to remote and semi-remote virtual teams

Best practices for virtual project management

The benefits of remote work for the employer and employee

And our list of the top virtual management software of 2022

The Best Tools for Remote Teams and Hybrid Work

We broke our recommendations down into 5 categories.

Collaboration

Management

Communication

File Sharing

Virtual Offices

Remote Team Collaboration Tools

As opposed to your office’s bulky whiteboard, this software helps you collaborate from anywhere in the world. Get creative with the interactive features and encourage your team to participate in more engaging meetings. This software makes the daily brainstorming and planning process more visual and more fun!

Explain Everything

This Polish based start-up offers cloud-based software to help teams collaborate visually in real-time. Use the whiteboard for meetings, as there’s high-quality voice chat, and you can take notes in Explain Everything‘s web-based interface. Record meetings or video presentations, add images, or draw your own in the tool. From there you can share it with your team, your stakeholders, and even send it to non-users. Connect and sync across all devices with their IOS and Android apps.

Explain Everything is cloud-based collaborative software that lets you visually express your ideas. You can use it in a meeting or record a presentation and send it to anyone.

Conceptboard

Conceptboard is an online, infinite canvas which acts as a centralized hub for your team’s content and ideas. The shared workspace lets you manage all your visual projects seamlessly, across teams and timezones. You can follow actions on-board, screen share, or video chat, so even if you’re remote you can collaborate together.

Miro

Described as an “online collaborative whiteboarding platform” Miro helps you build and develop ideas across remote teams. Visually map out your team’s strategy on an infinitely zoomable canvas, in real-time or asynchronously. Integrate with your workplace’s favorite apps to seamlessly coordinate all your projects and see why they say it’s where “distributed teams get work done.”

Read on: Find out how to enhance collaboration and teamwork for your dispersed and hybrid teams. Read a few ways that hybrid workplace models can actually improve your team's productivity and keep teams agile.

Weekdone

Weekdone is an easy tool for planning projects and tasks. As well as sharing updates and giving your co-workers praise for work well done. Whether you’re part of a development, design, or marketing team, Weekdone is a go-to tool for remote teams in 2022. By leveraging asynchronous communication, Weekdone’s newsfeed lets you get crucial updates when YOU need them. Pair that with a seamless weekly planning feature and gamified reward system for jobs well done and you have an ideal tool for teams spread out around the world.

Remote Employee Management Tools

Keep everyone up to date with their tasks and changes to projects. This software ensures everyone knows what they need to do and by when. And helps your PM more effectively tackle their project planning, resource scheduling, and task management.

Ganttic

Online resource management software that visualizes your resources, tasks, and projects through Gantt charts. Ganttic’s simple drag and drop capabilities means you can make schedules in no time. Then share it with everyone on your team. The cloud-based tool comes with an advanced timeline, that’s as flexible as Excel, but without any of the hassle or security issues.

Plus, dedicated project management features such as capacity planning, reports, charts, Kanban boards, and more ensures you’re creating the most efficient use of your resources with each plan. Use the app’s integrations with Outlook or Google to notify your team or build it yourself with Ganttic API or through Zapier. Keep everyone up to date and no longer stress about what your team is up to.

Lumeer

Lumeer is an absolutely flexible collaborative team and project management tool. It enables easy digitalization and automation of workflows, transparency, ad-hoc reporting and insights into what to do next, how to do it and why it matters. Tasks, clients, projects, features, bugs, invoices, inventory, budgets, expenses… connect everything within a single space. And use the right visual view that fits your needs. Lumeer introduces agile collaboration in teams, anywhere, anytime.

TeamHood

This project and teamwork management platform has taken a leap to make digital Kanban boards more visual. Teamhood‘s “advanced Kanban board” not only features horizontal swimlanes for categorizing items into stages or areas, but also sub-swimlanes for sub-processes. The detailed visibility allows high level project management and operational teams to collaborate smoothly on the same board. That way you can control the process with Kanban, the timing on the Timeline, and the resource capabilities and availability with the Workload view.

ProofHub

Online project planning software with loads of features. ProofHub offers Kanban boards, Gantt charts, proofing and collaborative abilities, project notes, calendars, and more. All organized in one central location. Assign different roles within the software so your project manager can keep track of your projects’ progress with overviews and timesheets. Plus, the mobile app means you can use it on the go.

Orangescrum

Project and task management software to organize projects, team, and tasks in one place. Orangescrum keeps your team or customers on the same page. And it has tons of features to simplify your collaboration and workflow. Scrum board, Kanban, sprint help to keep you agile a maximize productivity. Plus, OrangeScrum offers project planning capabilities such as milestone/task groups tracking, task status tracking, priority settings, document sharing, and invoice management.

Tip: Have some questions about the features of remote team management software? Take a tour of Ganttic to learn more. You can also sign up for a personal webinar and demo, and we can walk you through set up and answer all your burning questions.

Remote Team Communication Tools

An integral aspect of remote work is keeping in contact with your team. Here we present some ways to help you meet up for daily chats or hash out your big plans in online meetings. Bonus: these remote tools are all free!

Zoom

The ubiquitous tool of 2020 isn’t going away anytime soon. Enterprise cloud video conferencing, online meetings, and group messaging in one easy-to-use platform. Zoom lets you join a meeting without downloading any additional software, and host one with only a simple sign-up. The free version lets you host up to 100 people for up to 40 minutes, with stable connections and useful screen sharing. Plus, scalable paid packages let you choose the features you need.

Discord

Open-source software that was originally developed for gamers. But its rich features, easy setup, and smooth UI give Slack a run for its money. Discord describes itself as an “All-in-one voice and text chat for gamers that’s free, secure, and works on both your desktop and phone.”  If you can get past the gamer feel, you’ll see why many are considering this their office and remote team tool.

Skype

Video calls and chat software from a fellow Estonian company. Skype lets you create group chats (with up to 600 participants!) and group calls (up to 50) from your phone or desktop. For free and from anywhere you have wifi. Plus, its end to end encryption means all your messages are secure. The fact that you probably already have it downloaded is another reason to integrate it with your remote team.

Read on: Watch out when scheduling meetings for your remote and hybrid team. There's actually a lot of ways to communicate that won't require 3+ hour long conference calls. See what we mean with our 10 tips on managing your virtual project team.

File Sharing and Syncing

Remote working can’t happen without your team having the correct files or docs. Here is some software for sharing and making sure everyone is in sync.

Samepage

Samepage is an “all-in-one tool” which combines “chat, video conferencing, screen sharing, task management, file sharing, and real-time document collaboration in a single cloud-based collaborative workspace.” With the software you can drag and drop files onto a page, edit them, and share the changes with your team. Or edit them from Dropbox and even your desktop and share them when you’re done.

Read on: You can't effectively manage a remote team with Excel. Don't believe us? Here's 5 reasons why Excel is so ineffective when you're a virtual PM.

Wimi

Wimi provides file sharing and online file storage that’s accessible from any computer. With this tool, your information is synchronized and available whenever you need it and from whichever device you have on hand. Create secure and customized file-sharing workspaces that allows you to preview or edit most file formats. Manage the access rights and collaborate with your team, clients, and external partners. Plus, with files too big for email, you can send a link to download.

Virtual Office Tools

If remote working has your team missing the office, here’s some great alternatives. All without the long commutes, fluorescent lights, and drab cubicles. Create your own virtual office for your so no one ever misses a beat.

My Digital Office

Built by a fully remote team, My Digital Office is the solution for those who feel disconnected from their coworkers and those who’ve “grown tired of green status circles.” This tool lets users build their own digital workspace: desks to store documents, an office phone for chats with coworkers, and meeting rooms with an online whiteboard for team meetings. The chat recreates those inspiring water cooler moments and your avatar communicates your current status.

Pesto

Pesto is a free open-beta virtual office software. Put a face to your voice by customizing your avatar to showcase your personality. Instantly start chatting with colleagues, similar to a walkie-talkie, to get status updates, quickly check-in, or clarify a confusing task. Or set up a meeting with video and screen sharing options. There are also cool features like the lofi rooms where you can silently listen to music with your teammates, the spatial rooms where you can walk around a map and hop in and out of conversations, and the trivia rooms for team social events.

Qube

Qube’s virtual office transforms how you work remotely, by providing an online office context – who’s talking to who, who’s out of the office and who just stepped out to lunch. It connects with Slack and Zoom and you can chat with coworkers in the common rooms or in private meeting rooms. The “people watching” feature sends you a notification whenever the person you need to talk to is available. And it works the other way by sending you a list of people who want to get in touch with you.

Don’t Let Distance Determine How You Work

When it comes to remote and hybrid work, flexibility is key. Flexibility for how you and your team work. And flexibility for where you work. But flexibility doesn’t mean disorder.

Quite the opposite! With these tools, your remote teams will be able to stay connected, and be more productive than ever before. And you’ll be able to ensure an uninterrupted workflow, whether you’re in the office or working from home.

Wherever you’re working, if you’re a PM you need to be able to plan out the next year with ease and efficiency. With Ganttic, you can plan future and ongoing projects, manage portfolios and bookings, as well as schedule your staff, tools, events, or machinery. Gain a clear overview of your day-to-day and create transparent plans to keep everyone on task.

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The Best Tools for Remote Teams & Hybrid Work in 2022

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Some of the best tools for remote teams and hybrid work. Manage workflows, plan projects, and communicate better at home and the office.

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Communication | Asynchronous Communication for more productive & inclusive teamwork

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Communication | Asynchronous Communication for more productive & inclusive teamwork

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Study after study after study into remote work has clarified that remote workers are more productive than their office-bound counterparts.

What's not entirely clear is why.

Yes, people gain back time (and sanity) by avoiding rush hour commutes. They avoid the distractions of the office. They regain a sense of control over their workdays. They have more time to dedicate to family, friends, and hobbies.

But apart from the commute, all of those benefits aren't necessarily the result of location independence, but rather the byproduct of asynchronous communication - giving employees control over when they communicate with their teammates.

Teams who try to go remote without putting in place tools, workflows, and norms for asynchronous communication will fail.

Not only does async produce the best work results, but it also lets people do more meaningful work and live freer, more fulfilled lives. It's a game-changer even for co-located teams, but it's an absolute must for teams collaborating remotely. And as workers flex their current power in a tight labor market, it's the only way companies can give employees the flexible schedules they're demanding.

Drawing on the experience of my own fully remote, async-first company, Doist, I'll explain what asynchronous communication is, how it drives team productivity and employee well-being, and the concrete steps you can take to start building a more asynchronous workplace.

What is asynchronous communication?

Simply put, asynchronous communication is when you send a message without expecting an immediate response. For example, you send an email. I open and respond to the email several hours later.

In contrast, synchronous - or real-time - communication is when you send a message and the recipient processes the information and responds immediately. In-person communication, like meetings, are examples of purely synchronous communication. You say something, I receive the information as you say it, and respond to the information right away.

But digital forms of communication, like real-time chat messaging, can be synchronous too. You send a message, I get a notification and open up Slack to read the message and respond to what you said in near real-time.

Even email is treated as a synchronous form of communication. A 2015 study conducted by Yahoo Labs found that the most common email response time was just 2 minutes. Asynchronous communication isn't primarily about tools - though the right ones help - it's about team culture and habits.

Real-time communication

Asynchronous communication

Communication requires all team members to be present simultaneously, in meetings and video calls or respond quickly to work chats or emails.

Everyone is tied to more or less the same work schedule.

Prioritizes speed of collaboration.

Communication happens in writing or prerecorded video with team members catching up and responding on their own schedules.

Everyone can work when it works best for them.

Prioritizes focus and flexibility.

Before we dig into the benefits of a more async approach to teamwork, let's look at why we should question our current, real-time ways of working and communicating.

The problem with real-time, all-the-time communication

If employees are consistently more productive when working away from the office, there's something broken about the modern workplace.

According to the Harvard Business Review article " Collaborative Overload", the time employees spend on collaboration has increased by 50% over the past two decades. Researchers found it was not uncommon for workers to spend a full 80% of their workdays communicating with colleagues in the form of:

Email - on which workers' spend an average of six hours a day

Meetings - time spent in meetings since the pandemic forced companies to go remote has ballooned by 253%

Instant messaging apps - the average Slack user sends an average of 200 messages a day, though 1,000-message power users are "not the exception"

As one office worker told New York Magazine, "I used to wake up and turn off the alarm and check Tinder. Now I wake up and check Slack."

This trend toward near-constant communication means that the average knowledge worker must organize their workday around multiple meetings with the time in between spent doing their work half-distractedly with one eye on email and Slack.

To make matters worse, the rise of mobile technology means that workplace communication is no longer limited to the physical workplace or work hours. We can, and do, check email and respond to messages at any time, day or night. As a result, we're never fully off the clock. As one office worker told New York Magazine, "I used to wake up and turn off the alarm and check Tinder. Now I wake up and check Slack."

This highly synchronous way of working would at least be understandable if it produced results, but there is more and more evidence that all the real-time communication overhead makes it hard to focus, drains employees' mental resources, and generally makes it more challenging to make meaningful progress on work.

I've written before about why we're betting against real-time team messaging apps, but it's worth summarizing the core problems and generalizing it to most forms of synchronous communication:

It leads to constant interruptions.

Interruptions split people's attention and make it more difficult to make meaningful progress on work. High-value, cognitively-demanding activities - like coding, writing, designing, strategizing, and problem-solving - require long periods of deep, focused work. Synchronous communication requires constant context switching and makes creating large, uninterrupted chunks of time during the workday impossible.

It prioritizes being connected over being productive.

In real-time environments, you're incentivized to stay connected and available at all times. If you disconnect, discussions will move on before you even have a chance to respond to or even see them. To avoid missing out on crucial decisions and discussions, people always try to be online and in as many meetings as possible, hurting their well-being and productivity.

It creates unnecessary stress.

The expectation of being constantly available means that workers lack control over their schedules. They spend their workdays attending meetings and responding to requests rather than proactively setting their own agenda.

One study found that people compensate for the time lost to workplace interruptions by attempting to work faster, leading to "more stress, higher frustration, time pressure, and effort". A 2022 Microsoft study found that people often cope by working a "second shift" in the evening when they know they won't be interrupted. This type of synchronous culture quickly leads to burnout.

It leads to lower quality discussions and sub-optimal solutions.

When you have to respond immediately, people don't have time to think through key issues thoroughly and provide thoughtful responses. Your first response to any given situation is often not your best response.

"Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard." - David McCullough

Give your team the tools to think well. pic.twitter.com/L2hJ5PDnSs
- Twist (@TwistWork) January 25, 2022

The benefits of asynchronous communication

Most people accept meetings and interruptions as just a part of doing business, but some companies - like GitLab, Zapier, Automattic, Buffer, and my own Doist - are embracing a more asynchronous approach to collaboration.

Here are some of the core benefits of giving employees more control over when they connect to communicate with their team:

Control over the workday leads to happier and more productive employees.

In an async environment, there are no set work hours. Employees have total control over how they structure their workdays to fit their lifestyles, biorhythms, and responsibilities, from childcare to simply running an errand. Some Doisters work during the night as it suits them the best. I spend an hour with my kids every morning and no one inside my async organization notices. One Wall Street Journal survey showed that workers want flexible hours even more than they want remote work.

Async incentivizes higher-quality communication over knee-jerk responses.

Async communication is admittedly slower (at least in the immediate sense), but it also tends to be of higher quality. People learn to communicate more clearly and thoroughly to avoid unnecessary back-and-forths. They have the time to think through a particular problem or idea and provide more thoughtful responses. Instead of knee-jerk responses, people can reply when they're ready. (As an added benefit, when people have the time to think through their responses, there tend to be fewer unthinking outbursts. Over the last decade, we haven't had a single serious HR issue.)

Better planning leads to less stress.

Advanced planning is a must when last-minute ASAP requests aren't an option. People learn to plan their workloads and collaborations more carefully to give enough time for coworkers to see and respond to their requests. This leads to less stressful collaborations and ultimately higher quality work.

Deep work becomes the default.

Because employees don't have to stay on top of each message as it comes in, they can block off large chunks of uninterrupted time to do the work that creates the most value for your organization. They can come back to process their messages in batches 1-3 times a day instead of bouncing back and forth between work and messages or meetings.

Documentation and greater transparency become automatic.

Because most communication happens in writing, key discussions and important information are documented automatically, particularly if you use a more public tool than email. It's easier to share and reference those conversations later. For example, at Doist instead of asking for or explaining why a certain decision was made or the status of a particular project, we can search for and/or link to the relevant Twist threads.

Collaboration across time zones is seamless.

Communication between time zones becomes smooth, and no one is at an informational disadvantage because of the time zone. That means you're not limiting your hiring pool to specific time zones. You can build a stellar and truly diverse team from anywhere in the world.

The biggest challenge that faces hybrid workplaces is preventing remote employees from becoming second-class citizens. When communication happens asynchronously, in-office and remote employees have access to the same information and conversations. They have an equal opportunity to contribute to discussions and decisions.

While employee retention is a bit of a vanity metric, we think the async culture is one of the core reasons most people hired at Doist over the past 10 years have stayed with us. Our employee retention is 90%+ - much higher than the overall tech industry. For example, even a company like Google - with its legendary campuses full of perks from free meals to free haircuts - has a median tenure of just 1.1 years. Freedom to work from anywhere at any time beats fun vanity perks any day, and it costs our company $0 to provide.

But! You still need synchronous communication too

As with most things in life, async culture has pros and cons. Doist has experienced them both.

At the beginning of our async journey, we got rid of most meetings as we thought they were a waste of time. Most things could be done via written communication. But not long into that experiment, Brenna, our CMO, started a candid thread about how we had lost the human element, how she felt disconnected and that she missed seeing other Doisters face-to-face.

We learned that we needed to mix in synchronous communication where it makes sense: for example, in 1-on-1s and weekly team meetings. It's hard to build rapport and personal relationships with only written communication. In the words of Daft Punk, "we are human after all".

Here are some of the things we do to build personal connections on the team:

Everyone has at least one monthly 1-on-1 with their direct report to touch base, discuss roadblocks, set professional development goals, etc.

We organize monthly casual team video hangouts where people from different teams can get together to chat about non-work things.

I had a blast catching up with @aboutboard, @odsamuels, and @jvalente about life and work.

We've got lots of casual hangouts happening this week at @doist! Little things like this help us feel connected to all the great people we work with! #remotework pic.twitter.com/lAhAL8LQSw
- Andrew Gobran (@andrewgobran) October 2, 2019

Most teams hold weekly meetings. While the format differs from team-to-team, these meetings tend to focus on building rapport rather than giving status updates. Several teams use red/yellow/green checkins as a way to connect on a more personal level.

We organize yearly company-wide and smaller team retreats where people can connect in real life.

70% async using Twist, Github, Google Docs, Figma, and Todoist

25% sync using something like Zoom, Around, or Google Meet

5% in-person meetups, e.g., annual company and smaller team retreats

We fly new team members out to spend a week working in-person with their team mentor. This helps new people feel more connected and comfortable asking questions right off the bat.

We instituted an annual meet-up perk that Doisters can spend on meals, activities, transportation, etc. when they get together with teammates outside of organized retreats.

We reimburse the cost of a coworking space so our people can get outside their homes and be in a more office/community setting.

You want to build rapport with people (e.g., a 1-on-1 or team meeting).

You need to provide critical feedback or discuss other sensitive topics.

You have a lot of unknowns and you want to brainstorm different ideas and solutions.

There are a lot of moving variables and you want to bring everyone on the same page quickly, e.g., via a project kickoff meeting.

A crisis happens that requires immediate attention, e.g., a server crashes. We use Telegram with the notifications turned on at all times for emergency communications only.

(If you're interested, I've written more on the very related topic of remote work and mental health.)

Today, we minimize the number of meetings, but we have meetings when they make sense. Our current communication stack looks something like this:

In general, use synchronous communication when the following is true:

Synchronous communication should be the exception, not the rule.

How to move your team toward asynchronous communication

Moving from sync to async isn't going to happen overnight. It takes a profound shift in tools, processes, habits, and culture. Here are some concrete steps you can take, both individually and as a team leader, to get started.

Things you can do individually:

Overcommunicate. When sending a message, include as much information as possible. Visualize things with screenshots or screen recordings with apps like CloudApp and Loom. Be clear about what you need from the other person and what the deadline is. A few extra minutes adding details and editing for clarity on the front-end can save days of back-and-forths in an async environment.

Under-communication

Over-communication

Can you please provide me with reporting on content once you get a chance?

Can you please provide me with a short report (a few paragraphs) on our blog metrics from Google Analytics for next Tuesday by 2pm EST? I'd like to know top posts, unique page views, bounce rate, and conversation rate. Thanks!

Plan ahead to give people time to consider your message. For example, "I want to finish this in 2 days and would love your input", instead of "I need your feedback in the next hour."

Say no to unnecessary meetings. It can be extremely uncomfortable to say no to a meeting, particularly in meeting-heavy work cultures. But there are tactful ways to nudge people towards async-first communication. Next time someone asks for a "quick call" try one of these incredibly useful scripts from Dropbox:

"Thanks for including me! I'm wondering if we could try to solve this in a Twist thread instead?"

"I've been in so many meetings lately, but I'm trying to be more disciplined about my schedule. Could we try to solve this without a meeting, first?"

"I'd be happy to give you feedback on that! Before we schedule a meeting, could I review it in Paper/a Google Doc/Figma/a GitLab issue?"

Before meetings, start a Twist thread or document. Share all relevant information and discuss key issues before the meeting so that everyone can come with a complete understanding of the topic at hand.

After meetings, document discussions and outcomes. Start or continue a Twist thread or document so that people who weren't there can find that information. We've even started experimenting with recording the video of our meetings so that others can "attend" asynchronously. An app like TL;DV makes it easy to time stamp, annotate, and tag teammates in meeting recordings so anyone who missed the meeting can skip straight to the parts that are relevant to them.

Turn off notifications - try removing work apps from your phone altogether. Instead, set aside specific time blocks to check and respond to emails and messages during the day.

Use waiting time productively. We've found that waiting for a reply isn't a massive problem as there's always something else to work on.

Always check your document sharing settings. This seems like a small thing, but if someone needs to request access, it can lead to hours or even a full day of delay in an async workplace.

Things you can do as a team leader:

Promote writing and communication as core skills to master. This will reduce back-and-forths and help people get to the core of things faster. Everyone needs to be a great writer in an async workplace.

Evaluate people based on their output and results, not how responsive they are or the number of hours they work. We've written more on how to measure employee productivity.

Abolish required work hours or the requirements to come into an office. This will allow you to hire from anywhere in the world and will naturally move your organization towards more asynchronous communication when taps on the shoulder are no longer an option.

Emphasize trust, organization, independence, and accountability. Without these values, asynchronous communication will never work. For example, one of Doist's core values states that others can trust that you'll deliver on time and your teammates don't need to worry about you keeping your word. Brenna Loury, our CMO, has written in more detail about how to build trust in a remote, async-first "workplace".

Adopt a Direct Responsible Individual (DRI) model for management and decision-making. Made popular by Apple, DRI means a single person is responsible for any given area or project inside the company. That person doesn't do everything themselves but instead organizes the team or project, makes key decisions, and generally owns the timeline and results. The more you can decrease the number of people involved in decisions, decentralize authority, and increase individual accountability, the more efficient your team will be. This is true in any company but is especially crucial for success in an async environment.

Set reasonable, team-wide expectations for acceptable response times. For example, at Doist, we expect people to answer within 24 hours.

Make transparency and documentation a priority. For example, everyone at Doist can read all of the core discussions regardless of which team it is. This includes leadership discussions. With transparency, people don't miss crucial conversations or decisions. They can work more efficiently and independently when they don't have to ask others for the information they need.

Use tools that promote transparency, deep work, and async communication. e.g., Github pull requests, Basecamp conversations, and Twist threads. Don't use email internally. While email can be used asynchronously, it also locks information inside people's inboxes where no one else can find it. Collaboration becomes much less efficient when people can't find the information they need. More on the pitfalls of relying on email for team communication.

For communication-heavy roles like tech support or client services, implement a rotating coverage system. Some roles are more conducive to asynchronous communication than others, but all can benefit from blocking off chunks of time for deep work. Anti-Agency Group founder Amanda Au describes how their team uses a rotating coverage system to balance client communications and creative work:

While we haven't fully adopted an async model because we are a client services team, we promote DND (do-not-disturb) time blocks or full days. During your DND time, you'll have a teammate cover for you on any incoming client comms so that you can truly have undisturbed time to finish a presentation, ideate on strategy, or dive deep into reporting.

Doist's own head of front-end development, Henning, wrote more about how we use a rotating "hero system" and "house-keeping days" at Doist to create space for deep work even in communication-heavy roles.

Have communication channels for emergencies. Doist has Telegram rooms and phone numbers that we use as an emergency mechanism. We use these a few times per year for truly urgent incidents. The vast majority of things aren't urgent and don't require an instant response.

Async is an uphill battle that challenges the status quo

We know that we are challenging the status quo and that calm, asynchronous communication isn't the current norm. It's going to take a paradigm shift to change things.

We're betting that the most successful companies and teams will be the ones who make this shift in the future. It will be the teams that don't require their employees to be always-on, prioritize asynchronous communication to create space for deep work, and allow employees to disconnect and recharge fully. We're excited to share our journey and invite you to explore this space.

What's Twist? Twist is an async messaging app for teams burned out by real-time chat, meetings, and email.

You don't need to use Twist to get a ton of value out of this newsletter and community. But if the topics we talk about resonate with you, there's a good chance the app will too. See what makes Twist different →

🌎 Built asynchronously by the fully remote team at Doist

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What is asynchronous communication? Plus, how to implement it

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Study after study after study into remote work has clarified that remote workers are more productive than their office-bound counterparts. What's not entirely clear is why. Yes, people gain back time (and sanity) by avoiding rush hour commutes. They avoid the distractions of the office. They regain a sense of control over their workdays.

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Original transcript

Welcome to the Collaboration Superpowers podcast. My name is Lisette and I'm interviewing people and companies doing great things remotely. Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for being here for another episode. This is episode number 125. Back in December, Lennie Noiles referred somebody to me on Twitter. And it was an interesting question and got me thinking. And the question was: "What's the jargon for distributed teams' digital version of management by walking around?" And I thought, "Hmm, what would that look like?" So I thought about it and I thought about it. And what I came up with was management by working out loud because of course in the digital world, we can't exactly go walking around. But if we are working out loud, then a manager can dip in at any time, check on what's going on, and have a chat with a remote worker. Now what this person on Twitter was looking for was a way to have a continual pattern of communication, water cooler chats, and ways of fostering comradery, all the things, of course, we want to do on a remote team, but maybe more from a management perspective.

So today's episode is dedicated to management by working out loud. In essence, I think that there are four components to working out loud on a remote team, and the first one is creating a team agreement together. You've heard me talk about this over and over if you've listened to past episodes of the podcast. I go into a lot of detail in episode number 42. But creating a team agreement is just a way of creating a set of guidelines for how your team wants to work together. Now how it relates to management by working out loud is when you have a team agreement, everybody knows when everybody else is available. So you've either set core hours for your team or you just know each other's rhythms and patterns because you've explicitly stated what they are to each other. This would, for example, make it really easy if a colleague of mine wanted to just check in. She knows that I'm gone on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to the personal trainer. But in the afternoons, I'm online, and she can come by any time to come and talk to me. When we've got a team agreement in place, the basic misunderstandings get out of the way, and it makes communicating easier.

This brings me to my second point of management by working out loud, which is make communicating easy. And it sounds like a very simple thing to say, but it is very complex on remote teams. How do we make a high-bandwidth environment where it's just as easy to lean over and say, "Hey, Bob, how's that marketing report?" As it would be if you were sitting next to somebody in an office. There are a number of different ways to do that. I cover it pretty extensively in both episodes number 36 and episodes number 73. So 36 is how to simulate the office online and 73 is how to create a thriving virtual office. Think of things like push to talk where you can just push a button and be talking to your teammate. That does exist. Also, think about group instant messaging systems, things like Slack and HipChat, a place where remote teams can come together and have group conversations asynchronously. Think about things like visualizing your work. How can we make what's going on and what we're working on visual to our teammates? Maybe it is some sort of online, sticky note tool. Maybe it's something a little bit more complex like JIRA or pivotal tracker. It's not really the tool that matters. What does matter is that you somehow, as a team, have a visual representation of your work that you can look at together. And of course a fantastic way of doing all of this... And if you want to make your life as a manager a lot easier, try Sococo. It's a virtual office where you can actually see where your colleagues are and who's talking to who. And you can virtually knock on somebody's door and go in and talk to them as if you were working in an office together. If you're a team that is working a lot of the same core hours or you have a lot of overlap with each other, a virtual office like Sococo is totally the way to go. Give it a try. Sococo.com, and tell them Lisette sent you. I get bonus points, and I love those.

Okay, so after we've created a team agreement and we've made communicating easy, we need to think about how we're going to give each other feedback on a virtual team. So part of working out loud, of course, is feedback. And how do we set up those feedback cycles? Many of us that have worked in corporate jobs think of feedback as being sort of a top-down from managers to the employees. But on remote teams, we're a much more flattened organization by nature, so we need to think about more 360-degree feedback because everybody is involved in the work and you need to think of it like what Pilar says. She thinks of it as a full body with muscles and organs and blood flow. Everything has to work with each other in order to continually optimize the system, so we're going to do that with remote teams as well. The Happy Melly team uses the Merit Money system. You can just Google Jurgen Appelo merit money to find out all kinds of information about that. It's a fantastic way of doing 360-degree feedback. But there are many, many, many ways out there. So whatever tool you use, whatever system you use, just make sure that you're integrating the entire team in that feedback loop.

The other thing that's important to do, of course, is to have retrospectives as a team. So getting together at least six weeks or so, Agile teams do it every two weeks or so, but at least every six weeks, for getting together and talking about what's going well as a team, what's not going well, what are the things that you're learning, and what are the questions that you still have. These are just the very basic retrospectives. There are many different kinds of retrospectives out there. But again, the key is just putting this feedback loop in place. Along with feedback is the very important and fourth element of management by working out loud, and that is showing appreciation. Man, if there's one thing that I see that can be improved in almost every company and that is super easy to do and nobody is doing it, that is showing appreciation. On remote teams, it's a little bit harder because we can't see the people. So it's a little bit out of sight, out of mind. But you can use simple apps like kudobox.co to send a Kudo card via Twitter. So that's a nice, public acknowledgment and an easy way to say thank you. And in episode number 53, I go into a whole, long list of perks and gifts for remote employees. You can make appreciation part of your retrospectives. I found that appreciation sometimes comes out during the unstructured times that we've scheduled for each other on the Happy Melly team. So what I mean by that is every week, we have 15 to 30 minutes of just unstructured time where we just hang out together as a virtual team. We don't talk about work.

And sometimes those conversations are just a really great way of expressing thanks for certain things. Okay, so those are my four tips for management by working out loud, which is create a team agreement, make communicating easy, set up feedback loops, and don't forget to say thank you.

If you'd like to learn more and dive deeply into any one of these areas, then I highly suggest that you check out collaborationsuperpowers.com and get yourself enrolled in one of the Work Together Anywhere workshops. You will come out with an entire roadmap for how your team can work online as if it were in an office together or if you're transitioning from a co-located to a remote team. One of these workshops will make your transition so much easier.

If you found this podcast useful, if you've enjoyed listening, then please leave us a review on either iTunes or Stitcher. It does so much, and it's a way of practicing your appreciation for a remote colleague, right? Hint, hint? Speaking of appreciation, a huge thanks to the awesome Nick, the podcast monster. He's the one that makes this podcast sound so pro. You can hire him to make you a star at podcastmonster.com. And another huge thanks for the dazzling Alfred Boland. He's the guy that makes the Collaboration Superpowers brand shine so bright. You can hire him to make you look cool at bolanden.nl. All right, everybody. Until next week, let's manage by working out loud and be powerful.

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Welcome to the Collaboration Superpowers podcast. My name is Lisette and I'm interviewing people and companies doing great things remotely. Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for being here for another episode. This is episode number 125. Back in December, Lennie Noiles referred somebody to me on Twitter.

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How to performance-manage a remote employee: what you need to know

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Got an underperforming remote employee? Learn how to develop performance processes to execute performance management for remote teams from afar.

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http://d1c25a6gwz7q5e.cloudfront.net/reports/2020-11-09-workplace-whitepaper-FINAL.pdf

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Conflict - intra and inter teams activity

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You can choose which question you want to answer.

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You can choose which question you want to answer.

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1.What will “visible work” be like in your team context?

2.How can leaders set and align expectations to organizational goals (For e.g Intra and Inter-team collaboration?)

3.How can leaders manage performance (be more result-oriented) in SCOOT’s context?

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1) Belonging - Individualistic
Action to take to strengthen inclusiveness: Organize socialize activities (virtual & in-person)

2)

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Resource 3: Collaborating with Microsoft 365

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Resource 3: Collaborating with Microsoft 365

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Best practices for collaborating with Microsoft 365

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Training: Watch these best-practices videos for Office 365 to learn how to collaborate remotely and video conference with colleagues and peers at work, school, or other organizations.

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Resource 2: Streamlining communication for the hybrid workforce

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Resource 2: Streamlining communication for the hybrid workforce

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A recent PwC remote work survey confirms what many employees and business leaders already know: there's no going back to the pre-pandemic status quo. Most executives envision a future where employees spend some time at the office and work remotely other days in a hybrid workforce model. However, there's little consensus yet on the optimal ratio.

The move toward a hybrid workforce has many logistical and practical implications for businesses, including in the areas of commercial real estate and training and development. But one facet that isn't getting as much attention is the shift that's already taken place in internal employee communication, whether for collaboration purposes or support requests.

In their pre-pandemic office routines, employees grew accustomed to conversing with each other using platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams. But when they needed support from HR or IT - to inquire about training opportunities or to ask for help with a technology problem, for example - they channelled their support requests through email. This continued when they moved to remote work.

Minimise interruptions to the conversational flow by offering support where employees are

But a bifurcated approach is inefficient, and organisations that reject it by consolidating communication on a single platform can realise important productivity, automation, and accessibility gains. Here are some of the ways consolidating communication can improve hybrid workforce efficiency.

Minimise interruptions to the conversational flow by offering support where employees are: With an email-based ticketing system, employees must log in to their work email to create an HR or IT ticket, then follow up via email to track progress or receive a resolution. That interrupts the natural flow of communication, which is now taking place on business communication platforms like Slack and Teams.

There's no advantage to using email rather than a business communication platform for ticket resolution. Technology compatible with popular help desk and knowledge base systems and business communication platforms now make it more efficient to handle ticket resolution on one platform rather than toggling back and forth between email and Slack or Teams.

Automate with AI to deliver conversational support: As HR, IT, and training professionals know, many employee questions are routine. The questions are important to the employee and the company and must be answered promptly, but every minute staff spends responding to mundane queries is time they cannot spend on higher-level work.

AI can automate responses when a ticket is generated on Teams or Slack. It can automatically respond to frequently asked questions via a chatbot that offers answers from the company's internal knowledge base, responding via Teams or Slack to keep the conversation in context.

So, routine queries such as 'how do I sign up for a training programme?' can be deflected in this way, while questions that don't have a knowledge base answer (or employee requests for more help) are automatically escalated..

Prioritise convenience as much as content: HR and training professionals understandably focus on content quality, which is incredibly important. But it's also crucial to keep in mind that the best content in the industry won't help employees drive company success if they don't access it because doing so is inconvenient. Prioritising convenient access is therefore critical.

Consolidating communication on employees' preferred channel streamlines their access to the information. Technology that incorporates AI works within the preferred business communication platform and is compatible with the existing help desk system can also bolster compliance by creating audit trails to track responses to employee inquiries.

As HR, training, and IT professionals plan for a hybrid workforce, the evolution in how employees communicate with colleagues and support personnel must be top of mind. Those who find a way to consolidate communication channels, automate routine tasks, and provide easier access to information will be positioning their companies for success in the 'new normal'.
About the author
Shalin Jain is CEO of HappyFox

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Streamlining communication for the hybrid workforce

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A recent PwC remote work survey confirms what many employees and business leaders already know: there's no going back to the pre-pandemic status quo. Most executives envision a future where employees spend some time at the office and work remotely other days in a hybrid workforce model.

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Asynchronous communication is when you send a message WITHOUT expecting an immediate response.

Synchronous communication is when you send a message and the recipient processes the information and responds immediately.

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Study after study after study into remote work has clarified that remote workers are more productive than their office-bound counterparts.

What's not entirely clear is why.

Yes, people gain back time (and sanity) by avoiding rush hour commutes. They avoid the distractions of the office. They regain a sense of control over their workdays. They have more time to dedicate to family, friends, and hobbies.

But apart from the commute, all of those benefits aren't necessarily the result of location independence, but rather the byproduct of asynchronous communication - giving employees control over when they communicate with their teammates.

Teams who try to go remote without putting in place tools, workflows, and norms for asynchronous communication will fail.

Not only does async produce the best work results, but it also lets people do more meaningful work and live freer, more fulfilled lives. It's a game-changer even for co-located teams, but it's an absolute must for teams collaborating remotely. And as workers flex their current power in a tight labor market, it's the only way companies can give employees the flexible schedules they're demanding.

Drawing on the experience of my own fully remote, async-first company, Doist, I'll explain what asynchronous communication is, how it drives team productivity and employee well-being, and the concrete steps you can take to start building a more asynchronous workplace.

What is asynchronous communication?

Simply put, asynchronous communication is when you send a message without expecting an immediate response. For example, you send an email. I open and respond to the email several hours later.

In contrast, synchronous - or real-time - communication is when you send a message and the recipient processes the information and responds immediately. In-person communication, like meetings, are examples of purely synchronous communication. You say something, I receive the information as you say it, and respond to the information right away.

But digital forms of communication, like real-time chat messaging, can be synchronous too. You send a message, I get a notification and open up Slack to read the message and respond to what you said in near real-time.

Even email is treated as a synchronous form of communication. A 2015 study conducted by Yahoo Labs found that the most common email response time was just 2 minutes. Asynchronous communication isn't primarily about tools - though the right ones help - it's about team culture and habits.

Real-time communication

Asynchronous communication

Communication requires all team members to be present simultaneously, in meetings and video calls or respond quickly to work chats or emails.

Everyone is tied to more or less the same work schedule.

Prioritizes speed of collaboration.

Communication happens in writing or prerecorded video with team members catching up and responding on their own schedules.

Everyone can work when it works best for them.

Prioritizes focus and flexibility.

Before we dig into the benefits of a more async approach to teamwork, let's look at why we should question our current, real-time ways of working and communicating.

The problem with real-time, all-the-time communication

If employees are consistently more productive when working away from the office, there's something broken about the modern workplace.

According to the Harvard Business Review article " Collaborative Overload", the time employees spend on collaboration has increased by 50% over the past two decades. Researchers found it was not uncommon for workers to spend a full 80% of their workdays communicating with colleagues in the form of:

Email - on which workers' spend an average of six hours a day

Meetings - time spent in meetings since the pandemic forced companies to go remote has ballooned by 253%

Instant messaging apps - the average Slack user sends an average of 200 messages a day, though 1,000-message power users are "not the exception"

As one office worker told New York Magazine, "I used to wake up and turn off the alarm and check Tinder. Now I wake up and check Slack."

This trend toward near-constant communication means that the average knowledge worker must organize their workday around multiple meetings with the time in between spent doing their work half-distractedly with one eye on email and Slack.

To make matters worse, the rise of mobile technology means that workplace communication is no longer limited to the physical workplace or work hours. We can, and do, check email and respond to messages at any time, day or night. As a result, we're never fully off the clock. As one office worker told New York Magazine, "I used to wake up and turn off the alarm and check Tinder. Now I wake up and check Slack."

This highly synchronous way of working would at least be understandable if it produced results, but there is more and more evidence that all the real-time communication overhead makes it hard to focus, drains employees' mental resources, and generally makes it more challenging to make meaningful progress on work.

I've written before about why we're betting against real-time team messaging apps, but it's worth summarizing the core problems and generalizing it to most forms of synchronous communication:

It leads to constant interruptions.

Interruptions split people's attention and make it more difficult to make meaningful progress on work. High-value, cognitively-demanding activities - like coding, writing, designing, strategizing, and problem-solving - require long periods of deep, focused work. Synchronous communication requires constant context switching and makes creating large, uninterrupted chunks of time during the workday impossible.

It prioritizes being connected over being productive.

In real-time environments, you're incentivized to stay connected and available at all times. If you disconnect, discussions will move on before you even have a chance to respond to or even see them. To avoid missing out on crucial decisions and discussions, people always try to be online and in as many meetings as possible, hurting their well-being and productivity.

It creates unnecessary stress.

The expectation of being constantly available means that workers lack control over their schedules. They spend their workdays attending meetings and responding to requests rather than proactively setting their own agenda.

One study found that people compensate for the time lost to workplace interruptions by attempting to work faster, leading to "more stress, higher frustration, time pressure, and effort". A 2022 Microsoft study found that people often cope by working a "second shift" in the evening when they know they won't be interrupted. This type of synchronous culture quickly leads to burnout.

It leads to lower quality discussions and sub-optimal solutions.

When you have to respond immediately, people don't have time to think through key issues thoroughly and provide thoughtful responses. Your first response to any given situation is often not your best response.

"Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard." - David McCullough

Give your team the tools to think well. pic.twitter.com/L2hJ5PDnSs
- Twist (@TwistWork) January 25, 2022

The benefits of asynchronous communication

Most people accept meetings and interruptions as just a part of doing business, but some companies - like GitLab, Zapier, Automattic, Buffer, and my own Doist - are embracing a more asynchronous approach to collaboration.

Here are some of the core benefits of giving employees more control over when they connect to communicate with their team:

Control over the workday leads to happier and more productive employees.

In an async environment, there are no set work hours. Employees have total control over how they structure their workdays to fit their lifestyles, biorhythms, and responsibilities, from childcare to simply running an errand. Some Doisters work during the night as it suits them the best. I spend an hour with my kids every morning and no one inside my async organization notices. One Wall Street Journal survey showed that workers want flexible hours even more than they want remote work.

Async incentivizes higher-quality communication over knee-jerk responses.

Async communication is admittedly slower (at least in the immediate sense), but it also tends to be of higher quality. People learn to communicate more clearly and thoroughly to avoid unnecessary back-and-forths. They have the time to think through a particular problem or idea and provide more thoughtful responses. Instead of knee-jerk responses, people can reply when they're ready. (As an added benefit, when people have the time to think through their responses, there tend to be fewer unthinking outbursts. Over the last decade, we haven't had a single serious HR issue.)

Better planning leads to less stress.

Advanced planning is a must when last-minute ASAP requests aren't an option. People learn to plan their workloads and collaborations more carefully to give enough time for coworkers to see and respond to their requests. This leads to less stressful collaborations and ultimately higher quality work.

Deep work becomes the default.

Because employees don't have to stay on top of each message as it comes in, they can block off large chunks of uninterrupted time to do the work that creates the most value for your organization. They can come back to process their messages in batches 1-3 times a day instead of bouncing back and forth between work and messages or meetings.

Documentation and greater transparency become automatic.

Because most communication happens in writing, key discussions and important information are documented automatically, particularly if you use a more public tool than email. It's easier to share and reference those conversations later. For example, at Doist instead of asking for or explaining why a certain decision was made or the status of a particular project, we can search for and/or link to the relevant Twist threads.

Collaboration across time zones is seamless.

Communication between time zones becomes smooth, and no one is at an informational disadvantage because of the time zone. That means you're not limiting your hiring pool to specific time zones. You can build a stellar and truly diverse team from anywhere in the world.

The biggest challenge that faces hybrid workplaces is preventing remote employees from becoming second-class citizens. When communication happens asynchronously, in-office and remote employees have access to the same information and conversations. They have an equal opportunity to contribute to discussions and decisions.

While employee retention is a bit of a vanity metric, we think the async culture is one of the core reasons most people hired at Doist over the past 10 years have stayed with us. Our employee retention is 90%+ - much higher than the overall tech industry. For example, even a company like Google - with its legendary campuses full of perks from free meals to free haircuts - has a median tenure of just 1.1 years. Freedom to work from anywhere at any time beats fun vanity perks any day, and it costs our company $0 to provide.

But! You still need synchronous communication too

As with most things in life, async culture has pros and cons. Doist has experienced them both.

At the beginning of our async journey, we got rid of most meetings as we thought they were a waste of time. Most things could be done via written communication. But not long into that experiment, Brenna, our CMO, started a candid thread about how we had lost the human element, how she felt disconnected and that she missed seeing other Doisters face-to-face.

We learned that we needed to mix in synchronous communication where it makes sense: for example, in 1-on-1s and weekly team meetings. It's hard to build rapport and personal relationships with only written communication. In the words of Daft Punk, "we are human after all".

Here are some of the things we do to build personal connections on the team:

Everyone has at least one monthly 1-on-1 with their direct report to touch base, discuss roadblocks, set professional development goals, etc.

We organize monthly casual team video hangouts where people from different teams can get together to chat about non-work things.

I had a blast catching up with @aboutboard, @odsamuels, and @jvalente about life and work.

We've got lots of casual hangouts happening this week at @doist! Little things like this help us feel connected to all the great people we work with! #remotework pic.twitter.com/lAhAL8LQSw
- Andrew Gobran (@andrewgobran) October 2, 2019

Most teams hold weekly meetings. While the format differs from team-to-team, these meetings tend to focus on building rapport rather than giving status updates. Several teams use red/yellow/green checkins as a way to connect on a more personal level.

We organize yearly company-wide and smaller team retreats where people can connect in real life.

70% async using Twist, Github, Google Docs, Figma, and Todoist

25% sync using something like Zoom, Around, or Google Meet

5% in-person meetups, e.g., annual company and smaller team retreats

We fly new team members out to spend a week working in-person with their team mentor. This helps new people feel more connected and comfortable asking questions right off the bat.

We instituted an annual meet-up perk that Doisters can spend on meals, activities, transportation, etc. when they get together with teammates outside of organized retreats.

We reimburse the cost of a coworking space so our people can get outside their homes and be in a more office/community setting.

You want to build rapport with people (e.g., a 1-on-1 or team meeting).

You need to provide critical feedback or discuss other sensitive topics.

You have a lot of unknowns and you want to brainstorm different ideas and solutions.

There are a lot of moving variables and you want to bring everyone on the same page quickly, e.g., via a project kickoff meeting.

A crisis happens that requires immediate attention, e.g., a server crashes. We use Telegram with the notifications turned on at all times for emergency communications only.

(If you're interested, I've written more on the very related topic of remote work and mental health.)

Today, we minimize the number of meetings, but we have meetings when they make sense. Our current communication stack looks something like this:

In general, use synchronous communication when the following is true:

Synchronous communication should be the exception, not the rule.

How to move your team toward asynchronous communication

Moving from sync to async isn't going to happen overnight. It takes a profound shift in tools, processes, habits, and culture. Here are some concrete steps you can take, both individually and as a team leader, to get started.

Things you can do individually:

Overcommunicate. When sending a message, include as much information as possible. Visualize things with screenshots or screen recordings with apps like CloudApp and Loom. Be clear about what you need from the other person and what the deadline is. A few extra minutes adding details and editing for clarity on the front-end can save days of back-and-forths in an async environment.

Under-communication

Over-communication

Can you please provide me with reporting on content once you get a chance?

Can you please provide me with a short report (a few paragraphs) on our blog metrics from Google Analytics for next Tuesday by 2pm EST? I'd like to know top posts, unique page views, bounce rate, and conversation rate. Thanks!

Plan ahead to give people time to consider your message. For example, "I want to finish this in 2 days and would love your input", instead of "I need your feedback in the next hour."

Say no to unnecessary meetings. It can be extremely uncomfortable to say no to a meeting, particularly in meeting-heavy work cultures. But there are tactful ways to nudge people towards async-first communication. Next time someone asks for a "quick call" try one of these incredibly useful scripts from Dropbox:

"Thanks for including me! I'm wondering if we could try to solve this in a Twist thread instead?"

"I've been in so many meetings lately, but I'm trying to be more disciplined about my schedule. Could we try to solve this without a meeting, first?"

"I'd be happy to give you feedback on that! Before we schedule a meeting, could I review it in Paper/a Google Doc/Figma/a GitLab issue?"

Before meetings, start a Twist thread or document. Share all relevant information and discuss key issues before the meeting so that everyone can come with a complete understanding of the topic at hand.

After meetings, document discussions and outcomes. Start or continue a Twist thread or document so that people who weren't there can find that information. We've even started experimenting with recording the video of our meetings so that others can "attend" asynchronously. An app like TL;DV makes it easy to time stamp, annotate, and tag teammates in meeting recordings so anyone who missed the meeting can skip straight to the parts that are relevant to them.

Turn off notifications - try removing work apps from your phone altogether. Instead, set aside specific time blocks to check and respond to emails and messages during the day.

Use waiting time productively. We've found that waiting for a reply isn't a massive problem as there's always something else to work on.

Always check your document sharing settings. This seems like a small thing, but if someone needs to request access, it can lead to hours or even a full day of delay in an async workplace.

Things you can do as a team leader:

Promote writing and communication as core skills to master. This will reduce back-and-forths and help people get to the core of things faster. Everyone needs to be a great writer in an async workplace.

Evaluate people based on their output and results, not how responsive they are or the number of hours they work. We've written more on how to measure employee productivity.

Abolish required work hours or the requirements to come into an office. This will allow you to hire from anywhere in the world and will naturally move your organization towards more asynchronous communication when taps on the shoulder are no longer an option.

Emphasize trust, organization, independence, and accountability. Without these values, asynchronous communication will never work. For example, one of Doist's core values states that others can trust that you'll deliver on time and your teammates don't need to worry about you keeping your word. Brenna Loury, our CMO, has written in more detail about how to build trust in a remote, async-first "workplace".

Adopt a Direct Responsible Individual (DRI) model for management and decision-making. Made popular by Apple, DRI means a single person is responsible for any given area or project inside the company. That person doesn't do everything themselves but instead organizes the team or project, makes key decisions, and generally owns the timeline and results. The more you can decrease the number of people involved in decisions, decentralize authority, and increase individual accountability, the more efficient your team will be. This is true in any company but is especially crucial for success in an async environment.

Set reasonable, team-wide expectations for acceptable response times. For example, at Doist, we expect people to answer within 24 hours.

Make transparency and documentation a priority. For example, everyone at Doist can read all of the core discussions regardless of which team it is. This includes leadership discussions. With transparency, people don't miss crucial conversations or decisions. They can work more efficiently and independently when they don't have to ask others for the information they need.

Use tools that promote transparency, deep work, and async communication. e.g., Github pull requests, Basecamp conversations, and Twist threads. Don't use email internally. While email can be used asynchronously, it also locks information inside people's inboxes where no one else can find it. Collaboration becomes much less efficient when people can't find the information they need. More on the pitfalls of relying on email for team communication.

For communication-heavy roles like tech support or client services, implement a rotating coverage system. Some roles are more conducive to asynchronous communication than others, but all can benefit from blocking off chunks of time for deep work. Anti-Agency Group founder Amanda Au describes how their team uses a rotating coverage system to balance client communications and creative work:

While we haven't fully adopted an async model because we are a client services team, we promote DND (do-not-disturb) time blocks or full days. During your DND time, you'll have a teammate cover for you on any incoming client comms so that you can truly have undisturbed time to finish a presentation, ideate on strategy, or dive deep into reporting.

Doist's own head of front-end development, Henning, wrote more about how we use a rotating "hero system" and "house-keeping days" at Doist to create space for deep work even in communication-heavy roles.

Have communication channels for emergencies. Doist has Telegram rooms and phone numbers that we use as an emergency mechanism. We use these a few times per year for truly urgent incidents. The vast majority of things aren't urgent and don't require an instant response.

Async is an uphill battle that challenges the status quo

We know that we are challenging the status quo and that calm, asynchronous communication isn't the current norm. It's going to take a paradigm shift to change things.

We're betting that the most successful companies and teams will be the ones who make this shift in the future. It will be the teams that don't require their employees to be always-on, prioritize asynchronous communication to create space for deep work, and allow employees to disconnect and recharge fully. We're excited to share our journey and invite you to explore this space.

What's Twist? Twist is an async messaging app for teams burned out by real-time chat, meetings, and email.

You don't need to use Twist to get a ton of value out of this newsletter and community. But if the topics we talk about resonate with you, there's a good chance the app will too. See what makes Twist different →

🌎 Built asynchronously by the fully remote team at Doist

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What is asynchronous communication? Plus, how to implement it

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Study after study after study into remote work has clarified that remote workers are more productive than their office-bound counterparts. What's not entirely clear is why. Yes, people gain back time (and sanity) by avoiding rush hour commutes. They avoid the distractions of the office. They regain a sense of control over their workdays.