Communication Struggles In The Remote Workforce
What do you think of when I say, “Three’s Company”? Immediately some of you will know exactly what I’m talking about. Some of you may have read it and think of the saying, “Two’s company. Three’s a crowd”. Another group won’t have a clue. I’m referring to Three’s Company the sitcom.
If you’re not familiar with Three’s Company, it was a sitcom where something was always misunderstood and blown out of proportion for lack of communication. In the end the people realized how wrong they had been to come to their conclusions based on the little information they had. It was all done in a very funny way with lots of laughs.
That’s often how we communicate with virtual assistants and remote workers as well. We all get information and think we know what is going on, what the other person is saying and even feeling. We think a lot of things and actually know very little. We don’t ask enough questions and assume too much.
Here’s an example that comes from my brother’s office. He was working with two other engineers on a project.
Engineer 1: Quoted a line from Seinfeld.
Brother: “Are you a Seinfeld fan?”
Engineer 1: “Who’s Seinfeld?”
Engineer 2: “He is a comedian that has his own podcast.”
Brother: “Podcast? I’m referring to the sitcom.”
Engineer 1: “Never heard of either.”
Engineer 2: “I heard of it, but I’ve never watched an episode.”
This is an example of how we give and get information all the time. All of them shared some knowledge of Seinfeld, but all from completely different perspectives and without having complete knowledge of Seinfeld or how they each viewed him. Below are three things you can do to avoid this scenario when working remotely.
- Have the person repeat back what they heard and explain the “why” to you. Now you know if what you are saying is being fully grasped by the person you are telling it to. Inevitably someone is going to ask them “why” and if they can’t answer, that becomes the first missing link in the chain of communication.
- Look for confirmation of how the information was received. Is the person excited or hesitant after getting the information. Should you change the method of communication?
- Follow-up with an email. If it has any importance at all it has to be written down. No one can be expected to remember everything you said or the instructions you gave. A simple bullet point list will do the trick.
Communication is more than hearing and listening — it is understanding. If we’re not understanding we’re wasting time.
Because you can’t do it all yourself…….. Melissa Smith, The PVA is the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant. To learn more about working with the right Virtual Assistant contact Melissa here.
