How We Work: The Importance of Communication Within Remote Teams

“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” – Peter Drucker

The key to building any successful relationship is good communication. This is true both in your personal interactions and in your professional ones. But as the world moves toward virtual workplaces, many people are discovering that building strong, trusting, professional relationships is difficult. Without seeing someone on a daily basis and without water cooler interactions, hallway run-ins, and breakroom chats, relationship building can break down, leading to an erosion of trust and company culture.

Communication practices become even more critical in the virtual workplace. 

We have learned how important communication is when building a team with virtual assistants or when outsourcing projects or tasks to a Freedom Maker. 

For example, we recently had a client come to our Client Success Manager (CSM), and report that their Freedom Maker was not meeting their needs. The client expressed frustration and even some disappointment. Our CSM and our Freedom Maker Success Manager (FSM), were surprised to hear of this client’s dissatisfaction because the Freedom Maker in question was reasonably experienced working with clients and handling various administrative tasks. 

Our FSM quickly reached out to the Freedom Maker to find out what was happening. Our practice is to obtain a complete picture of the issues between the client and their virtual assistant. We have two internal team members working together to facilitate relationships. We always ask for the Freedom Maker’s input and observations and the client’s. In this case, the Freedom Maker was just as surprised about the feedback as the internal team was! 

The client had not communicated any frustrations or unhappiness to the Freedom Maker.

We then encouraged the Freedom Maker to reach out to the client directly. They met via Zoom, and through their discussion, the client and the Freedom Maker uncovered a misunderstanding regarding the clients’ expectations. The client believed they had been clear about what they needed, but when they heard what the Freedom Maker had understood to have been her responsibilities, the client could see clearly why the Freedom Maker wasn’t delivering.

Together, they reset expectations and began again.

Up to that point in their relationship, they were not meeting once a week or having regular communication. Things were getting lost in the email back-and-forth. Once they spoke and went through expectations, the Freedom Maker could begin fulfilling the client’s needs quickly. 

Within just a few months, the client provided an excellent review of this same Freedom Maker, and they are continuing to enjoy a productive, trust-filled working relationship. 

This example - and others like it - prove that communication is of the utmost importance and cannot be taken for granted, especially in the early days of the Freedom Maker/client relationship. 

To establish excellent communication, the client needs to be willing to carve out time working with their virtual assistant during the first few weeks. Likewise, the Freedom Maker must be ready to step up, ask questions, request clarification when there is confusion, and help establish that flow of communication. 

The Freedom Maker Virtual Services’ “click” is more easily obtained when communication flows.

The click is when the Freedom Maker seamlessly fits into a client’s business and team. The Freedom Maker makes life easier for the client by taking on their tasks with confidence and enthusiasm. The client finds they can rely on the Freedom Maker and quickly leans on them for the success of their business. 

The click can be immediate or grow through excellent and regular communication.

In the circumstance outlined above, the click was not immediate. Because communication was impeded, the relationship between the Freedom Maker and the client was almost abandoned. Instead, improved communication practices created the perfect foundation for a terrific FMVS click!

In a different example of the necessity of communication, one of our clients had been working with her Freedom Maker for a few months when an issue presented itself. The client is very busy and overwhelmed with her workload (typical of many small business owners!). She had great plans for her Freedom Maker and began outsourcing tasks. However, because of her busy schedule and the time and training for some of the tasks intended for the Freedom Maker required, it was difficult for the client to find the time to hand off all the work. Her Freedom Maker did an excellent job training for the tasks she was given and was quickly producing fantastic results. The client noticed and was thrilled! She planned to increase the Freedom Maker’s work and responsibilities. Still, because she was so busy, she hadn’t had time to communicate her hectic schedule or her intentions of further utilizing Freedom Maker to her Freedom Maker!

From the Freedom Maker’s perspective, she was excited to work with this client because of the hours proposed and the job described. The number of hours per week fit with her schedule and would help her pay the bills and add to her family’s financial security.

However, because the client was so busy, the work had not increased to meet the hours estimated. The Freedom Maker reached out to our FMS to explain that she was considering stepping back from this client so that she could pursue other opportunities that would fulfill her hourly requirements. Jenny listened through the Freedom Maker’s concerns and then contacted our CSM to discuss the issue. 

At the same time, the Freedom Maker notified the client that she would be moving on. The client was so surprised! She highly valued her Freedom Maker and didn’t understand the issue – or even that there was one. Our CSM was able to explain the situation to the client over the phone.

Again, a lack of communication and muddled expectations were the root of the problem!

Not wanting to lose her Freedom Maker, the client scheduled a meeting, and the two parties talked it through. Once they communicated clearly with each other, they were both able to move forward happily in their relationship! The client could outsource additional tasks to her Freedom Maker, who was then working more hours each week.

Despite a rocky start, their click was established, and a successful working relationship continues today.

This example illustrates how communication can resolve issues and even prevent a dissolution of a relationship! 

At Freedom Makers Virtual Services, we recommend that clients and their Freedom Makers frequently meet in the early days of their working relationship to discuss any issues or hiccups they are experiencing and bring forth whatever is on their minds. We have found these communications should happen via phone or a Zoom video call — not through email. Often the issues result from solvable problems, such as technology malfunction or misunderstanding of expectations. 

Both parties must be honest, professional, forthright, and transparent in their communication. 

Transparency is one of our Freedom Maker Virtual Services guiding principles. It helps establish expectations, boundaries, tasks, and rules of engagement. The client and the Freedom Maker must both practice transparency through their communications so issues can be worked out. 

The small, non-verbal clues typically perceived during interactions can be lost in a virtual world. Without frequent “face-to-face” (by way of video messaging) meetings, we might not recognize that something is wrong or that there is dissatisfaction. You can’t hear the groan over the cubicle wall or see the crossed arms when talking about a task. You can’t see the tightened jaw or overhear a frustrated tone during a venting session with a friend. 

In a virtual workplace, clear, concise, transparent communication is critical. 

Of course, not every issue between a Freedom Maker and their client can be resolved. If a resolution cannot be achieved, or if the “click” (a positive, symbiotic, professional relationship) is missing between a client and their Freedom Maker, the internal team can help find a replacement or additional Freedom Maker to help resolve the issue. 

Because Freedom Makers Virtual Services is structured around what freedom represents, both the Freedom Maker and the client can walk away from a relationship that doesn’t benefit them.  But our goal is for each client and each Freedom Maker to click and reap the benefits of an awesome working relationship.

If you are interested in learning more about who we are and how we work, reach out and schedule a call.