Staying connected while working from home is important, but not always easy. Here's how to do it for the non-tech savvy.

As technology has become more advanced, it has also become increasingly available to the masses. People are able to affordably buy technology that was considered to be groundbreaking just a few years ago, giving them new abilities and improving productivity at work. 

As technology has become more prevalent and available in society, there have been more people working from home. With all the tools and technology, they need to do their work, workers can avoid commuting and get more work done. However, staying connected with your team members and coworkers can be difficult, especially if you aren't familiar with the latest technology.

In this article, we'll go over how to stay connected with your team members when you're working from home.  

Video Communication Is Great For Staying Connected

If you are unfamiliar with working from home, you may start to feel isolated and distant from your coworkers. This is because you aren't seeing them as frequently. Without frequent contact, you can lose touch with them and fall behind on your work. 

However, when you see someone's face, it instantly creates that in-person connection. That is why video communication is great for staying in touch with coworkers. It helps people feel closer to each other and can help build a strong connection between team members. 

Video conferencing is also great for clear communication. According to a number of studies, body language accounts for around 60-80% of communication. When we talk on the phone, we rely solely on the person's voice to get information.

This makes it hard to know if the person agrees with you or is paying attention. If you use video communication, however, you can see the person's face and body language. This gives you clues as to how they feel and what they are thinking which improves communication. 

If your team is busy and doesn't have time for frequent video calls, set up a weekly meeting that everyone can attend over video conference. This gives you the opportunity to check in with everyone face-to-face and receive updates on their work. It also gives you the opportunity to build a stronger, more productive team. 

While video conferencing applications may seem complex, they are very user friendly and easy to set up. There is also plenty of information available about how to use them, so even people who don't use technology frequently should be able to use them. 

Use Calendar Applications

For most workers, their days are packed to the brim with meetings, appointments, calls, and other tasks. This lack of time can make it difficult to stay in touch with your team, especially if you don't know their busy schedules. 

By using a calendar application, you can give your team members far better transparency into your life. You can start by entering all your meetings and tasks into the calendar application and sending your team members invites to the application. 

This allows your team to see when you are busy; it also allows your team to schedule meetings with you if they need to talk. This can make it easier to stay in touch because you can block off time in your schedule. You can then ask your team members to also enter their schedule into the calendar. 

This makes it easier to keep track of your team. Rather than calling them and hoping they are available, you can check their schedule to make sure they are available. This saves everyone time and makes it easier to stay connected. 

Many calendar applications also communicate with other users on your behalf. For example, if you change the time or location of a meeting, it will send a notification to other attendees of that meeting. This lets you skip the process of calling people one by one to tell them that the meeting has changed. 

Use Chat Applications

When it comes to communication, people often want to be as thorough as possible. You don't want any confusion about what you're saying, especially in a work setting. However, there are times where you want to communicate quickly and efficiently without having to call someone on the phone. 

Chat applications like Slack are great for quick, efficient communication. Rather than calling someone to ask a simple question or waiting for them to respond over email, you can send them a direct message over chat. This allows them to not only see your question sooner but also respond faster.

This allows teams to easily stay connected without using more intensive forms of communication. These chat applications also allow you to send files, pictures, and GIFs to your coworkers, which can make communication easier, faster, and more entertaining as well. 

Use Team Collaboration Tools

If you're working on a large project with your team, it can be hard to keep track of everyone's work and stay connected. This can lead to reduced productivity and can even lead to catastrophic errors. You need to stay on top of your team's work so that you can know exactly what is going on. 

One of the best ways to monitor your team's progress and stay in touch is to use a team collaboration tool. Sites like Monday.com provide excellent collaboration hubs where you can check on your team's progress, set deadlines, assign people to projects, and much more. 

By using team collaboration tools, you can ensure that everyone stays on track. It also gives you the opportunity to connect with coworkers about work they are collaborating on and ensure there is no confusion. 

Stay Connected with Your Teams

Now that you know more about staying connected with your colleagues, you can start doing your own research about what tools will best fit your needs. Make sure to do your research about the cost and ease of implementation of these tools to ensure that they will work for you. 

If you have any more questions about workplace communication or working from home, please visit the COVID-19 Resource Centre.

Disclaimer: The advice and guidelines recommended in this article may change in the future as more and new information becomes available.