The shift towards hybrid work and remote teams has enabled companies to expand into new markets or recruit talent from around the world. Today, employees can widen their search and seek employment almost anywhere, as long as they have a reliable internet connection.
In fact, according to Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm, 34% of employees want a fully remote gig VS only 8% who wanted a fully remote job pre-pandemic. It’s no secret the global pandemic changed every aspect of our lives and when it comes to employment, the message is clear: people want flexibility.
While proven to increase productivity, work-life balance, and overall satisfaction, remote work can present its own unique set of challenges for employers and employees alike, including working across multiple time zones, language barriers, and flexible work hours.
The seismic shift towards remote working has forced employers to reconsider the ways they communicate with their teams and the way to do this effectively is through asynchronous communication. But before we fully dive into that, let's figure out what exactly asynchronous working is, and if your company could benefit from an overhaul in communications and project management tools for better team management.
What is Asynchronous Work?
Picture this scenario: you log onto your computer at 9:00 a.m. for a Zoom call. Your colleagues are taking the call in the office’s boardroom today but you opted to stay home since you have a mid-day appointment.
During the meeting, you quickly respond to a Slack message your colleague sent you late the previous evening with a status update on a project you’re working on together. The colleague won’t read this message for another couple of hours, since they’re located on the opposite coast and operate in a time zone that is about three hours behind yours.
This is an example of asynchronous communication or async communication which refers to the practice of working on a team that does not require all members to be online simultaneously. This is the typical day-to-day for many organizations that operate in a hybrid or remote-first way that champions nonlinear work days, with team members distributed across the globe.
In a pre-pandemic world, working like this may have sounded extremely disorganized and difficult, but it has become the norm for so many and as we’ve seen with hybrid and remote models, actually provides many benefits for both employers and employees.
What Are the Benefits of Asynchronous Work?
Increased Flexibility
Asynchronous work allows employees to make a schedule and work the hours that best suit their individual needs, versus trying to accommodate colleagues. As we’ve seen with hybrid and remote working modes, this flexibility and autonomy do wonders in boosting employee morale and overall corporate culture. A happy employee is less likely to leave, thus supporting greater retention and saving you money on recruitment-related investment.
Fewer Meetings = Time Saved
We’ve all seen the meme, “When a meeting could have been an email” and when you work asynchronously, that becomes the reality. Since asynchronous teams are choosing their own hours and working across different time zones, non-essential meetings become virtually non-existent. Employees have to be more intentional with when and how they communicate with one another, often leveraging digital and social communications platforms (which we will discuss in more detail later in this blog).
Increased Productivity
The standard 40/hour workweek forced employees to work within a prescribed time range, typically between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. With asynchronous work, employees are no longer bound by these time constraints and instead can do deep work during the hours when they are the most productive. If you find you are the most focused and creative at night, excellent!
You can spend your mornings catching up on personal errands or chores and allocate the bulk of your tasks and projects to later in the day. More of a morning person? Wake up early and get everything done so you can enjoy an earlier end to the day. All of this and more is possible with asynchronous working arrangements.
Creates an Environment of Trust
Asynchronous work is synonymous with trust because it is a working style that requires senior leadership to completely let go of any micro-managing tendencies and instead trust that employees are doing their jobs.
This creates an environment that is focused on deadlines with clear expectations instead of being online during traditional office hours during pre-determined times of day. This environment of trust builds a stronger, happier and more empowered team which ultimately creates a more positive work experience and corporate culture.
Makes Global Hiring a Breeze
With asynchronous work, employers are no longer limited by geographic location when looking to recruit top-tier talent. With asynchronous work, the entire world is a potential new hire. What’s more, when you hire across time zones, you get the benefit of having coverage at all hours of the day in addition to diverse, fresh perspectives and skill sets.
More Thoughtful Decision-Making
Asynchronous work allows for more thoughtful, deliberate decision-making because teams are no longer forced to make snap decisions on the spot in a real-time, in-office environment. This creates additional opportunities for employees at all levels to evaluate the situation and provide input on the best course of action.
Keep Better Records
With asynchronous work – and communication – all conversations and activities are tracked. Employees at all levels share files on sharing platforms as well as have collaborative documents where you can see who is working on them at any given time and what changes they have made. This level of transparency keeps people on track with the many moving parts of projects in their various stages of development as well as promotes a culture of collaboration.
At this point in the blog, we bet you’re entirely convinced that asynchronous work is the way to go for your organization, but you’re worried that a fully remote environment may impact productivity. Won’t employees be too tempted by the comforts of home to work as hard or as efficiently as they would in the office? You’re right to be concerned, anything new and different can be daunting and present some hurdles to overcome.
That’s why we’ve outlined top tips for staying productive while working from home, which you can share with your teams or leverage for yourself. We hope that these will facilitate your team's successful asynchronous working.
How to be Productive When You Work from Home
Use Time Management Techniques
With asynchronous work, you have the flexibility to create your own schedule. Couple that with working from home and you may experience a period of struggle as you adjust to this new work environment. Leverage time management techniques to keep yourself on track. One useful approach is The Pomodoro Method, which is an approach where you alternate focused working sessions with short breaks to promote longer concentration.
Create a Dedicated Workspace
Creating a dedicated space inside your home is crucial to creating an environment where you can truly focus on work. When you first begin working from home it may be a confusing mental shift to go from home being a place of leisure to a place of business, so creating a space with the proper tools, like a desk, computer set-up and notebooks, can help you visualize it better and get in the right headspace.
Establish a Lunch Hour
In the office, lunch is a time to take a break from work, step away from your desk and engage with co-workers. Try and emulate this break time by setting a consistent lunch hour where you give yourself time and space to disconnect, refuel and talk to someone about something other than work.
Schedule Face-to-Face Meetings
Working asynchronously means that scheduling meetings might take a little more coordination, however, they can still be done. Meetings are still necessary to develop a stronger sense of connection and camaraderie among colleagues. Try and book video conferencing meetings where you can see one another and mix in some friendly chat before all the work talk.
Leverage Productivity Apps
There are countless apps you can download right to your smartphone that can help keep you and your never-ending to-do list on track. Just search ‘productivity’ in the app store.
Take PTO
Personal time off is there for you to take and while it can be hard when you are extremely busy and dedicated to your work, it is important to disconnect and spend some time away indulging in your own hobbies, interests, and leisure time.
Limit In-House Distractions
Try to keep the at-home distractions at bay by avoiding things you know can set you off track. This may look like avoiding working in front of the television or switching off a podcast to classic music to keep you focused on words you need to read or type. Whatever your distractions may be, try as best you can to limit them during your working hours.
Prioritize Tasks
Perfect the art of prioritizing which tasks are to be done first based on level of importance. This skill, refined over time, will help you work smarter, not harder, and ensure everything gets done in a timely and efficient manner.
Ask for Help
When all else fails, turn to your leaders and colleagues for support. In an asynchronous, remote working environment, everyone understands the learning curve that comes with this new way of working and is generally more than happy to share tips and tricks about what worked best for them along the way.
Tools and Technologies for Asynchronous Work
Here is a round-up of tools that can help you hire, onboard, engage and manage your remote-first, distributed teams in a way that improves productivity and reduces the risks of miscommunication for both organizations and their teams. Successful async working takes time and effort to get everyone on the same page, but once your remote workers are all set, the magic will happen.
Our list includes tools and technologies to improve asynchronous workflows, refine processes, and keep asynchronous workers connected and engaged with one another, whether you’re in the office or on the other side of the world.
You'll also find some project management software and tools to facilitate the perfect blend of asynchronous and synchronous work. While getting an immediate response isn't always necessary, synchronous communication can sometimes be helpful and these tools can facilitate it as well.
Basecamp
Basecamp refers to its platform as “refreshingly simple project management”. Basecamp provides users with features like message boards, document, and file-sharing capabilities, to-do lists, schedules, and real-time progress tracking.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud-based file hosting service that allows users to store things like computer backups, photo libraries, thousands of documents, and more – all in one place. Dropbox has other integrated features like Sign, which streamlines your document workflows with legally binding eSignatures and Passwords. This allows you to automatically store unlimited passwords in one central secure place.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is another platform where users can chat, make video calls, and share files while integrating natively with all other Microsoft products. This tool makes collaboration simple by allowing users to easily find, share, and edit files together in real-time with apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
MyZenTeam
MyZenTeam is an employee engagement platform that enables your team to build lasting connections and celebrate achievements. With MyZenTeam, employers can manage their team’s people data (birthdays, work anniversaries, national holidays, and more) in one organized and secure database, edit essential information and regulate access to sensitive data in real-time from any device.
Slack
Slack is a messaging app for businesses that helps connect teams to the information they need. With Slack, team members navigate a user-friendly interface that lets them chat with their colleagues, share files, collaborate, and more. The tool also can integrate with other commonly used business products like G Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, DropBox and many more.
Trello
Trello is a project management tool that can make cross-collaboration and automation of tedious tasks super simple. Users can set up boards to organize tasks and keep teams moving forward. Lists break down the different stages of a task and can be customized into workflows that fit your team’s specific needs. Cards are another function that represents all the tasks and ideas with information relevant to help everyone get their work done.
Zoom
Zoom is a communications platform that allows users to connect via video, audio, phone, and chat. It’s become a popular choice among remote-first employers who want to collaborate and host meetings from a distance. With Zoom, you can have breakout rooms and use emoji reaction functions and filter features. There are free and paid-for subscriptions depending on your organization’s specific needs.
Want to learn more about asynchronous best practices and how to navigate the exciting, new(ish) world of remote, global work? Check out the Borderless Blog for more insightful articles, news, and advice.
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