One of the great things about our team here at YSN is that we fully embrace the concept of workshifting. We know that as long as we have a connection to the web, we can get our work done.
Our staff work from their home offices and couches on most days. Sometimes we are on planes or a coffee shop halfway around the world.
The great thing about today’s world is that we don’t have to have a physical office that everyone comes to at 9 in the morning to start the work day.
Twice a week we jump on the phone for a staff call that keeps us connected and up to date, but recently we realized something that is rarely talked about: The fact that not only do you have to communicate with your remote team, but you also need to see them.
Face-to-face is always the best option for creating a real sense of collaboration, and we try to get together in person as a team whenever possible, but lately we’ve been doing more of our calls using video so that we can at least create a sense of that, and see the faces we’re talking to.
This is important especially for tough conversations. Silence on the other end of a conference call is un-nerving. But when you switch it to a video call, you can see facial expressions and know if someone is silent because they are angry, or if they simply muted their phone since the dog was barking.
We’ve been using the built-in video conference capabilities of Redbooth lately, and the service has performed perfectly. I’m also a big fan of GoToMeeting and Google Hangouts.
No matter what technology you use, be sure that whoever you are working with gets to see your face from time to time, and you see theirs.
It’s more important than you might realize.
