Unarguably, one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught people across the world is – there is hardly anything, humans cannot perform virtually. In the aftermath, virtual communication has become a staple as the landscape of remote work culture has become a trend. According to Kanat Sultanbekov, despite the technological evolvement facilitating virtual connectivity, it comes with certain obstacles that often appear challenging. It might be related to the lack of empathy, technical issues, misinterpretation, or disparity of culture. To explore some of the common challenges of virtual communication and their solutions, keep reading.
Technological Obstruction: Every team member working virtually might not have access to updated devices or high-speed internet, which may restrict them in effective and timely communication. While effective communication is the core of collaboration, leading to the success of a project, the barrier tends to hinder a team from reaching its deadline
Solutions: To avoid the issue, establishments need to invest considerably in infrastructure to ascertain seamless access to global standard technology and broadband internet for every team member. The use of task and project management software-backed workspaces like Asana can allow team members to plan, collaborate, organize, and execute major tasks by timeline.
Misinterpretations: A common problem experienced in virtual communication is interpretations due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. Noteworthy, without having the ability to view facial expressions, body language, tone, etc, misinterpretations are nothing strange. This can lead to disputes, waste of time, and productivity loss.
Solutions: To deal with this challenge, it makes sense to promote clarity and simplicity while messaging. Inviting mentorship guidance to explore the technique of expressing emoticons, choosing a clear-cut language, and adopting video conferencing calls wherever needed enabling members to seamlessly convey the intents.
Promoting empathy, trust, and solidarity: Forming understanding, harmony, and reliance seems to be challenging in virtual settings because of the lack of physical presence.
Solutions: To overcome the challenge, prioritizing activities for relationship-building like virtual team-building workshops, informal check-ins, and promoting a dedicated communication channel can work magical. According to Kanat Sultanbekov, forming a group or online forum and inspiring team members to actively participate can uncover the scope to promote informal interactions is a great idea to reinforce bonds and foster a sense of belonging among team members.
Time Zone Discrepancies: A team working in a global setting often experiences challenges and struggles in effective communication due to disparities in time zones. Simply put, if a project deadline is fixed on Friday at 6 pm. It may be confusing to set a suitable time considering someone is working from the US while another is from Asia or Europe.
Solutions: Make sure to adopt a flexible schedule and considering the difference in time zone, create a different deadline that synchronizes the timeline of the country to which the client belongs. This is a very common issue these days and maintaining transparency in communication about deadlines and deliverables will be helpful in aligning team members to work regardless of their geographical distances.
Cultural Disparities: Cultural differences and diversity in linguistics can have a major impact on the dynamics of virtual communication, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings.
Solutions: To avoid the issue, it is vital to encourage cultural awareness among the team and bring sensitivity among them by adopting cross-cultural training procedures and workshops on cultural competency. Make sure to foster open communication, welcoming diversity, and promoting a work culture that embraces inclusivity. Doing so can create an ambiance where different viewpoints and opinions are valued and respected.
To conclude, living in the landscape of virtual communication with challenges around, having insightful and proactive steps is the key to addressing the issues and establishing effective communication as well as collaboration. So, embrace strategies depending on the unique challenges and overcome the efficiency while encouraging seamless virtual interactions.
