Crucial Communication Strategies All Remote-First Organizations Need To Thrive

• Successful remote-first organizations rely heavily on structured communication strategies, such as organized Slack channels, to manage expectations and prevent burnout.
• Ensuring employee satisfaction through flexible work arrangements and clear communication guidelines is key to retaining top talent and maintaining productivity in a remote environment.
• Well-structured onboarding processes and ongoing mentorship are vital for integrating new hires and fostering cross-departmental relationships, which help in maintaining a cohesive company culture in a remote setting.

Maybe you’ve heard it before: Communication is the cornerstone of success. It’s worth repeating. 

Effective communication strategies are essential for organizations to thrive in a remote-first environment, enabling teams to overcome geographical barriers and maintain strong collaboration and productivity. 

As one example of success, Jonathan Treble, CEO of WithMe, Inc., has positioned his company at the forefront by embracing a remote-first model using smart communication strategies. In a recent interview, Treble shared insights into how WithMe has thrived as a remote-first organization, and the critical role communication plays in this success. 

The Shift to Remote Work

The transition to remote work, initially driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed significant benefits such as improved work-life balance and increased productivity. Companies quickly adapted by embracing communication tools like Slack and restructuring meeting cadences. 

For instance, WithMe, Inc., a provider of technology-powered amenities to multifamily real estate operators, leveraged these tools to facilitate their sudden shift to remote work. The tools enabled them to recruit talent from a broader geographical area, and allowed them to access a much larger talent pool, which further solidified the decision to remain remote.

Prioritizing Employee Satisfaction 

Employee satisfaction plays a crucial role in the success of remote work. By allowing employees to work from wherever they choose, companies can retain and attract top talent who value flexibility. WithMe’s experience highlights the importance of this approach. Treble, the company’s CEO, emphasized that maintaining employee satisfaction was a key factor in their decision to stay remote. 

Clear communication strategies are vital to this effort to prioritize employee needs. To mitigate potential burnout due to constant connectivity, companies need to establish guidelines for communication, setting expectations for response times and ensuring employees are not overwhelmed by notifications.

Efficient Remote Communication

Efficient communication is one of the biggest challenges of remote work; companies need to thoughtfully set up their communication platforms. WithMe, for example, organized their Slack with appropriate channel groups for different teams, leadership groups, and cross-functional teams. 

They also implemented service level agreements (SLAs) for communication channels to manage expectations and prevent burnout. This structured approach, with Slack messages expected to be responded to within a couple of hours and emails within 24 hours, helps employees prioritize their tasks without feeling constantly tethered to their devices.

Onboarding and Mentorship

Onboarding new staff in a remote setting presents unique challenges. To replicate the in-office experience, companies can design regimented onboarding processes involving intensive training sessions led by HR and department heads. 

WithMe’s approach included a detailed two-week onboarding process, which helped new hires integrate smoothly. Maintaining momentum beyond the initial onboarding period is crucial. Regular one-on-one meetings between supervisors and reports are essential for soliciting feedback and ensuring employee satisfaction.

Regular one-on-one meetings between supervisors and reports are essential for soliciting feedback and ensuring employee satisfaction.

Treble acknowledged the importance of ongoing mentorship, an area where WithMe continues to innovate. Drawing on best practices from other companies, they are considering a more formal mentorship program that pairs new hires with both a peer mentor from their team and a mentor from outside their team to foster cross-departmental relationships and facilitate comprehensive integration into the company culture.

My recommendation, which he found helpful, was to set up a hybrid mentoring system. I have helped several clients implement this system, and it has proved to be impactful in overcoming the frustrations and challenges inherent in hybrid work models. 

A highly effective approach involves pairing new hires with both a peer mentor from their team to learn their team dynamics and direct work tasks, and a mentor from outside their team, which functions to foster cross-departmental relationships and facilitates a more comprehensive integration into the company culture.

The Future of Remote Work

Looking ahead, refining communication strategies to support growth is essential for remote-first organizations. As Treble noted, “For a company that’s nearly doubled every year, things are kind of breaking and need to be rebuilt every 18 months.” Ensuring that communication remains effective as companies scale is a top priority, and balancing the right amount of communication is key. 

Finding that balance involves top-down communication, peer-to-peer communication, and cross-department communication, executed with a thoughtful balance to avoid over-communication and under-communication.

By prioritizing employee satisfaction, setting clear communication guidelines, and continuously improving onboarding and mentorship processes, companies can create thriving remote work environments. As organizations navigate the future of work, insights from WithMe’s experience offer valuable lessons on the benefits and challenges of a remote-first model.