Is there such a thing as too much communication with remote workers?
The insurance industry today is experiencing an exponential increase in the number of agents working from home causing a huge shift in how remote workers work and how managers effectively lead and communicate with them. The Covid-19 virus has impacted nearly every industry worldwide and the insurance industry is no different; however, they have never experienced such a sudden, broad-based exodus of employees moving from corporate offices to remote offices.
The largest problem facing the rapid sales transformation required of leaders in managing this new remote work force is effective communication. The reverse is true for the agents working in an environment that is foreign to them. How do managers ensure their workforce is working to capacity and more importantly staying focused on the company’s strategic and tactical goals? What can they do to help these workers stay on task and deliver the results expected from the entire team? How do they motivate them? And, how do remote workers stay in the loop and not miss out on critical conversations? How can they ensure they are doing the appropriate work to attain organizational results? The answer: Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Studies show that 90% of companies do a poor job of effectively communicating with their employees and particularly when communicating to cross-functional groups. And, this was before Covid-19 when workers were in the office—not working remotely! Research also shows that 62% of executives agree that relative to audioconferencing, video conferencing significantly improves the quality of communication, a figure that rises to 73% among high-growth companies.1 In addition, viewers retain over 95% of video content versus barely 10% with text.
When introducing a new pathway for teams, the ability to increase engagement and retention is critical especially when leading remote teams. Video conferencing is becoming the de facto standard for corporate communications. A key feature is that the entire team can get on a video conference call and see each other, just like in a conference room back in the office. What happens when the meeting is over? How do you ensure everyone stays aligned to organizational goals and priorities? Another benefit is the ability to record video conferences. It can be transcribed and shared in text, if needed. Short summaries can be created to deliver critical, salient points across the team. Along with this, leadership needs to employ feedback loops to know who is engaged with your communications. When discussing critical information where the execution of this information is important to the entire organization find the best ways to increase engagement and retention.
1 Forbes – 5 Reasons Why Your Company Needs to Embrace Video Conferencing Now
