In a remote work trend, it can be tough to keep everyone in sync. Sometimes it feels like two people are working in different rooms and never getting the same thing done. It's essential to have a sync team up and running so that everyone can get their work done efficiently.
Remote work enables employees to do their jobs from different locations, even from around the world. Hence, the team needs to improve their work-life balance, and improve their task outcomes, according to Entrepreneur.
Well, because of this transformation of remote work or hybrid systems, remote teams need to adapt and use synchronous communication. How can synchronous collaboration help remote workers? Let’s take a look at the details below.
What is a synchronous collaboration?
Synchronous team collaboration is a type of collaborative work that allows teams to work together on a task simultaneously in real-time. This type of collaboration can help you achieve maximum results because it allows you to pool your resources and make joint decisions quickly.
In short, this type of collaboration is often used in remote work settings, where employees are working from different locations.
Synchronous team collaboration can be used for a variety of purposes, including developing products or services, managing projects, or collaborating on research. It can also be an effective way to keep employees organised and on track during periods of intense change.
Examples of synchronous collaboration
When a team works together in unison, they are able to communicate and collaborate faster than when everyone is working separately.
This makes synchronic team collaboration more efficient and effective overall. Additionally, it allows teams to share ideas and concepts more easily because they can all see the same information at the same time.
Let's take a look at some examples of synchronous collaboration of remote workers:
- In-person meeting
- Phone calls or video calls
- Live webinars or classes
- Instant messaging (when immediate responses are needed)
What are the purposes of synchronous collaboration?
1. Improve productivity
One of the most common ways synchronous team collaboration is used is to help improve productivity. When employees are working on tasks simultaneously, they can get through tasks by sharing ideas and working on different parts of a task at the same time.
2. Direct communication
Further, by using synchronous team collaboration, teams can communicate directly with one another without having to go through someone else. This allows for more effective communication and better teamwork.
3. Tracking progress
Another common way synchronous team collaboration is used is for shared task management. When employees use synchronised team collaboration, they can track and manage their tasks more efficiently by keeping track of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done.
Using synchronous team collaboration can help reduce stress since everyone on the team knows how much work needs to be done and when it will need to be done next. By using synchronicity in your workplace, you can avoid any potential conflicts or disruptions that can potentially impact productivity levels.
4. High-quality achievement
One study from Science Alert showed that by using synchronisation tools correctly, you can help your team achieve high-quality results while reducing costs.
Best practices for using synchronisation tools include setting limits on tasks, breaking tasks into specific parts or phases, and ensuring that tasks are completed in an ordered manner.
What are the benefits of synchronous collaboration?
1. Improve team engagement
Synchronous can overcome any delay or interruption in communication by working together as a team. Virtual team development has become popular after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even if it's online, spending time with your coworkers can help your company create a cohesive team of individuals who are motivated to work toward the goals.
2. Simplify the feedback
Proper feedback is important for a healthy workplace. Feedback can boost productivity and allow teams to produce better outcomes. By ensuring a healthy and good flow of communication, feedback helps the team avoid costly errors.
Team members are encouraged to give their best effort since it keeps everyone on task. However, giving and receiving feedback can be more difficult because many businesses operate remotely. Hence, with video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Google Meet, managers and staff can stay on task and always sync.
3. Work faster
The use of project management tools in remote collaboration helps the team to handle various challenges faster. The most urgent issues can be resolved faster. You don’t have to wait for someone else to respond, hence the work can continue.
Working on a task faster and with less stress due to the synchronised nature of the work also can impact your better outcomes.
4. Improve sharing knowledge
Synchronous collaboration also enables your team to share knowledge and ideas in real-time, which helps to prevent confusion.
There are some undertakings that demand quick thinking and brainstorming meetings. In this situation, having a mechanism to discuss the project without having to wait for people to go online is always useful. Instead, team members can receive immediate feedback and move on to solving problems.
5. Connecting the team
Since remote workers are physically separated from their co-workers, they may experience loneliness and a sense of being numb and unseen. Working in a different time zone from the rest of the team can make the loneliness even worse.
Synchronous communication makes remote teams feel more connected and like a member of the team, which can help them bridge the gap that remote work has created.
Since people typically don't take too long to construct a message, synchronous communication is also more informal. It's live, quick, and simulates spoken conversation. Remote workers consider it more friendly because of its informality.
Wrapping Up
Synchronous team collaboration can help you achieve maximum results. By understanding the basics of it, using it for the best results, and being prepared for the future of synchronous team collaboration, you can gain more success.
The effectiveness of a synchronous team collaboration project depends on the tools and techniques used to successfully achieve the objectives set by the team members. In order to maximise the results of a synchronisation project, it is important to use the right tools for the right purposes.
Thus, it includes using tools that will help you track and measure progress, as well as analyse data to identify problems and potential solutions. Try VirtualSpace to help your synchronous collaboration better.
