Asynchronous Strategy
Since the rise in remote and hybrid working more employees are asking for asynchronous working methods.
We regularly hear 'we have too many meetings' or 'how can we reduce the number of meetings'.
Most businesses can't move to a fully asynchronous model and some teams will be able to do more using asynchronous methods than others, for instance development teams manage to do a lot more using asynchronous processes.
It is also true that most businesses could drastically reduce the amount of meetings that they have so it is about finding the right balance.
In larger organisations 'townhalls' tend to be used to communicate business updates, very often this information is shared multiple times by different leaders, these updates could be posted on an internal hub or intranet, if you are worried that people don't read these updates how do you know they are listening during the townhall? There are systems now that provide intelligence on when people have opened articles and you can even have them confirm they have read it.
You can have internal SLA's for communication methods which determine if you send an email, set up a meeting or use instant messenger.
Some of the benefits of asynchronous working are:
- Flexibility
- More time to focus on work activities and tasks
- Less employee burnout
- Information is available to access at a later date
- Supports timezone challenges for globally distributed businesses
Some communication will always need to be synchronous for effective businesses such as 1:1 check in's, performance reviews, and team building activities.
By implementing some meeting standards you can reduce the number of meetings you may need to attend, for instance if you don't have an agenda 24 hours prior to the meeting then decline it, if you are in cc decline, if the host can't tell you the purpose of why you are invited or what value you are going to add then decline it.
We are happy to assess, recommend and implement an asynchronous strategy for your business, if you would like to discuss with us further please reach out.
