Team communication is not easy in the digital age…ambiguous messages, microaggressions in team chats, and conversations taking place over multiple platforms…it’s no wonder that employees are feeling the mental stressors associated with technology-use. Even for the most established companies (who have been working remotely before remote work became a thing) ensuring effective communication online can be tricky. This is where team charters come into play, and is a simple–but effective–measure that can be taken to promote workplace digital well-being.Team charters are a formal document that is created with input from all members of the group that oulines the expectations, norms, and behaviours associated with online team communication.
Five reasons why your team needs one:
1. It creates boundries. “Logging off” afterhours has become increasingly difficult thanks to technology. Creating expectations surrounding after-hours messaging and email can help to eleviate the pressure that employees feel to respond, while respecting personal boundaries.
2. It makes what is implicit for some, explicit for all. New employees do not know the “ins and outs” of the company and are less likely to have a sense of psychological safety than tenured employees. This is exacerbated in a remote workplace. Formalizing workplace norms can help clarify expectations and make what’s implict for some, explicit for all.
3. It will change the way you do meetings. When is the last time you had a really good video conference meeting? Communication charters outline meeting etiquette, including: agenda setting, community building, video camera norms (on or off?), presenting, chat and breakout rooms, and expectations for participant engagement. This helps to make meetings more inclusive, increases team cohesion, limits side conversations, and multi-tasking behaviours.
4. It brings clarity. Since many remote workers work all hours of the day, it’s important to know when (and where) individuals can meet up online to work on tasks together, or even get a simple question answered. Therefore, charters help to ensure there is efficient “team overlap” between remote workers during certain times of the day to improve efficiency and clarity.
5. It increases trust amongst teams. When there are clear expectations surrounding response times for emails, messages, and project communication, employees can assume positive intent in others. Charters also help to create a more equitable environment in which all employees are heard and ‘seen’ in a digital environment.
