21 Rules For Online Collaboration and Communication

Collaborating on some juicy beats.

In the last couple of months, I talked to hundreds of managers, researchers, MBA/psych/soc students, and reviewed tens of peer-reviewed studies and case descriptions of remote-first companies, with a simple question in mind: what makes an effective remote team?

Based on these conversations and queries, I’ve compiled a list of rules and tips for effective virtual collaboration and communication.

Here’s the list. Ignore at your own peril.

1. Formulate clear and ambitious goals. They turn loose groups into collaborating teams.
2. Establish communication norms early. Set up a launch/relaunch meeting with your team to decide clear norms of communication.
3. Have a single truth center. Preferably in one app, like Basecamp, MS Teams, or Slack.
4. Communicate in bursts. Asynchronous most of the time, real-time when back-and-forth is crucial.
5. Learn to write clearly. Avoid jargon. Be concise. Ask yourself: “What’s really important?”.
6. With lists, choose numbers over bullet points. That way, whoever comments can refer to specific points.
7. Plan regular online meetings. But make them as short and few as possible.
8. Leverage asynchronicity for good meetings. Send the meeting agenda in advance, meeting minutes, and actions afterward.
9. Accept redundancy. For important messages, it’s ok to send an email, Slack someone, and then mention it during the meeting.
10. If possible, meet in person to socialize. If not, socialize online, but do it from a non-work space.
11. Respect other people’s time. Don’t send messages outside of work hours. Don’t press urgency.
12. When asking for help, make sure you need it. The “search” button on your computer is your friend. So are Wikipedia, Google, and Stack Overflow.
13. Keep the messages concise, clear, and courteous (that’s 3 C’s from the 7 C’s of Communication — make sure to check out the full list)
14. Be kind to one another. Appreciate. Show gratitude. Be patient.
15. Be present. During online meetings, stay focused. It doesn’t mean that you need to have your camera on — Zoom fatigue is a real thing — but by being present, you’re taking advantage of what synchronous has to offer.
16. Define your role and contribution. Before engaging in group work, make sure that your tasks are clear.
17. Share your availability. To facilitate the switch between synchronous and asynchronous, make sure that people know when they can get some face time with you.
18. Don’t fetishize tools. There’s a high likelihood that the tools your team currently uses are enough to facilitate online communication. You just need to use them in the right way.
19. Turn the camera off. Very few meetings require a camera — in fact, teams that communicate primarily via voice perform better in various tasks than those that rely on video.
20. Plan for breaks between online meetings. Back in the day, when we actually MET in person, we needed time to switch between one conference room and another. Reclaim that time—schedule breaks.
21. Find time to ask how others are doing. During or before meetings, create space for others to share their experiences and reflect on their well-being. Offer support. Adapt.

These rules are based on solid evidence and relevant experience, but I’m open to more suggestions from practitioners and researchers — hopefully, that’s you!

Care to help / add / discuss?

If you do, share your thoughts, and I’ll make sure to keep the list expanding and up to date!