Roughly 10% of the American workforce telecommutes from home. However, working remotely is more feasible for larger corporations due to their staff having roles that are narrowly defined, as opposed to the myriad of assignments and tasks that small-business employees are generally responsible for. This means that efficient remote communication is crucial for each team member in small businesses to figure out their company's priorities along with which projects to focus on.

1.Harmonizing communications. Avoid overlooking remote employees just because they aren't around by involving them in conversation at least once a day. On the other hand, refrain from over-communicating with remote staff members with constant messages, phone calls, and emails that consume their time and could be seen as micromanaging, which could be a distraction from their work.

2.Ensure that your employees know how and when to best contact you, making sure to promptly return their emails and calls. Guarantee that the successes of remote workers are relayed to upper management for recognition.

3.Substitute daily water cooler interactions for remote employees with brief but constant communications by checking in on them when the day starts to exchange pleasantries, enquiring on how their day is going, and keeping them well-informed on the offices' daily happenings.

4.Putting thought into how your message could be perceived since the lack of body language cues can make it difficult to determine a message's intent or tone. For example, bad news should be delivered either in an in-person meeting or by phone.

5.Select the proper medium for the different messages to be sent. For example, instant messaging or phone calls is best for time-sensitive material, email for complex instructions, and by phone for delivering confidential information and news, thus preventing accidental leaks.

6.Ensure interaction opportunities between remote employees and their peers for the staff to thoroughly understand company priorities, strategies, and operations through ongoing discussions.

Further suggestions are the use of appropriate etiquette, implementation of a company-wide system of instant messaging allowing employees to instantly see those that are online and free to assist them, and setting written task lists and goals for your subordinates to accurately know their tasks.