There are two well-known methodologies for keeping in contact with far-off groups: asynchronous communication and synchronous communication. People are often confused with regards to the importance of and the difference between the two. In the case of synchronous communication, the communication happens “in a state of harmony” which means live between at least two individuals simultaneously. On the other, it occurs “out of sync” with at least two individuals reacting to one another throughout a more expanded time.

Let’s start with Synchronous Communication. 

In this mode of communication, the communication takes place in real-time where there is instant sending and receiving of messages between the parties. 

How is it valuable? 

Because of the instant messages being sent and received, its major importance lies with the fact that it helps to conduct fast communication between the parties. It is most useful when the response needs to be instant or when a continuous exchange of ideas is taking place between the teammates. It can be said to be like the usual face-to-face communication that used to take place during the in-office days but in the virtual mode. 

How to have seamless synchronous communication? 

The main and the most important thing to do is to make use of the relevant instances to use it. If there is a requirement of instant reply, which would be a brief answer relating to a less complex issue that was initiated with a definite purpose that the conversation aims to achieve, your synchronous communication would take place seamlessly. 

Synchronous communication provides for an instant feedback mechanism

Feedback with regards to the fact if the other party can be engaged in communication at the moment when the message was sent, or if they are currently busy with something else, can be easily obtained during this process, which makes it the most reliable mode of communication. This is so because you would not need to wait for a formal response from the other person to initiate the discussion. 

It helps interpersonal relationships to grow between the employees

Instant exchange of ideas allows the teammates to have brainstorming sessions together, virtually as they used to in the office. Open discussions can take place where the teammates can have an interchange of opinions frankly and thoughtfully. This would help bring them together and help them to work as a team. 

Helpful in impromptu discussions

Remember those past days when you used to simply glance at your teammate’s desk to cater to your need for a quick chat? Synchronous communication works on a similar ground wherein you can simply drop a message to the person who can reply to it even when the discussion is an impromptu session. However, this ease of contact might go in the wrong direction if not used with caution. Even if you know that the person can reply within a few minutes, do not forget that you could still be wasting another person’s time if your problem of discussions is not relevant. Always have an agenda set before communicating with someone even though this technique is to make sure you are not interrupting them during their work or project deadlines, for something irrelevant, just because you can easily contact them. 

Now let’s get to Asynchronous communication 

If we were to say that it is quite the reverse of synchronous communication, we would be fairly true. As against the former technique, here, the messages are not instantly delivered to the receiver, as soon as it has been sent. There may be a delay or a lag between the sending and the receiving processes. This gap must be considered while sending an asynchronous message. 

How is it useful? 

The best use of this technique is when the response is not required immediately and the receiver can take some time to send back the response according to his or her convenience. If the delay can be managed by the parties, then async is the mode of communication that you can use. The fact that the receiver has a substantial amount of time to reply, they can use this time to gather sufficient information for the communication to be more fruitful. They can go through the various sources, consider them based on their opinions and thoughts, and can provide a valuable concern or response to the concern, depending upon the situation. 

It saves you from the problems faced by people who are not so techno-savvy and gives you ample time to proofread your response. If your system crashes in the middle of synchronous communication, it would create a problem for you. But this is not an issue when it comes to async communication as the sender must have considered the delay in the response, which can be used by the receiver to get their systems fixed or switch their systems and then respond to the query. 

It also comes in handy when the employees are living in different time zones or are working in shifts. You can just initiate the communication and your teammate would reply to it as per their work hours and shifts. 

How do identify the instances that would make asynchronous communication seamless? 

The first and the foremost requirement, as discussed earlier, would be the non-necessity of an instant reply. You can use it to communicate with someone who isn’t working in the same shift as you are or is in a different time zone altogether. If you need to communicate with a group of people that cannot be brought together for a meeting, you can use async communication as it would allow them to reply at their convenience. 

How to make asynchronous communication effective? 

Since there is no instant response to the query that has been put up, make sure to cover all relevant topics and subtopics in your communication so that the other party gets a fully transparent idea of what he must provide as a response to your message. This would make the communication process more organized and convenient as you would not need to send repeated messages and keep asking for information to complete the conversation. 

What type of communication is better for the remote workforce? 

One cannot have a definite answer to this question. Both the techniques have their own benefits and use. You must choose the type of communication based on your requirement, the information that needs to be obtained, its relevance with regards to time, and your organization’s policies and culture. 

There isn’t any perfect or standard method of operating remotely simply because the majority of the organizations are new to this concept. By integrating video conferencing methods, chat processes, streaming meetings, and many other methods, a lot of effort has been put in by the organizations and their employees to create an office-like environment for all the remote employees. It was believed that this change would be for a short while, but it seems as if this is how organizations would operate in the future. 

While choosing the most suited mode of communication, consider the importance of information, if it requires immediate response or the response can be delayed. Urgency is the most important factor that determines the type of communication that should be used. Many organizations go with a blended mode of communication that has the benefits of both, together in one. Also, the type of tools that are being used should be considered. 

How to distinguish between specific situations that require a specific type of communication? 

The mode of communication that should be used depends upon the needs of the employees and the type of information that is being referred to. It is also influenced by the ability of your team to understand the requirements and act accordingly if they are aware of their roles and responsibilities, and many other factors. There cannot be a definite type of communication that is used in any set of situations. 

You might confront troubles in setting “available time” when your far-off group is all over the globe. For this situation, your solitary genuine option is to have in some measure a few components of an async mode of communication for effectiveness. In any case, on the off chance that you find that your distant group is for the most part in one space of the world, it could be significantly more useful for you to set a few “absolute minimum” standard available times. This permits the employees to keep up with their adaptable working timetables generally, and it will empower you to have 1 or 2 hours consistently when everybody is on the web. Moreover, if the application or programming you are growing necessitates loads of mind-boggling changes that require numerous engineers to cooperate at the same time, then, at that point consider keeping your group nearer together as far as geographic appropriation, inclining towards talking progressively via the synchronous mode of communication will likewise be useful. 

Then again, async communication will assist your employees with greater adaptability, considering that most distant workers esteem their opportunity the most, this will assist you with drawing in and hold probably the best ability.

Ways to manage the synch and async workflow in your organization 

Both sync and async communication have their pros and cons; none is perfect and can solve all your needs alone. You need to create a comprehensive solution, on your own to match the needs of your organization. For instance, if you feel like you are not on the same page while communicating with your teammate via email or, say, slack, then you would feel like you need to call up that person and take the discussion further. 

But in cases where the other person is in a different time zone from yours, then you would prefer to send the other person a text over skype and communicate there as phone calls would not be feasible in such cases. 

The biggest flaw of sync communication is that it might overwhelm you with information that might not be possible for a person to process instantly, for simple reasons that they might not be prepared for it because of the sudden phone call or video conference being scheduled without any prior notice. But it is really helpful in cases that require an instant collaboration or in cases of emergency where you cannot wait for the other person to read and respond to your message. 

A balanced approach is needed to know what approach to follow, and when to put it in action. This is why managers have a special skill set to understand and adapt to the changing world. 

Tools for a seamless synchronous communication experience 

The available various tools are – 

• Skype 

It is more of a hybrid tool that has been relied upon worldwide by the majority of the organizations for their official meetings and conferences for years. All the employees have to create an account on Skype and that’s it! The best part is that you can also turn off the notifications when you are off working hours. It allows you to quickly reply to the messages sent by your teammates and hop on to a call with one single click.

• Zoom  

If you thought that we would complete this without mentioning Zoom, then you’re wrong! Zoom has gained a lot of importance in the corporate world ever since the remote working culture began. It is one of the most reliable choices for many organizations because of the ease of initiating or scheduling a video call and its user-friendly interface makes it a prior choice over Skype, for some people. 

• Messaging apps 

It is a much easier and approachable option but some people find it meddlesome as they prefer to keep messaging apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger for their private use. 

• Phone calls 

Ringing someone on their cell is the easiest way of communication to get a prompt response, especially if that person is in the same country as you are, but it is important to stick to the work hours for your work-related phone call. 

Tools for a seamless asynchronous communication experience 

New and improved methods of async communications keep developing day after day, but here is a list of the most commonly used and relied upon tools for your reference- 

• Skype 

Skype tops our list for both synchronous communication tools, and asynchronous communication tools. The async part of this tool is that the person who has received the message can reply to it at his or her convenience. Since it is widely used for chats, one can send you the message outside your work hours, and you simply reply to it during your shift. It comes in handy when the teammates are of different time zones. 

• Basecamp

It is used for big projects as a managing tool and allows for the exchange of ideas between the employees of the organization as well through what is called a ‘thread’ that has all the messages about one subject curated together. 

• Slack

Slack has a huge presence in the world of async communication tools. 

• Email 

People have a habit of checking their emails at least once a day. For information that requires a formal, in-depth response, it is usually the most preferred option that has been going on for over a decade! 

Adapting to the remote work culture is essential, that’s why you need to create and maintain a balance between the two modes of communication for an effective workflow in your organization.