Remote working in your Salesforce role – it’s here to stay.
With most Salesforce workspaces being closed until at least next year, and ongoing Covid restrictions in place across the UK, it is essential that individuals who are continuing to work from home are doing so in a way that serves both them and their team.
Virtual communication can be tough, even for the most tech-savvy of people.
This, coupled with the fact that many of us have been working from home for several months, means there is the risk that you might be flagging in your virtual role, or have picked up some less than ideal communication habits while working from home.
Staying Connected
At this point, you might have settled into a remote working flow where you know what you need to do every day, and you’re happy just getting on with it.
This might seem like a great idea in terms of productivity, but remember not to neglect the rest of your team, who might also be doing something similar in their remote working method.
Keep in touch regularly to share thoughts and ideas – and Salesforce has some amazing ways for you to do this.
Chatter, Salesforce’s social networking feature should be your best friend when it comes to connecting with your physically distant colleagues. It’s ideal for connecting with your colleagues on your current projects and helps enable collaboration and innovation.
And remember that you don’t just have to keep it work-related. Remember to regularly check-in with your workmates to see how they are and chat about non-work topics – we all need to feel connected to others during these strange times.
Mastering your collaboration tools is one thing, but knowing when to switch tools is another.
Make sure you are using every method of communication you can, and be aware of which of your team members respond to different virtual communication methods. Some people prefer messaging apps, others you will get a better response via email.
Being Aware of Your Communication Style
A study into the way that we communicate within teams found that there are three main classes of behaviour. They are:
- Initiation – this type of behaviour is when we put forward ideas or concepts, or when we make suggestions and plans
- Reaction – when we evaluate the ideas or thoughts of others
- Clarification – when we exchange information and facts for the benefit of everyone present in the conversation
All of these communication styles are valid, and you will probably recognise them in your own conversations.
But as virtual communication is more distant, we can often step back and end up playing the role of a bystander, rather than putting across your own valuable thoughts and opinions.
So be aware of the style of communication you are adopting during your virtual meetings and aim to contribute by using initiating, reacting and clarification behaviours to help the virtual meeting to flow.
Watch Your Tone
While most people report being more productive while working from home, for others, virtual communication can be confusing.
And this can usually be attributed to one thing – a miscommunication of tone.
Working in Salesforce usually means multi-tasking and working fast on a few exciting projects at once. While this is an exciting part of every Salesforce role, it can mean that sometimes communication gets lost in translation.
You might think you’re saving time by sending an email with a minimal amount of detail or a lack of punctuation, but this can make it more challenging for those on the receiving end to fully understand.
Likewise, lots of exclamation marks at the end of your sentence, although you might have meant them in excitement, could come across as aggressive.
Remember to always watch your tone whenever you are communicating, and this is particularly important when communicating with new members of your Salesforce team that you might have never met in person.
Finally
With the ongoing Covid restrictions set to be in place for the foreseeable, it is more crucial than ever that when working from home in your Salesforce role, you are not only delivering great results for clients and customers but that you’re communicating like an expert too.
Excellent communication brings teams together, it makes tasks that little bit easier, and it is a great way to stay connected to your colleagues and maintain your working friendships.
Covid isn’t going to last forever, but when you focus on improving your digital communication, you will come out of lockdown with a fantastic new skill that could even help you secure your next Salesforce role.
If you are currently looking for a new Salesforce challenge, we can help.
If you are currently looking for a new role, browse our current vacancies here, alternatively, get in touch with us here or by calling 01322 272 532 for a conversation about your future Salesforce career plans.
Thanks,
Lee
About Resource On Demand
Resource On Demand is Europe’s first specialist Salesforce Recruitment Company, now also focusing on growth Cloud markets.
We assist innovative and disruptive organisations to grow their technology teams. Supporting companies to fill Cloud roles that span across Digital Marketing, Marketing Automation, Human Capital Management and the growing Salesforce.com suite of skills.
The team at Resource On Demand have access to an extensive database of key talent, registering over 8000 Cloud professionals each year.
To find out how we can support you call us on 01322 272 532, or you can contact us by clicking here.