You’re heading to a sales meeting when your email suddenly locks you out due to a password reset issue. You call your company’s IT team, explain the problem, and they say they’ll look into it. Thirty minutes later, you’re on the phone again, asking for an update. “Oh,” they say, “We reopened your email 15 minutes ago.” Wouldn’t it have been helpful to know that while you were frantically preparing for the meeting?
In this situation, you probably wouldn't give the team a glowing review for their quick response. Instead, you might feel annoyed or even confused by their lack of communication. Even when people don’t complete the task, you’d still prefer to know, rather than be met with silence from the other side. It’s similar to the frustration you felt when colleges you applied to didn't send denial letters or when your doctor fails to call with the test results. Their failure to close the loop clouds the good work they did or the consideration shown to your application.
The same applies to many aspects of communication with remote colleagues. To share information effectively, you need a good sender and a receiver aware of the need to acknowledge and give feedback. Was the message understood? Was it received? Was it sufficient? In remote environments, these questions often go unanswered until problems arise, sometimes only during a major sale or a crucial deployment.
At its core, communication is about exchanging information. Over-communicating, which includes closing the loop on tasks and conversations, is considered best practice in remote work. Confirming receipt and understanding of information is a reliable way to be effective. It helps build confidence that you’ve understood the communication. Additionally, by repeating the information, it often ensures that you remember it.
Here are a few ways to ensure that you’re effectively closing the loop with your colleagues.
As an information receiver:
- Always acknowledge information received - whether by phone, email, fax, or any other means. When there’s nothing else to say, a simple thank-you email is more than enough.
- Let people know in advance when things will not be completed by the deadline.
- Provide feedback when additional information is required.
- When multiple questions or tasks are given at once, address each one individually. Number them if necessary to stay organized.
- Repeat the person’s instructions back to them. This is similar to repeating someone’s name when you first meet. The trick helps you remember the name and shows the other person that you’ve understood and are pronouncing it correctly.
As an information sender:
- Use the debate teacher method: Recall the old rule of thumb for public speaking. Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. The same principle applies to your colleagues.
- Avoid sending emails that assign a task to a group. This is the equivalent of walking into the office, shouting out the task that needs to be done, and then walking back out. Highly ineffective, and it’s unlikely that anyone will jump up and acknowledge the task.
- Present key information—deadlines, team members, tools, etc.—clearly when you share it. If your listener confirms each item you’ve outlined, you’re more likely to reach your goal smoothly.
- Use tools like FollowUp.cc and Yesware to remind yourself to follow up on a conversation that may have been forgotten.