In the early days of voicemail, leaving messages was an efficient and convenient way to avoid playing “telephone tag” or scheduling unnecessary meetings. Voicemail messages record vocal inflections to communicate feelings whereas the tone of written communications like faxes or emails can be misinterpreted if not well-crafted. These qualities exist in modern-day asynchronous communication, but many leaders do not understand how to use them or reap the benefits.
Communicating asynchronously is not new. Beyond voicemail, many tools do not required face-to-face communication, such as emails, faxes, text messages, carrier pigeons, etc. All help overcome time zones and travel budgets alike.
Pandemic Impact On Asynchronous Communication
The pandemic triggered a trio of changes that exponentially increased employee interest in and use of, so-called “async” messages:
- With the greater adoption of flexible working hours and locations, it has become harder than ever to know with certainty when or where a colleague will be, even if you work in the same office in the same city.
- With more colleagues working remotely, our time in synchronous meetings (supported by platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams) has increased so much that even the bosses have noticed.
- A wave of startup activity created a range of new asynchronous voice and video messaging tools. The most successful story may be Loom, which Atlassian acquired for almost $1 billion.
As a result, there has been ample general guidance about the individual and team benefits of asynchronous communications, especially from fully remote leaders like GitLab and Doist, whose operational existence requires it.
Still, many leaders resist giving async a try.
Could this be generational discomfort for older employees who did not grow up with smartphones and TikTok? Could it be corporate hesitation to implement new tools? Executives hoping a return to office limits the need? Perhaps all three.
However, the value of asynchronous messages isn’t just replacing phone calls and meetings, it’s the cumulative benefits of the life that message may have long after its first intended use.
Nine Lives Of Asynchronous Voice And Video Messages
Imagine a software company product manager has an idea for a new feature based on an online experience. Instead of drafting a lengthy email with pages of screenshots explaining the Eureka moment, the product manager simply hits “Record” on their trusty asynchronous messaging system of choice. 3…2…1…go!
The manager shares their screen, flips back and forth between their application and the shopping website, narrating as they go. In some moments their tone is directive (e.g., “This is much simpler…”) and other times aspirational (e.g., “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could…”), a distinction that may be lost by email.
They end with ideas for next steps and open-ended questions, and send a link to the recording via Slack to a developer on their team. Now the journey begins and the value of this small action begins to compound.
1. Flexible Timing for Both Parties
The first and most obvious benefit of an async message is schedule flexibility. Perhaps the product manager was shopping late at night after putting kids to bed, and the colleague to whom they sent it lives half a world away. A team agreement might dictate that Slack should not be used for urgent messages, therefore the developer reviews Slack messages once a day.
2. Extended Reach and Collaboration
Believing the idea to be reasonably straightforward, the developer copies and pastes the message link over to a team channel for further debate. With tools like Loom, this link distinction is essential because anyone viewing the video is directed to the same place, not merely watching a copy. This action broadens visibility and encourages feedback and new perspectives. A permissions system could limit access, but let’s assume that, for this example, anyone internal to the company can view the message. So now one person’s idea is a whole team’s topic for discussion.
3. Fostering New Connections
An increasingly common feature of modern asynchronous messaging tools is the ability to leave comments at specific moments within the message, creating the possibility for threaded responses and feedback. When someone new finds the video, it opens the door for organic connections between colleagues who may not have otherwise interacted previously. And those comments could also be voice or video.
4. Cross-Team Sharing and Inspiration
An often overlooked benefit of asynchronous voice and video messaging is its potential for cross-team collaboration. For example, before the developers even have a chance to debate the new idea within their roadmap, one team member might tag a friend in marketing at the moment of the video where the product manager articulates their shopping experience. This could inspire brainstorming within marketing about messaging concepts for an upcoming campaign.
This culture of sharing creates the condition for innovation, breaking down silos and fostering creativity across different parts of the organization.
5. Efficient Meeting Preparation
A key benefit for asynchronous voice and video is eliminating lopsided and ineffective meetings. Atlassian has a Weekly Team Update playbook on how to “celebrate progress, share information, and boost performance—without another meeting!”
Where meetings are desired, proper meeting hygiene suggests there should be clear objectives and agendas. Recorded messages can serve as pre-read materials.
In our case, development team members have ample time to review the idea before a weekly backlog review, enabling efficient prioritization without time wasted.
6. Documenting Decision Rationale
As organizations navigate complex decision-making processes, it can be easy to lose track of why certain choices were made. Asynchronous messages offer a valuable record of previous discussions, especially when referenced in relevant notes.
For our example, imagine that one year later, the original product manager has left the company, but a new product leader questions the usefulness of the shopping-like experience and indicates that they may want to pivot away from it. The original video could be shared again to give the leader context for their new request.
Hearing the passion in the product manager’s original idea explanation may be more persuasive than reading it in an old email.
7. Repurposing for Onboarding and Reintegration
In remote and hybrid requirements, it’s more important than ever to have tools that allow newcomers or employees returning from extended leave to quickly and effectively get up to speed.
Recorded videos and voice messages can provide on-demand access to crucial information rather than requiring someone to catch up through long-winded emails or live sessions.
With our example, the original video could be added to developer onboarding to articulate the company’s culture of sharing new ideas or explain the counterintuitive decision to integrate a shopping-like experience into the product. Creating a formal training video or writing lengthy onboarding material is unnecessary.
8. Turning Audio Into Written Content
Another time-saving, practical use of recorded messages is transcription. This allows ideas shared verbally to be captured in written form without requiring the speaker to write everything themselves. The text of asynchronous voice and video messages—or meeting recordings, for that matter—can easily be repurposed.
The marketing team, inspired by the original articulation of the shopping-like experience, may use an AI tool like ChatGPT to process the video transcript and draft a blog post about the impact of consumer experiences on corporate tools.
9. Bridging Language Gaps
Finally, we live in an amazing world where text can be translated instantly. As organizations expand globally, recorded messages can bridge geographic and language divides. Employees can translate recorded voice or video messages into their native tongue to maximize understanding. This enables global talent acquisition while fostering inclusivity.
Asynchronous Communication Is More Than Voicemail
Asynchronous voice and video messaging have proven to be more than a passing trend. These tools offer many benefits, from improving communication efficiency and collaboration to fostering innovation and deeper team connections. As we move further into a remote and hybrid work world, the need for flexible, accessible, and transparent communication will only grow. Whether you’re onboarding a new employee, sharing a creative idea, or revisiting past decisions, asynchronous communication empowers teams to communicate in ways that are more efficient, inclusive, and impactful.