We all have whiplash from the last five years – going from working-from-home to back-to-the-office to a combination of the two. Through each iteration, the constant has been better digital communications tools but not always better communication. It’s time to stop operating based on uncertainty or fear and start adapting to how we actually work now.
Most teams aren’t struggling because they lack good ideas. They’re struggling because those ideas get buried in a Slack thread someone didn’t see, in a meeting half the team couldn’t attend or in a decision made without context that three people are now redoing separately.
Connection no longer happens by accident, and it requires effort to maintain it. But effort doesn’t mean filling calendars with more meetings. It’s more about keeping teams aligned no matter where or when they work.
When It Falls Apart
Sometimes it is glaringly obvious when things aren’t working. Someone misses key context and makes a decision that contradicts what another team member already decided. Two people duplicate work because they didn’t know the other was handling it. A new hire spends their first week trying to figure out where anything lives on the server. These gaps can lead to mistakes that have a broad impact.
Other times, the signs are smaller, more subtle. Team members slowly stop joining calls or responding to group messages. Fewer hands get raised when help is needed, or a few start to pick up the slack for the many. These are all symptoms of disconnection, which eventually erodes engagement and attention.
What We’ve Learned at Blattel
At Blattel, we’ve seen how small habits and adjustments can strengthen connection. When we moved from in-office to remote work, we had a few hiccups and adjustments to make. The answer was not more meetings but more clarity.
To better foster collaboration and communication, we developed a consistent routine that benefits any setup. We hold a team call twice a week. Sometimes it’s ten minutes, sometimes someone shares a client win that sparks three new story ideas. When schedules are packed or there’s no news, we skip it and post updates in Teams instead. Everyone knows when and where to show up for information. The call also serves as a wellness check of sorts, breaking up long stretches where client teams are working independently.
We also use Teams channels as a live idea hub where people drop industry news, emerging storylines and reporter moves. Teammates help each other build better pitches in real time, or they let the team know that a reporter is looking for a specific source or quote. That shared visibility lets us move faster and catch opportunities we’d otherwise miss.
As technology evolves, tools like AI notetaking, transcriptions and reminders help teams stay informed even when they can’t join a discussion. They also make it easier to track action items and follow through, turning accountability into part of the process rather than an afterthought.
The Stuff That Sounds Small But Matters
We have learned that when you ask people for updates or input, it’s important to tell them what you’re going to do with the information and then actually tell them what happened. Closing the loop takes an extra two minutes, but it makes people feel like they’re contributing to success instead of just filling out a form.
Respect that people work in different rhythms. One person takes calls in the morning and writes in the afternoon, while another blocks focus time during school drop-off or works better in the evening. If you penalize people for working differently, you lose them.
Not everyone can join a 5 p.m. trivia hour, and not everyone wants to. Before you schedule something meant to “build culture,” ask if it actually works for your team. A well-intentioned event that half the team can’t attend achieves the opposite of inclusion.
Lessons From More Distributed Industries
These lessons aren’t unique to our business. Other industries have figured it out by necessity. Construction teams, for example, work on job sites where people can’t always access a computer or pull out a phone. Communication has to work when people are in different locations, in loud settings or offline entirely. That constraint forces clarity as information must move deliberately. Everyone needs to know who needs what and when, and systems need to work even when people aren’t always connected. This model ensures projects move forward on time and on budget and, more importantly, with safety at the forefront.
In construction, much of the critical work is done below the surface, focusing first on building a strong foundation. When you can layer on top clear vision, process, teamwork and communication, a structure takes shape. And what connects us all is openness and understanding to do and build great things.
For knowledge workers, adopting this model is essential. What we are building simply isn’t possible without good communication and genuine teamwork. Communication that only works when everyone’s online at the same time is fragile.
What This Actually Builds
Strong communication creates trust and momentum. People understand how their work fits into the bigger picture and see the impact of what they contribute. They feel connected – not just to the work, but also to one another.
For managers, it creates space to think strategically instead of constantly putting out fires. For everyone else, it turns work from a checklist into something meaningful.
The tools and tactics will keep changing, but people will always need to feel heard and like their work connects to something larger than themselves. That doesn’t happen by accident. It only happens when someone decides to build it.