What Is Asynchronous Work?

Have you experienced the power of asynchronous work? Imagine this for your business: a diverse team of talented individuals committed to performing their best because they've been given the freedom to work according to their own schedule.

Since 2020, businesses have switched to working remotely or a hybrid method of working remotely and from the office. While the pandemic forced many businesses to adopt this newfound way of working, even once things were returning to "normal", many businesses stuck to it, favouring the asynchronous work style over synchronous work. 

Could this be because one offers more freedom than the other? Or maybe it’s just the more lucrative business model? In this article, we plan to find out exactly what asynchronous work is and why businesses stuck with it after the pandemic in 2020. 

What is async work?

• Generally relies on written communication with other employees

• Uses async communication via leaving messages for employees to read and respond to in their own time

• Team members use project management software like Trello

You’ve probably pieced together what asynchronous work is by now, but if you haven't, all you need to know is that asynchronous work is essentially the concept that encourages businesses and employees to work on their own time. This involves individuals setting their own working hours and responding to their clients at a reasonable time instead of being expected to give an immediate response. Async work is often associated with remote work because of the freedom it provides for employees to complete tasks in their own time in the comfort of their home or at the office. It's brilliant for those employees who work live in different time zones.

What is synchronous work?

Asynchronous and synchronous work are complete opposites. Synchronous work requires employees to work set hours during which they need to be completely available for the company. It involves multiple people working together in real-time, and not in their own time.  Generally, businesses that adopt a synchronous work model will employ people who live in the same or similar time zones.

• Employees generally need to be present for in-person meetings

• Using synchronous communication via video calls over Zoom, Google, or Slack

• Employees work set hours 

What are the benefits of asynchronous work?

Both async and synchronous work methods have their benefits for companies. In the end, it does come down to personal preference, but there’s a reason many companies opted for the async method when the pandemic hit, and it has a lot to do with all its benefits:

Asynchronous work offers employees more flexibility

One of the most significant draws to the async work method is that it offers employees more flexibility. Often, employees are stuck in back-to-back meetings where they have to work alongside a team of employees to complete tasks.

In this situation, you often have to wait for one employee to complete a task before you’re able to complete yours. This slows the pace at which work can be done, resulting in the whole task taking longer than it should. 

However, with the async method, employees can work completely on their own time. They can set their own schedule and goals and even complete some of their personal tasks around their other work. 

Asynchronous work encourages diversity and growth based on different workstyles

Some people flourish when they work in teams. They love the dynamic of bouncing ideas off others and achieving desired results together. However, this isn’t for everyone. Others might work better when they’re alone and can concentrate. Working asynchronously allows for this.

By allowing introverts and extroverts to collectively combine their workstyles in a method that incorporates both their strengths and weaknesses, the async method ensures that ensures that everyone is heard and involved. 

Asynchronous work helps employees maintain their concentration for longer

When working with others, it’s easier to get distracted and digress from the topic at hand. However, asynchronous work allows employees to engage in deep work and, therefore, allows them to complete their work by limiting distractions. Yes, there is a measure of self-control needed not to get distracted by personal things, but the reality is that you can concentrate for longer periods without getting distracted by others.

How to become an asynchronous company?

Creating a fully asynchronous business doesn’t happen overnight. Adopting asynchronous practices may take a lot of time to get your employees used to how everything works. In the first few months, you’ll probably have a combination of both async and synchronous methods. For example, you could allow your employees to work on their own schedule while still using real-time communication and setting in-person interactions for project management. 

You need to find the balance that works for your company. For some, going the full asynchronous way works, but if you rely on it too heavily, it can cause your employees to become lonely and isolated. On the other hand, if you are too synchronous, your employees could develop burnout sooner because of the constant need to be available. So, you want to find the mixture between the two that suits your business. Here are some tips to help you: 

Avoid email conversations

Emails were great for work a decade ago, but this form of written communication is not conducive to asynchronous working. They allowed people to communicate effectively even despite time zone differences. However, they’re also closed off to others if they’re not included in the email. This means not everyone can access that information when they need to. So, while emails still have their place, they aren’t great for businesses that want to work towards an asynchronous work model. Instead, platforms like Slack or Google Workplace would work better to communicate tasks to the teams, while emails can still be used for direct, sensitive information. 

Develop the writing skills of your employees

Asynchronous communication often involves teams engaging in written communication, so it’s essential to develop good writing skills in your teams. All team members need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively in their messages to avoid people misunderstanding tasks and certain instructions. Thus, just going over a few necessary methods to help them write better would help. 

It all starts at the top

When it comes to transitioning your business into an asynchronous work model, you’ll need the leadership at your company to be on board with you. This means they need to be on board with you investing in the right technology to help you manage your employees and workload. With companies that favour daily face-to-face meetings, a sudden change might be difficult for everyone to adapt to. You’d need to ease them into it.

This starts with the leaders in your companies. Start implementing async methods in your various departments through the management staff first. Once they have the hang of it, progressively extend it to the rest of the business.

Set targets for responding to clients and colleagues still

Just because staff are encouraged to work on their own schedules and respond to clients in their own time doesn’t mean they can neglect their duties. There still needs to be a reasonable turnaround for tasks and replies to important requests. To ensure this happens, give your employees a deadline for their tasks and a specific time for when they need to reply to requests. You might want to create a sort of hierarchy for issues they need to respond to. For example, if it's an emergency, they need to respond ASAP. If it’s not, then they can respond when they’re ready to. 

Details matter

In async work, the details surrounding your work matter. The goal is to avoid having to communicate back and forth with each other regarding projects. So, to avoid this, communicate with each other in detail so everyone has the full picture and knows the expectations placed on them. 

Can you still use the synchronous method?

While adopting the async method might work well for your business, you can’t overlook how well the synchronous method can work for your business. So, when can you still use it? Well, when it comes to one-on-ones, tough conversations, and emergency situations, adopting the synchronous method is a great way to create a solution. For example, one-on-ones are a great way to build strong relationships with clients.

It’s also essential for reviewing projects, building manager-employee relationships and checking in on the team. In addition to that, you might want to use synchronous methods when it comes to employee discipline or having other tough conversations. Likewise, when emergency situations arise, getting the team together to create a solution for the problem is an extremely effective way of getting work done.

Final Thoughts

With the freedom to work on your own schedule and respond to clients on your time, its no wonder many businesses transformed their business models to adopt an asynchronous approach. However, this wasn’t done overnight and these days businesses need to transition slowly. Follow the tips above to help your business move away from the synchronous approach to an async approach, and unlock the potential of having asynchronous teams, and allow your employees to flourish.