Now that this blog series has reached its final destination (for now), we can look back and admit one thing — communication is definitely not easy.
Because yes, remote work has its pitfalls. It’s easy to trip over time zones, get lost in a swamp of notifications, and worst of all — suffer a slow and painful synchronous death.
That’s why I’ve put together a summary of how we work — the lynes way — so you can get some inspiration when it’s time to review your internal communication strategy.
How we work with synchronous and asynchronous communication at lynes
We’ve worked remotely for a long time — in fact, since the very beginning — and we’ve stepped on just about every landmine there is. Hopefully, our lessons can help you shape your next communication strategy.
Here’s how we use lynes to communicate both synchronously and asynchronously.
Set your status — say it with colors!
We manage our availability with presence settings in lynes. The goal is to signal our status to colleagues without having to ask, “Are you busy?”
I can easily customize my presence options to fit my work style. Two that I use often are:
Do Not Disturb – Deep Work
This mode blocks all calls to my landline (they go straight to voicemail) and turns off chat notifications. However, calls to my mobile number always go through. This setup allows me to work without interruptions while still being reachable for urgent matters — personal or work-related.
Available
Pretty self-explanatory, but just to clarify: both my landline and mobile are open, and chat notifications are on.
These two settings work perfectly together. On days or mornings when I need to focus, I use Do Not Disturb to maximize my deep work time. On others — especially when I’m expecting calls from partners or suppliers — I switch to Available.
To make this work smoothly, I plan my days and weeks carefully. Some days are fully dedicated to deep work, while others are meeting days when I stay available for collaboration.
Clear chat structure and threaded conversations
We keep a strict structure in our chat channels. Each department has its own space — Marketing, Back Office, Sales, Support, Vendors, and Engineering.
Within each team, there are channels for subgroups and specific topics. This makes it easy to find information, and if needed, you can always search for channels.
One of our golden rules is to always use threaded conversations. Multiple people often contribute to the same discussion at different times — without threads, context would easily get lost.
So, we’re disciplined about keeping every discussion organized and on-topic.
Our file structure mirrors our chat channels
The folder system matches the chat structure — intentionally. That way, it feels natural to find what you’re looking for, whether it’s the latest product sheet or meeting notes.
We use SharePoint for this purpose, and it works great for us.
Video meetings: when, how, and why
We’ve already learned that certain conversations should happen synchronously — like one-to-ones and performance reviews. For those, we always use video meetings in lynes for the best results.
Beyond that, our goal is to minimize the number of video meetings overall.
The only team that keeps a video room open constantly is our Support team — they need to collaborate live, just like they did in the office. For them, synchronous work simply makes sense.
How we run meetings in lynes
Our internal meetings are few — but they’re well-planned and effective.
Recurring meetings include weekly check-ins for each department and a company-wide meeting every other week.
Every meeting has:
- A clear agenda
- Carefully chosen participants
- A defined purpose and outcome
Everyone invited has a reason to be there — no filler invites.
Final thoughts
Having the right remote work strategy is crucial. It can mean the difference between chaos and success.
Remember this:
- A digital workplace that mismanages synchronous communication ends up with employees who are constantly online and heading straight for burnout — unable to work undisturbed.
- A digital workplace that fails to implement asynchronous communication properly will have employees who struggle to collaborate effectively. They’ll feel isolated, disconnected, and eventually — they’ll leave.
It’s all about balance. When synchronous and asynchronous communication work together in harmony, the result is a productive, happy, and connected organization — one that operates smoothly across time zones and continents.
Or, as Buzz Lightyear so wisely said:
“To infinity — and beyond.” 🚀
