4 Great tools for asynchronous communication among developers

The communication architecture of a team decides how productive and efficient it is. Excessive communication through video calls, instant messaging, and phone calls can create bottlenecks countering productivity. It is why companies are adopting asynchronous communication tools to maintain the overall efficiency of teams.

Asynchronous communication offers many benefits for teams-from greater flexibility to more thoughtful project collaboration-integrating asynchronous methods of communication will make team members happier and more productive. This is especially true if the teams are hybrid or remote.

This article will explore the asynchronous work environment and communication tools best suited.

What is asynchronous communication?

Before we understand asynchronous communication, let’s explore the communication challenges faced by remote and hybrid teams.

When employees are scattered over different time zones or working remotely, synchronous communication is difficult. If you require instant responses for employees to adhere to, there will be immense pressure on them. Also, too many workplace interruptions result in context switching as developers will be shifting between code editor, browser, and messengers. Asynchronous communication provides relief from all this communication overhead.

Asynchronous communication refers to the setup in which two or more are available simultaneously for a conversation to take place. The communication does not happen in real-time so that each team member can communicate in their own time.

Companies can adopt some of the best asynchronous communication tools to provide a better work-life balance.

Here are the four great tools for asynchronous communication that can help teams be more productive without wasting too much time on communication.

1. Twist

Constantly distracted employees experience poor productivity and have a higher risk of burnout. Twist is a unique messaging tool against the current status quo of real-time communication between teams and team members. It is an excellent asynchronous communication tool that allows users to focus on productivity rather than responsiveness. 

Twist eliminates the need for a constant presence on communication apps. Workers can take complete control of notifications using Twist. Employees can create channels to organize chats by subjects, projects, or departments. They can further micromanage notifications to decide when, how, and messages they want.

Another highly usable feature of this tool is its advanced search. Twist organizes your inbox into a searchable threaded conversation. You can find the relevant information with a simple search without scrolling through random chatter.

2. Yac

Yac is an audio-first asynchronous communication tool giving workers freedom from the always-on trap. You do not have to be always present to collaborate more efficiently on projects or to have more productive discussions. 

Rather than having endless scrum meetings on Zoom, managers can use Yac to record a quick voice message about the project to keep their teams in sync. The tool offers many options for the most efficient communication. 

Suppose an idea or component is too complicated to be explained in the text; you can clarify the concept by recording your voice and screen. Then, you can send the message directly to your colleagues from Yac. You can even create a shareable link of voice notes that you can attach with emails or share on Slack. 

3. Stepsize 

An excellent asynchronous communication tool for issue tracking, Stepsize is designed for developers. It allows developers to share issues and collaborate on fixes by directly adding codebase issues from VSCode and JetBrains editors. Stepsize will enable developers to add code comments, bookmark, and send notifications to other Project Management tools.

For instance, if your team is working on a web project involving frontend and backend developers. Stepsize can streamline communication between them by allowing developers to comment or bookmark issues referred by other developers. Engineering teams can reduce technical debt and improve coding standards using this tool.

4. 360learning

Learning and knowledge sharing are essential for developing teams and a company’s growth. However, onboarding and training new employees can be challenging with remote teams. For this purpose, you can use 360learning. A collaborative learning management system allows teams to work asynchronously on the internal knowledge base and learning resources. People with different expertise can contribute to the same course individually in their own time.

Suppose you are working on a new learning course for a new tool your company has developed. Using 360learning, designers, developers, and managers can asynchronously share their insights in the course without working together synchronously.

Takeaway 

Asynchronous communication offers many advantages, especially for remote teams. The goal of communication is to make teams more productive. Using asynchronous communication tools listed here makes sense to allow teams to work more and spend less time getting distracted by notifications, calls, and messages.

Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups trust Talent500 to hire, build, and manage their global remote workforce. Join our elite pool of talent today and discover career-redefining opportunities.