The Power of Async Communication in Remote Teams

Async Communication at Afto

One of the biggest challenges in remote work is communication. Too many meetings kill productivity, but too few leads to misalignment. We solved this with async-first communication. Result: 60 percent fewer meetings, higher productivity, better work-life balance.

Async-First Principles: Default to written communication, record meetings for those who cannot attend, give people time to respond, use video messages for complex topics, synchronous only when truly needed. Tools: Notion for long-form docs, Slack for quick updates, Loom for video explanations, Linear for project updates.

What Works Async: Project updates and status reports, technical design docs, code reviews, brainstorming with docs, decision documentation. What Needs Sync: Complex problem solving, conflict resolution, team building, onboarding new members, quarterly planning.

Implementation Tips: Set clear response time expectations, create templates for common updates, encourage video over text for nuance, document decisions immediately, celebrate async wins. Result: Team members report better focus time, less meeting fatigue, more flexibility. Our async culture is a key reason we can work across 15 time zones effectively. Learn more about our culture at /contact