Effective documentation is essential in a remote work environment to keep everyone on the same page and ensure that information is easily accessible to all team members. In this guide, we'll cover seven principles to help you create efficient and effective documentation for your remote team.

A document is a written piece of content.

In a world where audio-visual content is king, we often underestimate the importance of writing. However, the written content is necessary for search features to work effectively. Documenting everything in writing is crucial, whether it's a meeting summary, transcription, or collaboration flow.

Transcribe everything.

Transcription is vital for documentation, including summaries, policies, workflow manuals, and guides. Archiving and saving everything ensures that nothing is missed, and you can easily search and find what you need.

Learn how to summarize information.

Summarizing is a critical skill to help team members quickly identify the relevant points of any document. Use templates that can guide you to master the art of summarizing mass amounts of information.

Templatize everything.

Create templates for everything to act as a guide for summarized information. They allow your team to understand the information and act upon it quickly.

Reference documents to others.

Cross-reference documents to build out a structure and ensure that every policy is remembered. Cross-referencing also highlights when changes need to be made to update documents.

Always ensure searchability.

Ensure your document is searchable by uploading it to your company wiki or hub, saving it, giving it a title, and storing it in the relevant section of your files.

Use Simple English.

Use simple language and avoid jargon that all team members may not understand. Ensure that even those lacking specific skills or knowledge can comprehend the information. Use straightforward titles that are easy to search for.

By following these principles, you can create effective documentation that is searchable, easily understood by team members, and can be used to archive and store all important information. It will help your remote team stay organized and on the same page, ensuring maximum efficiency and productivity.