6 Examples of Successful Asynchronous Work

In the modern workplace, collaborating effectively across various time zones and schedules is crucial. Asynchronous work offers a powerful solution, enabling team members to contribute at their own pace and from anywhere in the world. 

This approach ensures continuous project progress, enhances efficiency, improves work-life balance, and fosters a more inclusive workspace. By reducing the reliance on synchronous meetings, asynchronous work allows for deeper focus, creativity, and effective task management.

This article explores six success stories demonstrating the transformative impact of asynchronous work across various domains. These examples illustrate how asynchronous practices can lead to significant time savings, enhanced engagement, and improved outcomes. 

Learn how each of these organizations has harnessed the power of asynchronous work to overcome challenges, streamline processes, and achieve remarkable results in optimizing team rituals, facilitating participation in hybrid training, ensuring innovative recruitment, enhancing team engagement in project management, saving time in agile team rituals, and leading cross-team change management programs. Discover the strategies and tools that have enabled these successes and how they can be applied to your own work environment.

1. Leveraging Asynchronous Work to Optimize Team Rituals

Asynchronous work offers many advantages, especially for geographically dispersed teams. By allowing members to contribute at their own pace and schedules, it ensures continuous project progress without requiring simultaneous availability. 

This method is particularly beneficial for tasks requiring deep focus, often disrupted by frequent meetings. Adopting asynchronous practices can lead to increased productivity, improved work-life balance, and more inclusive participation as team members from different time zones and responsibilities can effectively contribute.

Take Laura Lanchy, Quality Manager at IPSEN, a French biopharmaceutical group. She successfully implemented asynchronous work to manage her geographically dispersed team, including members in France and Mumbai. Facing the challenge of coordinating across time zones, Laura turned to Klaxoon's visual collaboration platform to centralize communication and streamline her teamwork.

She created a virtual workspace with Board, Klaxoon’s online whiteboard. This digital space allowed her team to share daily tasks asynchronously, significantly reducing the need for synchronous meetings. The Board was divided into zones for team presentations, action plans, and emergency priorities, providing a clear structure and centralizing necessary information.

Laura also used Klaxoon's ready-to-use templates for digitalized team rituals, such as Weekly and One-to-one meetings:

• The Weekly template facilitated regular team meetings with clear visibility of each member's tasks and progress.
• The One-on-one template enabled in-depth check-ins with individual team members. 

These templates allowed for asynchronous updates and contributions, ensuring continuous progress and effective task management.

2. Facilitating Participation in Hybrid Training

Asynchronous work can also be a critical milestone in hybrid training programs. It allows learners to engage with materials and activities whenever they are available, fostering deeper understanding and retention. 

Furthermore, this approach accommodates different learning styles and schedules, making training more inclusive and accessible. Asynchronous training methods also enhance participation and engagement, as learners can review and reflect on content without the pressure of synchronous sessions. This flexibility, combined with anytime access to resources, significantly boosts training effectiveness.

For example, Caroline Fauquembergue, an air traffic controller at DGAC, faced the challenge of transitioning her in-person courses for air traffic controllers to a fully remote format. To ensure a smooth transfer to new zones, Caroline combined synchronous and asynchronous elements on Klaxoon’s platform to maximize participation and effectiveness.

After synchronous sessions, Caroline provided visual recaps using Memos and asynchronous activities to reinforce learning. Participants could revisit the main training Board to access resources and complete follow-up Quizzes. This engagement ensured knowledge retention and allowed for feedback, driving continuous improvement in the training program.

3. Ensuring Innovative Recruitment while Standing Out as an Employer

Besides, asynchronous work can also revolutionize recruitment processes, by offering flexibility and engaging candidates more effectively. Here, incorporating asynchronous elements helps employers differentiate themselves, making the hiring process more appealing and efficient. Candidates can interact with the company at their own pace, allowing for a thoughtful and comprehensive presentation of their skills and personalities. This approach saves time and fosters a stronger connection between candidates and the organization from the beginning.

This is how Mélanie Férelloc, Head of Information Systems at the French blood transfusion operator EFS, faced the challenge of differentiating her organization to attract top talent for competitive IT positions. To stand out, Mélanie created a unique and engaging recruitment process leveraging asynchronous work with Klaxoon’s platform.

Before the interview, Mélanie prepared a Board on Klaxoon, using the "Conducting a job interview" template. This Board included sections for presenting the company, its values, team members, the job description, and spaces for candidates to share information about themselves asynchronously. Candidates completed sections like "Tell us about yourself" and "What have you learned?" before the interview, allowing Mélanie to gather insights and start meaningful conversations right from the beginning.

This asynchronous engagement benefits both Mélanie and the candidates. Candidates feel involved and connected with EFS before meeting Mélanie, using Klaxoon's visual tools to organize their ideas creatively. For Mélanie, this preparation means she can focus on deeper discussions during the interview, knowing foundational information has already been shared.

After the interview, Mélanie continues to engage candidates asynchronously by asking them to fill in their motivations and any additional questions on the Board. This demonstrates the candidate's commitment and provides further insights into their adaptability and curiosity.

4. Enhancing Team Engagement and Effectiveness in Project Management

In addition to recruiting, asynchronous work has proven effective for maintaining engagement and productivity in hybrid project environments. It allows team members to contribute and access information from anywhere and at any time, ensuring continuous progress without relying solely on synchronous meetings. This approach is crucial for international teams across different time zones, fostering autonomy and creativity for more efficient project management and improved team dynamics.

Peter Quiguer, Digital Coordinator at Lesaffre Group, tackled the challenge of maintaining effective collaboration in a globally dispersed team. For a high-risk SAP deployment involving 300 people, Klaxoon's Board facilitated remote project management through asynchronous planning. Team members accessed and contributed to the deployment roadmap at any time, centralizing discussions and actions. This allowed HR and IT teams to share ideas and address obstacles without synchronous meetings, driving project success.

In another context, for a new product launch in Croatia, the marketing team at Lesaffre used asynchronous methods to replace in-person client visits. They shipped product samples and conducted webinars via Klaxoon’s Board. Asynchronous Surveys also allowed them to collect client feedback, creating a continuous feedback loop. This method saved travel costs and built a strong community around the product.

This is how at Lesaffre, Klaxoon’s implementation led to a fivefold increase in time saved on project management and team rituals. Asynchronous tools improved international communication, reduced language barriers, and encouraged active participation, significantly enhancing team engagement and effectiveness.

5. Saving Time in Agile Team Rituals

Asynchronous work is also highly beneficial for engaging remote teams using agile methods. Again, it allows team members to contribute from anywhere, ensuring continuous progress and reducing the need for synchronous meetings. This approach fosters autonomy, creativity, and efficient project management, leading to significant time savings and productive teamwork.

Émilie Canty, Release Train Engineer at iMSA, coordinates a large-scale SAFe agile train for the French organization Mutualité Sociale Agricole. With around 100 people involved, she turned to Klaxoon's visual platform to support both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration.

During PI Planning, Klaxoon's Board enabled asynchronous contributions. Team members accessed and updated the Board at their convenience, centralizing all discussions and actions. This setup allowed efficient planning and coordination without requiring simultaneous participation from all team members. It also streamlined communication and managed dependencies effectively.

Centralizing exchanges asynchronously on Klaxoon saved Émilie’s teams 40 man-days annually. It ensured immediate access to information, eliminating delays and enabling continuous progress. This approach reduced meeting time, improved focus on core tasks, and enhanced cross-functional communication, leading to a more efficient and collaborative work environment.

6. Leading a Hybrid Cross-Team Change Support Program

Finally, asynchronous work is essential for engaging large, dispersed teams in change management initiatives. It allows participants to contribute at their own pace, ensuring continuous progress and reducing the dependency on synchronous meetings. This approach fosters autonomy, creativity, and efficient change management dynamics.

For example, Florence Pichon, Head of the Managerial Transition Task Force at a Departmental Council in France, faced the challenge of engaging 500 managers in a cross-functional agile approach. She launched an initiative to promote collaboration and co-create processes.

Florence used Klaxoon's Board to create a shared space accessible asynchronously. This allowed 500 managers to engage in the process at their convenience. The Board included detailed information, a handy manual, and pictograms to make the workshop expectations visual and accessible.

Florence also added asynchronous Questions on the Board, enabling managers to provide feedback and ideas when they had time to reflect. This setup encouraged continuous, thoughtful participation, ensuring that everyone could contribute effectively.

Using Klaxoon’s Concept Poster template, Florence facilitated managerial meetings with a focus on co-creation. The template helped visualize the new processes, making it easier for participants to understand and engage. The asynchronous setup allowed for flexible participation, enhancing the depth and quality of feedback.

The asynchronous capabilities of Klaxoon's platform led to higher engagement and better adoption of new processes. Managers could easily share ideas and stay informed, becoming active players in the project. The visual and interactive nature of the Board increased participation, even among those less familiar with digital tools.

Florence saved significant time using Klaxoon. This efficiency allowed for more productive use of time and faster implementation of new measures.