03 Mar 3 Tips to Boost Your Remote Staff Engagement
This past year, many employers made the jump from on-site, in-office work to remote work. A remote workforce has its benefits of allowing employees more flexibility in their work-days. While your staff isn’t with you in-person, you now have the challenge of ensuring all members remain productive, consistent, and satisfied working for you from a distance.
Because your interactions are no longer face-to-face and regular small-talk or in-office activities no longer apply, your staff could end up feeling disconnected from your business. If they are uninvested in their roles within your business, their productivity levels will decline. Some hostility or time-consuming miscommunication may also take place among team members, further harming your business productivity.
As a leader, now is the time to demonstrate your adaptability and implement new strategies to keep your staff focused and content with their work-life. You’ll find higher staff retention and satisfied clients when your team is engaged and focused on achieving your shared business goals. Here are some ways you can promote remote staff engagement for your employees:
Positive Rewards
Your employees want to feel appreciated. They commit a large portion of their time to your business and invest their heart and soul to keep things moving forward. When working in the office, you could say to your staff personally that you were grateful for their hard work. You may have included rewards like free Friday lunch or free coffee and donuts every so often, which you can no longer do with everyone working remotely.
To adapt your reward system to make your workers feel recognized and demonstrate that you appreciate their commitment, consider sending thoughtful care packages. You could do this through the mail or virtually by emailing virtual coupons for those free lunches or coffee deliveries. Any small action could make a massive impact on connecting with your employees.
Motivate Wellness
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a highly stressful time for you, your workers, and their families. Wellness matters more than ever before to ensure everyone stays healthy and positive. By encouraging your team’s wellness, you show that you care about them as more than workers but as people. Consider sharing health tips or creating a communication channel about recipe-sharing, fitness motivation, and so on. Offer resources for mental health wellness to help your employees combat stress and anxiety during these times.
By sharing wellness tips and resources, you increase your team’s chances of remaining healthy and staying focused and resilient through adversity.
Check-In
It’s important not to lose communication with everyone working apart. Rely on communication platforms for inter-staff conversations and some channels like “Random” to revive the water-cooler chats you used to enjoy in the office. Also, make it a regular habit to hold one-on-one conversations with your employees to bring any concerns to your attention and build a connection that will make them care about working for you. That way, you can address any obstacles to their productivity to keep your business progress on-track and support your workers.
Adapting to remote work can be challenging, especially if you weren’t offered the time to establish a plan. Remember that your team looks to you for guidance. If you remain engaged with your employees, they will remain engaged with your business goals. Be present, communicate, and show that you care.
