Dealing with a mostly remote workforce and keeping them engaged can be a daunting challenge. In the face of the global pandemic we are all currently living through, this is a challenge that a great many managers have found themselves having to face, and although some parts of the economy are beginning to open back up, a great many professionals are continuing to work from home and will likely do so for the foreseeable future.
If you’ve been struggling to keep your employees engaged, the tips below will help smooth the road for you. Read on to find out more!
Multiple Communications Channels
Working from home can be a very isolating, demoralizing experience, especially if it’s not something you’re used to.
If you receive an instruction from your boss or a coworker, you can’t just pop down to that person’s office to get clarification, and there’s no such thing as a watercooler chat. They simply don’t exist.
That’s why opening up multiple lines of communication are so important. Use email. Use Skype or Zoom. Use Facetime or its equivalent, and use the good old fashioned phone call and use them all with regularity.
Stay in tune and stay in touch, and in addition to that, don’t just communicate about business related matters. The personal touch matters quite a lot here. Take time out of your day to communicate more casually with your remote workforce.
This alone will go a long way toward making them feel more connected to you and the work they’re doing for you.
In addition to that, be very mindful about how you’re communicating. When you’re face to face, it’s easy to get real-time clarification on instructions. That’s much harder to do when working remotely, so when you’re sending out instructions using one of the communications tools referenced above, keep it short, simple, clear and concise.
Check In Often
Related to the above, don’t fall into the trap of sending out a quick blast of communications in the morning and then nothing else until late in the day or the next morning. Check in with your remote team at various points throughout the day and be on the alert for incoming communications on all channels from your remote workers.
Awards, Rewards, and Recognition
If you currently have some type of a recognition program in place, be sure that your remote workers are very much a part of that and that their contributions are recognized alongside your employees who are working in the office.
Everyone likes to see their contributions to the cause recognized, and far too often, remote workers are simply overlooked on this front.
In fact, if you’re not currently in the habit of rewarding or recognizing your remote employees, now would be a great time to let them know you’re thinking of them.
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or extravagant; perhaps a small plant for their desk at home, or a box of candy you know they’ll enjoy. Small tokens like this can go a very long way toward boosting morale!
If you do the three things outlined above, you’ll keep your remote workforce happy, productive and engaged. And you’ll be a hero in their eyes. What’s not to like about that?
(one option can be to send them gifts/rewards)