Recent events have radically redrawn the map of most workplaces, with the pandemic sending tens of millions of employees home where they try to get as much work done as they can while they simultaneously contend with school closures, the complete absence of daycare facilities and in a growing number of instances, care for sick family members who have contracted the virus.
Needless to say, these are trying times and the stresses of the global pandemic are certainly having a negative impact on morale, which is also impacting productivity.
Added to that is the fact that many of the employees currently working from home aren’t accustomed to doing that, so they’re having to invent new routines on more or less on the fly and refine them as they go. That also has an impact on productivity.
On top of all that, you, as owner and manager, probably aren’t helping, at least, based on the statistics collected so far.
Unfortunately, most business owners and managers who now find themselves managing remote workers are inadvertently doing, or not doing things that are making matters worse for their employees. Below, you’ll find a few simple strategies you can employ, starting today, to begin fixing that:
Research has already proven decisively that simply paying an employee a larger wage only has a limited impact on job satisfaction. Once an employee is making enough to pay the bills, enjoy a few evenings out and afford a vacation, more money has almost zero impact on morale, job satisfaction or productivity.
Recognition, on the other hand, plays a huge role here. The good news is that recognition doesn’t cost much in terms of money. The tradeoff, however, is that it does take time, and you probably don’t have much of that to spare, which can make it tricky.
Two of the least time-intensive recognition strategies you can employ are first, making sure when you have meetings that include remote employees dialing in, that their contributions are highlighted during the meeting and that their input is actively solicited.
These are small things, but it is often the smallest things that have the most notable impact. Your employees will sit up and take notice when you make a point of doing this.
Second, if you have an employee recognition program in place, how often are your remote employees included in that? Be honest.
Most managers tend to overlook and forget about their remote employees when it comes time to recognize individuals for their accomplishments, and of course, when most of your employees are working from home, the problem is magnified and begins to affect the entire organization.
This too though, is easily remedied, but it does take a conscious effort on your part. If it’s been a while since you made a point of recognizing your remote employees, start now. Send out a small gift basket and a handwritten note thanking each for their accomplishment and list a few of those accomplishments for each employee to make it real and personal.
We offer gifts in different categories for your employees and now we’re also offering multi-shipping, so you can send gifts to multiple employees working remotely, at the same time.
There are plenty of other strategies you can employ, but even if you stop here and do just these two things, it will have a profound, positive impact on morale. That’s good business and it’s good for your business.