The pandemic has completely redefined the way things work and communicate. In the past, companies used to offer remote work to provide employees with a more flexible lifestyle, but today it has become the norm for many businesses.
While there are numerous benefits of switching from an office-based team to a remote or distributed one, it’s not always easy to keep remote employees engaged and motivated.
This is particularly true for people who used to work in traditional offices and are now struggling to adjust to the work-from-home lifestyle. The novelty of the situation can wear off over time, and commitments and deadlines might not always be enough motivation.
But remote work is here to stay, so if you’re a business owner or manager, it’s essential to learn how to keep everyone engaged and motivated to avoid a decrease in productivity.
Here are some of the best ways to keep remote workers happy and engaged.
1. Build a platform for effective communication
Communication is key in business and relationships, and remote workers should always feel like they are kept in the loop. This will remind them that they are part of a larger organization and that their voice is heard.
Besides having multiple lines of communication open for employees to be able to discuss any of the issues they may encounter with their daily work, you should also communicate with them at a personal level.
For example, you can create weekly happy hours or virtual lunches to get all remote employees on a conference call just to have lunch together. This is a great way to make everyone feel included.
If your remote team is local, you can even take them out to lunch in person once a month to allow everyone to get to know each other. This will not only improve effective communication between leadership and employees but also foster relationships between teammates.
2. Keep your remote employees happy
Multiple surveys have shown that remote workers are typically happier than other employees, but this doesn’t mean that this will make any effort to keep them as content as possible.
The good news is that it’s not very complicated to keep remote employees happy. Make sure they feel included and asked them what they may need. Keeping everyone happy is often as simple as upgrading some hardware, providing additional training, or changing routines to help them perform better.
You can also surprise your team with small gifts or gift cards for a job well done on their birthday. It’s often the little things that contribute to a happy work environment.
3. Always recognize great work
Never take your employees for granted because that is a very quick way to demotivate them. Instead, make it a point to recognize their contributions to the organization. You should do it regularly and make sure that no one is feeling left out.
The recognition should be highly visible, so everyone else in the organization is aware of the valuable contribution of remote workers. You can call out anything from big wins to recognition for progress made on a complex project.
4. Make all goals clear
Remote workers need clear direction of what is expected of them in terms of company goals and objectives. Setting clear expectations is a very good motivator for remote workers, and it also helps with productivity.
Take your time to answer all questions at the beginning of the project in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
5. Emphasize company culture
Developing company culture is essential to fostering engagement and keeping employees motivated, but unfortunately, this can be difficult to do with remote teams. However, there are multiple ways to build company culture, even when communicating virtually.
Start by building trust by bringing remote workers together on a regular basis. You can do so via competitions, online games, happy hours, Halloween parties and more. Building company culture is not always about fun things, so make sure you include the remote workers in essential company meetings, particularly if they have to do with the company’s future.
6. Assist everyone with time management
Many remote workers report that they sometimes struggle to manage their time effectively. Even though they have the freedom to schedule household chores, family commitments, and focused work time as they please, they sometimes need help with time management.
To help them manage their time productively, provide remote workers with tools, training, and tips. By doing so, your show employees that management cares, which can be a great motivator.
It’s also a good idea to implement a collaborative project management tool such as Asana or Trello to help everyone on their path to success.
7. Don’t micromanage and cut out the fluff
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of micromanaging your team as a remote manager. While it is vital to maintain a good flow of communication to give everyone the chance to be heard, there is such thing as too much contact.
For example, if a meeting is not quite necessary, don’t schedule one just because the team has initially agreed to meet and discuss the project every day. Only communicate when necessary and leave employees alone to do their job. Besides saving a lot of time, this approach is also great for motivation because it shows workers that you trust them.
These simple tips that you can start implementing right now are great for motivating your remote employees and keep them happy. Remember that remote workers are critical assets to your business, so keep them connected and engaged to increase productivity and ultimately boost your business.
Search Remotely is an authoritative platform that enables remote companies to tap into a database of over 250,000 remote workers and hire international remote talent and scale up their remote teams effectively and efficiently.
