Remote work was once considered a futuristic concept by businesses but today, it is the biggest reality for them. When the world went in lockdown a few months ago, it seemed like an experiment that would last a few weeks. But today, everyone knows that it is here to stay. The only way to deal with the situation is to accept it and try to see the brighter side of the entire picture. And surely, there is a brighter side, provided that you understand how to unlock the employee productivity as they work from home. The secret lies in keeping them motivated even as they work in isolation, and this is possible only if you can engage them. Here are some measures you can implement for boosting engagement for your work from home team.
Communication is the key
In the absence of human contact, social connections become all the more important for people. Hence, communication keeps the teams going and contributing. Apart from facilitating connections between peers, frequent corporate leadership communication is essential to keep the engagement and motivation levels up. And it should not just be a discussion about advice, policies, and protocols; rather you should include a genuinely personal element every time while connecting with the teams. Staying in touch gives them the assurance that they are a part of your business and there isn’t a need to worry.
Focus on community building
Apart from enabling an effective communication flow, it is also time to build communities that keep people engaged. With employees suddenly forced to start working away from the regular office setting, they tend to feel lost and unmotivated. And this is all the more likely to happen if they haven’t worked remotely before. Giving people time and tools to interact can help a great deal in this context. Encourage daily video conferencing and virtual meetings so that they feel that they are still a part of the same office. Besides work conversations, encourage fun activities like occasional games and team building sessions.
Ramp up your HR processes
If you have been thinking about ramping up your HR processes for some time, now is the best time to do it. Whether it is hiring, onboarding, scheduling, communication, benefits or rewards, and retention programs, you need to assess every aspect of the HR operations and realign them to match the existing operational model. You cannot deny the benefits of employee onboarding in the current situation because engaging the new employees’ right when they join your organization can make all the difference. Similarly, going once step ahead with your virtual learning and training programs can take the engagement levels a notch higher.
Prioritize meaningful and realistic goals
Right now, your managers will experience considerable stress because maintaining discipline in work-from-home settings is a humongous task. There are distractions when the employees are home and work schedules may surely suffer. Managing remote teams successfully while keeping them engaged is all about setting realistic and meaningful goals that are achievable despite the challenges of the current situation. Setting clear deliverables and specific metrics is important as it will keep employees on their toes and enable managers to track outcomes effectively. Conducting virtual meetings regularly is important for taking updates and ensuring that things are on track.
Leverage gamification
Look for fun ways to connect with the employees because this will alleviate their stress in the pandemic-ridden situation. While conducting surveys and getting feedback can help you understand what they want, gamification is the thing that can take employee engagement to the next level. Find ways to change your work culture positively; investing in a gamification app to boost employee participation would be worthwhile. It can strengthen your relationship with them and boost loyalty and retention in the long run.
Don’t miss out on recognition
Workplace recognition is a vital element of an employee engagement plan. People are bound to be motivated when you acknowledge their efforts and contributions. Rewards and incentives fuel their zeal to do better and give them reasons to contribute more. Further, they motivate others in the team to deliver better results and higher productivity levels as well. So recognition should surely be a part of your remote engagement plan because people need it all the more when they feel low in self-isolation.
Employee engagement has always been important for businesses and it has become all the more vital with the advent of the work-from-home era. Without any doubt, you should invest your efforts in forging stronger bonds that keep people happy and motivated because these factors have the potential to translate into better business outcomes.
