Since you're already ahead of the curve hiring, training, and trusting an individual/team to work independently, we don’t need to go over the pros of a decentralized taskforce and telecommuting. But then at the back of your mind must be a lingering thought of how to keep that individual or set of individuals focused and loyal? How to keep the people you rarely get to see, motivated? To sum it all up, how can we work towards improving remote employee engagement?
In this article, we will discuss five proven ways which can help you in the process of managing remote employees more efficiently.
1. Small talks make a big difference
It may seem that remote employees may be more productive without distractions like the water-cooler talks. Still, recent studies have gone on to show that the nature of these informal communications is invaluable to workplace cohesion.
These talks go a long way in eliminating the sense of isolation on both personal and professional levels one may otherwise experience while working remotely.
So next time, find ways to incorporate nonessential, nonbusiness topics in your communication with your remote employees through channels like Skype, Slack or hangout. An occasional funny meme or GIF or just an offhand “Hey what’s up! What are your weekend plans?” might be just the tonic your remote employees would require to feel connected and valued as individuals.
2. Work on open communication channels
Setting up an open and quick response communication channel that lets employees connect with their managers and HQs go a long way in facilitating a healthy relationship between remote employees and their employers.
Communication is a two-way street and not always the duty of the employees, in-fact almost half of the remote employees feel that managers who frequently check-in are the best ones.
Although it may seem a cumbersome job especially if remote teams span across continents and time-zones, being flexible about your availability to discuss projects, queries or just small talk could do wonders to enhance your remote workforce engagement.
On the top of seamless virtual conversations, casual face-to-face meetups once in a while can have a long-lasting impact on the employee which you'll start noticing after a rendezvous.
3. Equal accountability for all
If you have engaged both onsite and remote teams, try and ensure that you are allocating work based on talent, experience and expertise alone and not physical location.
The culture of feeding remote employees the scrapes of their in-house counterparts makes them feel like outsiders looking in which in-turn can affect their productivity, work ethic and efficiency.
An employee, whether in-house or remote, when trusted and respected, is most be likely to be more efficient and productive. This entails that remote employees are not solely assigned menial tasks but also trusted with more significant assignments. Remote employees, just like everyone else want to feel included, useful and essential.
4. Have clarity about expectations
In comparison to in-house employees, it is way easier for the remote ones to get distracted or disengaged. Hence, it becomes crucial for employers to stop that from happening.
Similar to any new employee’s onboarding process, management needs to ensure from time to time that remote employees are still in-sync with their company's vision and also being provided regular feedback in this regard.
At any point in time, a remote employee should be clear on the following aspects.
• Mode of swift and reliable communication with their manager
• Their contact person in case of an emergency
• The number of working hours they need to clock in a given time-frame
• Last and most important: The quality of work that is expected from them.
5. Rewards and Recognition
Even small gestures like sending a congratulatory mail or mentioning a remote employee's name in one of your presentations can do wonders in improving remote employee engagement.
Daily greetings and frequent check-ins are useful measures to acknowledge remote employees, but specific and purposeful recognition celebrating individual achievements leave a more meaningful and long-lasting impact.
Making employees aware of the fact that their work is meaningful to you not only enhances engagement and heightens productivity but if carried out publicly gives them a feeling of inclusiveness in the organization and serves as a motivation for further projects.
So, all-in-all companies are defined by the culture they cultivate, and when remote employees feel deserted from that culture, it can hurt the company's overall productivity. Yes, when you hire remote employee, connecting with them may seem a daunting task but it is certainly worth the effort.
