Employee engagement and corporate culture are at the forefront of every leader’s mind, especially now with the “Quiet Quitting” topic going viral. In almost every conversation we have with a candidate or client, engagement is brought up as a major matter of importance.
Maintaining and cultivating a strong level of employee engagement is difficult enough when everyone is physically in the office, but what about our remote employees? Are they feeling inspired through the Zoom calls? Or are they sitting on mute, disengaged & counting down the minutes until they can close their laptop?
According to Forbes, there are 5 ways to keep your remote employees as engaged as possible from a distance.
- “Ditch micromanagement” – Micromanagement is the quickest way to drive burnout in your employees and will have them selecting “Open to Work” on LinkedIn sooner than you think. Instead of constantly monitoring online activity, set expectations early with remote employees on expected working hours, break times, and implement regular meetings to keep everyone (including yourself) on track.
- “Show transparency” – Everyone has been feeling uncertain lately due to the economy and macroeconomic factors. Showing up as an empathetic leader who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable will go a long way with employees and will help everyone feel a stronger sense of belonging.
- “Digitize your rewards & recognition program” – A recent study showed “employees’ desire to be recognized increases by 30% during challenging times, especially when employees are dealing with a new crisis or transitioning to a new work environment. Easy examples of how to implement this: digital gift cards or a short social media post for a job well done! Make sure to consider these 2 key factors when implementing: recognition has to be public so everyone feels connected to each other & it needs to be timely praise.
- “Prioritize wellness” – Well-being goes far past just offering health insurance. Mental health and physical health directly impact employees’ work life and performance.
- Make mindful breaks a priority – virtual coffee chats are an easy option!
- Offer an incentive-based health challenge.
- Start conversations on mental health.
- Set clear limits on remote availability – advise team to not respond to business emails on weekends!
- Provide office setup assistance – no one can focus when their sitting on a backbreaking chair, so make sure your employees are physically set up for success.
- “Meaningful communication” – Since the “water cooler chat” is pretty much a thing of the past, setting up ample avenues for employees to talk, unwind, and bond, is extremely necessary. Setting up a shared virtual space where teams can have some daily small talk is an easy way to help boost engagement & morale! Funny Zoom icebreakers are another easy way to promote some bonding & rapport throughout the team.
Promoting and keeping remote employees engaged doesn’t have to be a difficult task. It will take some intentional thought and planning, but the outcome will pay dividends in employee happiness, team bonding & business success.
