By As telecommuting has become the norm in modern businesses, many managers need to know how to work with telecommuters. Research shows that 20–30% of employees worldwide will work from home by the end of 2021. Managers and team leaders face both benefits and new challenges when people work from home. One of the most critical challenges is getting remote workers to work together.
Keeping remote workers interested is a problem many managers face when their teams work from home. However, solving this problem has become profitable because it increases productivity, efficiency, quality of work, and overall employee satisfaction. By taking the steps below, managers can help their teams work better and be more engaged when they are far away.
Develop Your Skills and Knowledge of How to Engage Employees Who Work from Afar
Before developing ways to keep employees interested in a virtual environment. You should get some education or training to learn more and get some hands-on experience.
Training will give you the tools you need to measure employee engagement and its effects, as well as strategies you can use to keep motivating your team to reach company goals.
It would help if you always looked for ways to improve as a leader. In addition, since working from home is virtual learning, you have more chances to take self-paced courses to improve your skills and learn new ones.
Talk to Your Team About How to Get Remote Workers to Work
Effective remote communication is essential in keeping remote employees engaged because it lets you figure out what problems employees are having and gives them a place to talk about their thoughts and concerns.
A recent Interact/Harris survey of 1,000 employees found that 91% thought their managers didn’t know how to talk to them. Take the time to look at how you’re communicating right now. Do they not know how to handle their feelings (EQ)?
To ensure you’re using critical communication and avoiding low EQ, check in with your team members often to find out how they feel about their current role and learn more about their skills, experience, and professional drive.
When managers take the time to talk to their remote workers, they can better help and act as a resource when team members are looking for ways to learn and grow in their careers. It’s also easier for employees who work from home to say what they think about current policies, the company’s overall culture, and how that affects their engagement.
Use Digital Communication to Get the Remote Team to Work Together
Once you’ve built a team culture that encourages open communication, you can make yourself more accessible by having a virtual “open door” policy. In addition, Digital tools and other ways to interact with remote workers make it easier for your team to stay in touch, no matter where they work.
Virtual meetings and chat apps regularly help managers stay in touch. See how their teams are doing with the day’s tasks, stay on top of project requirements, and work as a team. It’s also a chance to look at employees’ work to see where they can improve and to praise their successes.
So, make it a priority to talk to your team members every day or every week using all digital communication tools. This should be a part of your leadership strategy.
Another tip: Remember to make digital communication more fun by holding virtual team-building events.
Help with Training, Mentoring, And Opportunities to Grow
Professional growth is an integral part of keeping and keeping on remote employees. When people feel stuck in their jobs, they lose motivation and find it hard to think about staying with the company for a long time. Try giving your team a remote mentoring program to ensure they share and build on their knowledge and skills.
By giving remote workers a chance to improve their careers, you show that you care about their growth, which is good for morale and motivation. You can also learn and train by shadowing someone in the position you want or taking online courses to understand more about new strategies.
In general, remote workers who feel supported by their bosses throughout their careers are more likely to stay engaged and continue to be valuable to the company.
Recognize Employees Regularly
Employee recognition helps get remote workers more involved and also affects how happy employees are as a whole. It would help if you were timely and specific regarding rewarding remote workers for their hard work and dedication. Or, in other words, tell them how great they are when they do something meaningful and why you are happy for them.
Small things, like an email or a tip of the hat during a virtual team meeting, can be done to show appreciation for people who work from home. It can also come in money, like a promotion, a pay raise, or an annual bonus. This helps field staff set new goals and makes them feel important.
No matter what method you use, recognizing employees is the core of your team’s culture. It makes employees feel valued and encourages them to reach their personal and company goals.
Ask For Feedback All The Time
Feedback is the most crucial part of getting remote workers involved. Therefore, it’s essential to know how to get feedback from your team, primarily if you work from home.
First, look at how you tell people what to do. For example, do you use digital messages or take the time to meet with remote workers virtually “face to face”? Real-time feedback, especially on daily tasks, can give your remote team a sense of direction and help them focus on performance and quality standards at work.
Be brief but clear in what you say. If it’s helpful feedback, talk about the task together instead of making it a “battle of the bosses” situation. This way, you can improve, share your knowledge, and keep your staff from losing trust.
The same is true for feedback requests. Keep an open mind and pay attention to what your workers say. This information can help you improve your leadership skills and make you a better leader. It can also make your team more engaged and change the people it affects the most, which is your team.
Results On How Engaged Remote Employees Are
Communication is one of the essential parts of keeping remote employees engaged, just like in the office. It’s critical to communicate with your team, whether it’s to get feedback from them, improve their communication skills, or encourage their growth.
When you work from home, you may often feel alone. But more virtual meetings are needed for the productivity of employees too. So, make sure to find a good balance between virtual communication and your busy work schedule, and try out new ways to get your organization’s remote teams more involved.
