How To Keep Your Employees Engaged In A Remote Working Setup

The pandemic brought about various changes, including in the workplace. As businesses shift to a remote work setting, keeping the workforce productive and motivated becomes one of the challenges.

Remote work is becoming a widespread practice in various industries. Amid the pandemic, companies are allowing employees to work from home. Although the remote work setting has its share of benefits, such as saving time and expenses on traveling and promoting better work-life balance, it still has its share of drawbacks.

A lack of employee engagement can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness and a sense of being unappreciated and lacking passion for the company’s visions or goals. Plus employees who are not in the same office as their coworkers are often less engaged and connected, negatively influencing their overall productivity and performance.

Therefore, managing a business and keeping your remote workers engaged is crucial. Thankfully there are various ways to improve employee engagement, such as holding company virtual events, promoting healthy practices and maintaining clear lines of communication.

A Close Look At Employee Engagement

It’s crucial to make an effort to engage remote employees. Doing so will ensure your team stays efficient and productive as they would be in the office. However, defining and measuring what employee engagement entails can be difficult.

The abundance of distractions at home, such as chores, social media, and family members, to name a few, can make a remote working setup difficult for many people.

Directly asking your employees about their work and passion levels is one of the best ways to determine their level of engagement. You should also monitor their progress on tasks and confront any concerns you might have about their overall performance.

5 Ways To Maintain Employee Engagement In A Remote Working Setup

If you want to maintain a good level of engagement from employees in a remote working setup, here are several ways to keep your company culture and ensure everyone feels like part of the team.

1. Promote Wellness And Healthy Practices

The health of your workforce should always be the priority. Once your employees end up sick, they cannot perform at their best. A good approach is to develop an incentive for your team to start an exercise routine or any healthy habit. You can even implement a wellness program such as daily walks or yoga if you’re up for it.

Implementing these activities can support the overall health of your workforce while also bringing them close together. It also demonstrates your concern for their overall health. It would be preferable to look for other ways to make healthy practices convenient to stick with, such as giving them a long lunch break to work out.

2. Host Virtual Meetings And Casual Hangouts

Most remote teams use video calls, instant messaging, online conferencing platforms, and email. Using a video or voice conference call can go a long way in encouraging group collaboration. Today, you can also integrate various reliable collaboration tools to ensure seamless communications.

One way to maintain employee engagement is to organize virtual gatherings or meetings for non-work-related conversations. The topics are usually serious during work, but you don’t want almost all conversations to feel tense and dreaded. It’s best to set aside time for casual online gatherings to get to know each other to keep your workforce committed to being part of a team.

You may conduct regular virtual team-building activities or a casual discussion about anything under the sun. These events will help your employees loosen themselves up and allow them to relax from the stress brought about by daily work tasks.

3. Make An Effort To Make Your Employees Feel Heard And Valued

Employees deserve to feel appreciated even in a remote work setting. Since you cannot see them daily to extend a thank you or a get-together for a work anniversary, you should make an effort to celebrate your employees as often as possible.

If it’s the birthday of one of your employees, you can send a virtual gift card. When an employee exhibits exemplary performance, schedule a team call to recognize their efforts. Remember, simple acts can show your workforce that you care about them.

Additionally, you should also be open to your employees, even virtually. Miscommunication is likely in a remote setting, and the last thing you want is for your employees to feel like they can’t reach out to you, ask questions, or express concerns. You should try to make it clear that you’re available for one-on-one meetings and truly listen and take action if an employee confides in you.

Don’t forget to always communicate with your employees once you take action on their feedback, so they know that you hear them and value their opinion. When your employees feel valued, they become happier and more engaged at work. Don’t be afraid to provide constructive criticism as well.

4. Give Your Employees The Tools To Succeed

The key to improving engagement and performance is ensuring that your employees feel empowered to carry out their best in their tasks, even if they’re working remotely. Make sure your employees have the appropriate tools to perform their work.

You also have to ensure that your employees receive stipends for co-working spaces, especially if they don’t have a home office, and that you cover the costs of sending them to professional development courses or conferences.

5. Maintain Open Lines Of Communication

Remote workers, particularly those who work irregular hours or in different time zones, frequently believe that their coworkers are unavailable and vice versa.

Although it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be available 24 hours a day, knowing that they can communicate with their coworkers and stay in touch via digital means will help remote workers feel more connected.

Make it a priority to think about the time zone of all employees when setting meeting times or sending out emails. Simple considerations will help create camaraderie and trust among employees when their work schedules are understood and respected.

Final Thoughts

When your company has a remote work setting, your employees may face various challenges, including distractions, reducing overall productivity and engagement. If you want to keep your remote workforce engaged, these valuable pointers will serve as your guide. Maintaining employee engagement, especially in remote settings, will ensure efficiency and productivity.

Plus, did you know employees prefer presenting at virtual meetings? Suppose meetings are a big part of your business. In that case, you’ll be pleased with a Statista survey that found seven out of ten workers found it easier to present at online meetings making remote working more productive.