How To Engage Your Remote Employees

Many people find it difficult to work remotely since there are so many distractions, including TV, housework, roommates, and social media. For that reason, it may be challenging to describe and quantify what employee engagement means to the people on your team who have the possibility to complete their everyday job tasks in a remote fashion.

Here are some strategies to preserve your corporate culture and give your remote employees the impression that they are a member of the team even if they’re not present in your offices.

Make Social Activities More Structured

It is essential to proactively create chances for remote employees to interact with one another because they do not naturally have the same kinds of possibilities to do so. And if you’re looking for a way to get started, holding social events online that are unrelated to business is a fantastic option.

The gathering of participants may take the form of virtual coffee sessions, workshops on mixing cocktails, an online concert, or a bimonthly trivia game. However, the most significant error that may be made about company-wide social events is to not structure them. If you hold a social gathering in such a way that the talkers continue talking and the quieter ones remain silent, then it is reasonable to state that the event did not accomplish what it set out to do; the event is considered a failure.

So you should make sure that the regulations are written in a way that encourages participation from everyone. For instance, a cocktail-making lesson that includes a kit would garner greater participation from everyone.

Conduct Informal All-Hands Meetings In A Virtual Setting

Trust is fostered throughout a company when its culture is open and honest. And because remote teams are geographically separated from the workplace, they have an even greater requirement for open communication. A virtual all-hands meeting to foster a culture of transparency inside the company is a good move here to ensure that everyone feels like they’re on board which you should definitely hold regularly. 

Because of this event, remote workers will be encouraged to display their efforts to the rest of the company. This project can involve an upgrade to an existing product, the launch of a brand-new marketing initiative, or the acquisition of a new business partner. Each week, a different team will present what they are working on to the group to keep everyone up to date on their progress. In addition, the workers have the opportunity to ask questions and express their opinions with the team that is presenting, which fosters a feeling of inclusion among all parties involved.

Nonetheless, there is a possibility that bringing your effort to the attention of the entire company will not be a simple task. However, this minor annoyance is a tiny price to pay in exchange for increased engagement from remote workers and a cozier, more connected working environment.

Say Bye-Bye To Email

When it comes to straightforward organizational communication, nobody can deny that emails are rather useful. However, it is not appropriate for a lot of short exchanges that take place back and forth. Your business ought to be equipped with a specialized piece of software for conducting real-time instant messaging (also known as live chat).

Employee chat software gives you the ability to encourage flexible and informal communication among employees, which in turn helps remote workers create connections with one another and obtain the information they need to execute their tasks.

Establish A Library Of Information That Can Be Accessed Remotely

According to a poll conducted by Nintex, 49% of workers in the United States report having problems locating papers. You can’t blame employees for being disinterested in their work if they are unable to get critical information at the appropriate moment.

Luckily, this problem has a simple answer. The most important data about your company should be stored in a centralized location and made easily accessible there. This data would consist of your company’s policies, procedure manuals, onboarding checklists, and any other relevant items.

The capacity to publish content on this site will not be restricted to the upper management or the IT department. Through the use of this central location, all departments should have access to, be able to publish and be able to exchange knowledge.

Employees will be more likely to feel empowered and appreciate the value they are providing to the business if they share the information they have acquired. So if you construct a knowledge base, you will be able to lower the number of silos, increase the sharing of information, and boost cooperation.

Final Thoughts

If you carefully consider the aforementioned tactics, you’ll see that they all revolve around the same straightforward goal: attempting to provide remote workers with the same communication chances that they would have had if they weren’t working remotely.

The key difference between an outstanding company is how much time is given to workers’ opinions and concerns, whether through casual small chats or formal feedback. You’ll find it simple to adopt these strategies for engaging remote employees as long as you keep this fundamental notion in mind.