Hardly anyone ever heard of remote work for offices before 2020 arrived. And then the Covid 19 pandemic happened and changed how everything around the world operated. The work culture shifted massively as most people started working from their homes. Now, when the major waves of Covid have passed, and things are coming back to normal, many companies are continuing with their work from home policy. The idea of working remotely has stuck around because it has helped employees achieve better work-life harmony and made them happier. Their performance, in turn, has considerably improved. However, this new arrangement has its own sets of challenges. Keeping the remote employees motivated and engaged poses a big task for the managers. Experts at our
HR company in Dubai are well informed and equipped to take understand the issue at hand and have some tricks up their sleeves. We are sharing a few tips on developing increased engagement of off-site employees.
Establish Communication Channels
A personal connection with the company's values and your teammates is easier to develop when you are physically present at your workplace and regularly interact and collaborate with them. However, while working remotely, a lack of one-on-one interactions may lead to the employees feeling lonely or detached from the rest of the team. A manager must address this issue by conveying all the communication channels to the people working from their homes. It should be clear to everyone how to reach other colleagues if and when required. Encouraging everyone to use text messaging and audio and video conferencing makes the remote workers feel like a part of the team.
Schedule Regular Meetings
Depending on the nature of your work, the manager must schedule either a daily one-to-one check-in via call or message with each member of the remote workforce or organize a team call. They should schedule video calls at least once a week to promote a connection between colleagues. The check-ins shouldn't feel like the managers are trying to monitor what the employees are doing, but it should be a way to bring everyone to the same page. An open discussion should be encouraged and welcomed where everyone must pitch in. Remote employees should share updates on their tasks and ask any queries they may have about their work.
Employee-to Employee Collaboration
Team building and collaboration are indispensable for the success of your business and to keep off-site employees engaged. For on-site employees, team interaction is inevitable and much easier. But achieving synergy and harmony among the remote workers can get a bit trickier. The responsibility lies with the managers to organize regular team meetings, especially video calls to bring the whole team together. Encourage the development of a personal connection between your team members if you want to keep them motivated and on the same page.
HR recruitment experts suggest that planning meetups and company retreats for the remote workers can be a great initiative. Employees can interact physically, get to know each other, build stronger communication and collaborate to elevate each other's work performance. There are also digital tools that allow virtual team-building activities to develop employee cooperation.
Conclusion
Work from home started as the result of the pandemic but it looks like it is here to stay. Managers need training on how to lead and manage the remote teams.
Human resource consultancy firms arrange for such training programs for the management of your company.
Zeder Group are the leading
HR consultants and
business consultancy, who can help you learn and apply these techniques that will not only increase the productivity of the workers but also boost your employee retention rate.