A Manager's Guide to Keeping a Remote Team Engaged

The year 2020 will go down in history as a watershed year, with the globe transforming in unprecedented ways. Businesses and individuals were affected by the pandemic. To many people throughout the world, working from home has gone from being an option to a need. The majority of employees and supervisors had never worked out of the office or been separated from one another, while a small percentage had done so in the past. Working from home is even more difficult for a lot of people when you're located in a developing country like the Philippines due to infrastructure issues.

Today's companies face numerous challenges, including how to engage remote employees in the company's culture and foster loyalty. Managers are still struggling to motivate and retain remote teams, even after 18 months of trial and error. Here are some suggestions for creating a sense of belongingness among remote workers.

Ensure Smart Onboarding:

For apparent flexibility and traffic avoidance considerations, many workers prefer to work from home. These employees are more likely to stay with a company after being successfully on-boarded or leave the organization altogether before completing on-boarding. Moreover, they have a better rate of retention. This means that training and orienting new remote staff is vital and needs a lot more time and effort.

The ideal way to onboard remote teams is with the help of self-learning modules/videos about corporate culture, product & processes, followed by knowledge checks and clarifying sessions. As per my observation, the usual presentations and trainings on video call for onboarding remote personnel is not very effective or efficient.

To make the most of their time working together, organize one-on-one sessions with each member of the team. This will help them form personal connections as well as professional ones.

Provide information and resources:

New laptops, improved Wi-Fi, and new technologies, such as headsets and webcams, may be required for your team members to work effectively. If this is the case, money will have to be reallocated to vital equipment. Set the group up for success by giving them the tools they need.

Get rid of stumbling blocks:

Employees who work from home encounter new and unexpected challenges, including physical and emotional isolation, many distractions at home, children who are homeschooled, a relative who is sick, and a delivery person who rings the doorbell every hour. Protecting the team so they may focus on their current obligations is one of the many responsibilities of leadership. Help individuals eliminate as many obstacles as possible.

Demonstrate Compassion:

Every team member comes from a diverse background and has a unique upbringing. Some people will be married and have children. Some people will have a separate room for work, while others will work in the bedroom, living room, bathroom, or even closet. Some people may be having issues in their personal relationships right now or nursing a sick relative. For a manager to be effective, he or she must be aware of the conditions surrounding each employee. Managing stress is critical because it allows managers to empathize with their employees' worries and anxieties. Employees look to their bosses for indications on how to react to rapid shifts or crisis circumstances. So, be the calming influence. Take it easy!

Be a mentor and a coach:

The best managers do more than "manage." They mentor and coach. We should not stop our efforts to improve our teams and ourselves just because things are volatile, difficult, or ambiguous. This may need the use of outside resources, new projects, and the allocation of more time. So, get on to this transformation process one conversation at a time.

Encourage peer to peer connections:

According to Gallup's findings, having a friend at work is a strong predictor of employee engagement. Unfortunately, the work-from-home atmosphere has drastically restricted opportunities to form friendships. Virtual happy hours and other non-work-related chats and activities have been organized relatively well by companies and managers. Peer-to-peer contacts, on the other hand, remain quite transactional. Leadership and HR teams must collaborate to provide opportunities for employees to interact with one another informally and cultivate friendships.

Encourage a healthy work-life balance:

At first glance, working from home appears to be the ideal option, as it allows employees to maintain a work-life balance while also allowing them flexibility. In hindsight however, working from home is a significant conundrum for many people. Employees are under pressure to "stay connected" because of the arrangement, which appears to provide flexibility in scheduling. Please don't expect your people to be always online. Encourage and promote a work-life balance. This entails establishing realistic communication and reaction time limits for yourself and others.

My final thoughts:

It's difficult to maintain high levels of employee enthusiasm and engagement when teams are working remotely. It's possible to foster a strong sense of community at work by focusing on shared values and goals.

There are several factors that contribute to employee engagement, including work-life balance, openness, and praise and reward. When employees are on the clock, this is the case. However, this is also true for employees who work remotely.

Please don't make the mistake of assuming that just because employees are working from home, managers can afford to ignore these critical work realities.

To succeed and grow in a remote working environment, you need a solid foundation of trust and respect. Promoting these essential principles in the workplace has never been more critical.

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