Gaining employees by hiring them is one thing but keeping them engaged and retaining them is what is actually difficult. In order to manage remote employees successfully, organizations need to take a holistic approach. These employees are not a “second choice” for your company. Remote workers are not to be used for only the most menial tasks, nor should they be feared as less productive, or as workers who don’t fit in. Instead, remote-working employees are to be treated as valued members of the company.
Even in a pandemic situation, there is seen a huge number of employees have dropped the jobs while remotely working from home. We decided to dive a little deep into the causes and came up with 5 amazing ways in which you can strengthen the engagement of your employees and team members even in the Work from home environment!
5 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement
1. By establishing a remote working policy
As technology advances, more and more employees are choosing to work remotely. Although this flexibility has both benefits and drawbacks, the most important thing an employer can do is clearly establish a policy that takes into account the needs of both the remote employee and the rest of the team. This policy also needs to be clearly communicated to all employees.
A work from home policy is a must document stating a few terms and some regulations that protect the employee as well as the employer from being exploited. A Work from home policy can include rules like regular meetings, internal communication among the team members and a certain amount of work or a goal that needs to be accomplished. It keeps them motivated and engaged.
2. By encouraging remote workers to socialize
The ability to work remotely has obvious advantages for employees and employers alike: employees can choose where they want to work, and employers can save on rent and overhead costs. However, the downside of having remote employees is that it can be harder to foster a culture of teamwork and cooperation.
You can’t just send out an email or call a meeting when you need to talk to someone. Instead, you have to take the initiative to schedule an appointment, which can be a bit of a chore if you’re already busy working. However, employees can be encouraged to make friends and buddies at the workplace which might make working remotely feel a little more connected. Nothing will improve employee engagement as much as this. There’s a reason they say “Friends make everything better.”
You can try team building activity games, include a buddy program and even conduct frequent video call meetings over apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meets.
3. By training managers to handle a remote team
It is important that the manager is capable of remotely handling a team of employees. Managing a team of employees that work remotely can be difficult for both the worker and the manager. Overcoming some of the challenges is easy; for example, managers need to take advantage of the tools provided by their company to help make the most of this kind of situation by organizing work in a remote team. One step is to set up a weekly video conference call so the team can get to know each other’s voices and be able to recognize each other’s faces.
The manager must keep a check on every single member under him/ her so that everything is streamlined and goes in a smooth manner even when working remotely, especially when working remotely.
4. By conducting meetings
It can be easy to fall into a rut with meetings, especially when they are conducted over the phone. Fortunately, there are some tricks of the trade that you can apply to make them more effective, while also making them more engaging and enjoyable. For example, you should only schedule a meeting if it is absolutely necessary, and you should try to keep the meeting as short and to the point as possible.
Daily, weekly and monthly meetings should be regularized to stay connected and in the know. You should also incorporate online activities, like using collaborative software or an online survey tool, so that your team feels more connected to the meeting and better able to contribute to the discussion.
5. By Defining Specific Goals for Remote Employees
One part of this plan is to help each employee get clear about what success means to them and how to measure it. Another part is allowing them to make a difference in their job in terms of how it can improve their lives and work.
Assigning them goals makes them competitive, ambitious and also gives a sense of purpose to work towards. Apart from this, reporting also generates a sense of accomplishment and also responsibility.
Working from Home Has Become a Norm
More and more companies are offering an option to working from home as not only does it reduce their operating costs, but it also gives employees the opportunity to work from home and save their travelling and other such minor costs. This allows them to work when they’re the most productive and relieves them from traffic in the morning and evening and saves so much of their idle time.
The flexibility of remote work allows employees to balance professional and personal commitments. When employees work from home, it tends to stress productivity while also causing the least fatigue.
Conclusion
Engaging the employees is an important part of the HR manager’s job. Engaged employees are happy, productive, and loyal. The reasons for their engagement vary, but the most important element is that they feel like their voice is being heard and that their opinions matter. It’s easy to become disconnected from the office when working remotely, but the above-mentioned ways will prove to be helpful for remote employees to stay engaged, and easy for managers to facilitate that.
Author Bio:
Lucie Griffin is a content writer at The HR Team and she has experience of 06 years in physiology and 05 years of experience in content writing. She is passionate about writing and loves to read on topics of physiology and human relationship.
