The COVID pandemic changed the world forever. Understatement of the decade? Maybe. But one of the major shifts the pandemic ushered in was how many employees transitioned from in our offices to working from home. It’s the rare industry that doesn’t have at least part of its workforce working from a home office.
Gone are the days when a work-from-home policy was an option or a flexible work location was seen as a special bonus. In 2022, remote work options aren’t just a bonus; they’re an expectation. But employers still have valid worries about the amount of work employees are able to accomplish at home. When you don’t have a visual on your workers, when they aren’t able to collaborate in person, and when they’re much more susceptible to tech issues, productivity plummeting becomes a real fear.
There’s also the fear of turnover. As the Great Resignation pushes forward, more and more businesses are struggling to hold onto employees. It’s going to be much harder for employees to quit if they feel like they’re part of a team. You don’t want to keep remote employees engaged just because it supports your business; you want to keep them engaged so they feel connected to their work. Someone who feels underutilized isn’t going to stick around very long.
But there are ways to make sure remote workers are kept engaged. Just because some of your workforce is remote doesn’t mean you’re forced into a future of people pretending to be working when they’re really scrolling their Twitter feeds. Here are five practices to consider implementing in your business.
Create Social Experiences
If employees aren’t gathering at the literal watercooler, can they gather around the metaphorical one? Providing something like a non-work-related Slack channel where employees can chat about the latest Mandalorian episode can go a long way toward helping remote employees feel included. Although there’s certainly some virtual happy hour fatigue, these types of events can still help people put names to faces and engage with each other in a more relaxed setting. Social experiences may need to be more formal, manufactured, and planned than in the past, but that doesn’t mean they can’t take place.
If your remote employees are local, even better. Make sure your company is having things like actual happy hours, holiday celebrations, or other social events in order to encourage mingling among employees in the office or employees who work remotely. Things like companywide retreats may seem old-fashioned, but they’re popular for a reason. The power of in-person connection can’t be understated, and now that the pandemic has settled down, these experiences are safe to have again for the vast majority of people.
Provide Tech Services
When someone’s in the office and his or her computer suddenly stops working, you probably have someone on staff who’s in charge of fixing it. But what about your remote employees? If someone’s laptop goes down, microphone fizzles, or Internet drops, does your company provide any resources to help the employee get back on track? A traveling IT person for local issues or a deal with a local IT store for employees on the other side of the country can make sure your remote employees aren’t consistently waylaid by tech problems. Even something as simple as offering an IT help desk employees can call into could make a big difference. If your IT person can fix the problem in 5 minutes but it would have taken an employee 2 hours, that’s a lot of work you’re saving.
Set Clear Expectations
If you’re still expecting remote employees to be online and available between 9–5, there’s nothing wrong with that. But it needs to be laid out at the beginning of their employment with you. Ditto things like working from a quiet environment in case they need to be on the phone with a customer, having their camera on during any meetings, and being available to come into the office as needed. All of these are reasonable expectations, but if you’re going to have them, it’s imperative that you lay things out for remote employees ahead of time. Otherwise, you may run into some awkward bumps in the road later on.
Furthermore, you’re used to annual reviews, but consider upgrading them to monthly or even biweekly. Remote employees are going to need more frequent touch points. The remote-work relationship is one that needs a bit more evaluation than one in which employees are in the office. If you’re noticing a lack of productivity or any other issues, you can work together to try and solve them earlier rather than later.
Gamify Teamwork
Human beings are competitive by nature. If you can find a way to “gamify” an employee’s performance, you may see a major uptick in productivity. There are plenty of apps available for tracking things like customer calls made, projects submitted, or hours clocked. A great prize can help encourage employees to participate and give it their all.
The gamification doesn’t have to be work-related to create a bonding experience. Things like step competitions, workout calculators, or good habit trackers can help employees feel bonded.
Ask for Feedback
Believe it or not, most employees want to be productive, contributing members of your team. If you think someone’s inherently lazy, you probably wouldn’t hire the person. That means your team members are people who truly want to make a difference with your products and services. They don’t want to be stuck behind a laptop, twiddling their thumbs, with nothing to do.
One of the easiest ways to encourage remote workers to stay engaged is simply to ask them how it’s going. Do they feel like they have enough on their plate or too much? Do they feel like they’re a part of the team even if they aren’t there in person? Do they feel good about their contributions? By regularly surveying employees, you’ll be able to gather their feedback and make decisions that will encourage remote employees to stay positive and productive.
Claire Swinarski is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.