HEY PEOPLE IN CHARGE – show the love for your remote workforce
January 14, 2019
Trends, come and go, but the move toward a more flexible workforce continues. According to a recent study by Global Workplace Analytics, telecommuters are one of the fastest growing categories of workers.
There are significant advantages for both worker and employer. For employers, it’s possible to source talent in a wider range of locations. This is particularly important for companies that have to field teams of highly skilled workers. From the employee’s perspective, working remotely has both personal benefits, like skipping a stressful commute and career benefits like being able to accept attractive opportunities without disruptive physical relocation.
However, as it turns out, skipping the office creates its own set of issues. Remote employees frequently feel that they are left out of decision making that affects their work. It’s common for them to feel that colleagues don’t share their priorities. And, while avoiding office politics is frequently sited as reason for working remotely, remote workers fear that they are the subject of gossip and that others are aligned against them.
Given the benefits of having remote workers who are productive in their jobs, managers need to invest time and effort toward that goal. Fortunately, what’s most needed is keeping lines of communication open so that every employee can participate, whether their office is down the hall or in another hemisphere.
Here’s a list of five ways to have a real impact on employee morale and productivity:
1) Give all employees opportunities for face-to-face conversation, regardless of where they work. This can be accomplished in many ways, from incorporating live conferencing tools like Zoom to having an annual “all hands,” meeting that includes both local and remote workers. While email and other tools help facilitate remote communication, there’s no substitute for real-time, person to person communication.
2) Make sure your remote employees have access to what the need. Small frustrations like slow response times for routine request, difficulties opening files, problems with firewalls and conferencing software can make remote workers feel like second-class citizens. This type of issue lowers everyone’s productivity and shouldn’t be ignored.
3) Pay attention to scheduling, particularly when you have employees across multiple time zones. While it’s impossible to schedule meetings that suit everyone’s schedule, make sure you don’t always exclude the same people. Plan ahead so that remote staff can schedule accordingly. With an international workforce, occasional early morning or late night team calls will give everyone an opportunity to participate. Record important calls so those who can’t attend live can get the information first hand.
4) Give remote employees recognition. While they won’t be having birthday cake in the break room, you can remember their special days by sending a card or appropriate gift. Recognize their accomplishments, congratulate them for milestones and goals achieved and share those with the rest of the team.
5) Share your company goals and vision with your workers. Give them feedback about how what they are achieving relates to the bigger picture of what your company is committed to. Make an effort to find out what’s important to them and what they need to be effective in their jobs so they can be part of that success.
Does your company use remote workers? How do you keep them engaged and productive?
< Return to News