3 Ways to Keep Remote Employees Engaged

Simply put – happy employees who feel valued represent the best of a company’s culture, and ultimately act as walking recruitment marketing advertisements.

However, there is a hole in our engagement improvement efforts. The hard truth is that we can get so wrapped up in the growth of our on-site people that we often forget about another rapidly growing sector of our organizations, the remote team members.

These “work from home” employees are vital to our organizations and their success. Considering the remote population’s growth rate, and the current heated job market, employers can’t afford to lose these valuable workers. Fortunately, there are a few ways to aid in our remote employee engagement efforts to help us boost morale, retention, and productivity.

1. Communication

It’s easy to give a quick performance rundown, or schedule a last-minute team meeting when everyone who needs to attend is already in the same location. These often short (but essential) check-ins keep everyone on pace, motivated and moving together to close action items.

But what about those who need a little extra time to dial in or join on devices?

These team members live by their mobiles devices, so make the most of communicative apps, virtual chats, and real-time trackers to keep them focused with the rest of the team.

A strange phenomenon occurs when teammates work alongside one another—the communicated obstacles, celebrated successes, and team banter all come together to drive competition and camaraderie. Utilize modern communication technology to get your whole team in sync and engaged.

2. Set Clear Goals

Sending out preliminary goals for your team is important to assess potential obstacles of each team member – and more importantly what they need to do to hit their individual number.

Don’t let the communication disconnect get in the way of making clear, concise game plans with your remote team members.

Along with coaching and planning efforts, managers need to be mindful that these employees also need to be updated each time a goal is closed or modified. How can they put their best efforts forward if they are unsure about where they stand?

Running team reports at the beginning and close of business each day is a great way to get everyone on the same page and working towards the same end goal.

3. Recognition

A quick kudos announcement or a pat on the back is easier to communicate when the teammate you are recognizing works from the office. Our remote team members often lose out on the celebration when team/individual goals are accomplished.

Posting announcements to a common company intranet message board or digital newsletter connects workers over all channels – and advertises remote employees’ successes. A little recognition can go a long way!

With the rapid globalization of the market, we can only expect remote teams to become more popular over the next decade. If we don’t work hard to keep our employees engaged then another more evolved company will. By utilizing tips like these along with modern technology we can keep our best remote employees on our teams.