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The current and future reality for many employers will likely involve supporting a geographically distant workforce. While some employees may have already returned to an on-site work location, others are still working remotely and may continue for a much longer term, maybe even permanently. This could be the new normal – having teams comprised of both remote and non-remote employees.
No matter what your specific organization’s situation is, chances are it won’t be the same work environment that you had pre-coronavirus. One aspect of in-office work that many remote employees are missing is the interactions they have with their team members and co-workers. If your company does choose to keep employees remote for the foreseeable future, you’ll need ways for teams to connect and collaborate.
How to Engage Both Remote and On-site Employees
1. Using chat and face-to-face interaction
Applications such as Microsoft Teams and Slack have chat functions that can facilitate dialogue open to both remote and on-site employees. Channels can be created for efficient work-related communication—or even as a way to replace water cooler conversations and help build comradery within teams.
Use a video conferencing system like Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom to bring off-site and on-site staff together for a common purpose. Video conferencing should also be used to intro and onboard new staff members. Too often, remote workers converse with existing staff but never get introduced to newer employees because of the geographical distance. Making video a central channel for collaboration and daily communications can help virtual teams feel more connected.
2. Plan for remote-friendly meetings
Meeting organizers and participants should be deliberate about including all members, whether they are in the office or remote. At the beginning of a meeting, be sure to introduce the employees joining remotely, and ensure you give each participant a chance to share their thoughts or ideas on topics discussed during the meeting.
3. Consider all employees when conducting workplace planning
As your organization considers and implements changes, always think about how any decisions will impact not just your on-site workers, but also your remote talent. Also be sure to consider how your plans may need to be altered if some or all of the remote workers do return to the worksite.
4. Be transparent about remote work expectations and decisions
There are a variety of reasons why some employees may be expected to work on-site while others are granted the opportunity to work remotely. Chances are you will have staff that are disappointed in where they will be working – some that are required to be in the office may prefer to work from home, and some may rather be on-site rather than working remotely. By being transparent about the purpose and business need of any decisions, employers can facilitate a friendly and open environment for distant teams to effectively collaborate, rather than building gaps between an organization’s leaders and their base of employees.
5. Communicate effectively
It’s likely that your workplace and each employee have been impacted by the pandemic. As initiatives are launched and changes are announced, strategically planned communications can help receive buy-in from employees. Any workplace changes can make a significant impact on the day-to-day life of your employees, and organizations should be thoughtful about how they create necessary changes.
When addressing the impact of COVID-19, be sure to acknowledge in your communications the challenges that employees face daily—but also transparently explain the rationale for how any decisions best serve the interest of the stakeholders of your business, including your staff. Employees appreciate transparency, and this acknowledgment can help build trust during challenging times.
6. Support all employees
It’s also critical to be mindful of your employees’ mental well-being. Encourage all of your staff to practice self-care, an important aspect for every person, regardless of their work situation or position. Self-care may involve a regular fitness routine, preparing healthy meals and snacks, staying hydrated, or relaxing in a bubble bath at the end of a workday. Offer resources to both your on-site workers and your remote employees to ensure they can manage the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and the change to everyone’s normal lives.
7. Employee recognition and retention
Appreciating and recognizing employees should be done out in the open. Using a public forum to spotlight employees and their work keeps the entire company in the loop on top performers, ongoing projects, and new initiatives. Tying recognition to rewards, too, can elevate employee engagement. This can be something as simple as using a scoring or upvoting system to reward employees with gift cards or other perks – no matter where they reside.
When your team feels valued and appreciated, even when they are working remotely, that will improve your retention. Publicly acknowledging the hard work of your employees not only makes them feel valued, it demonstrates the benefits of hard work to their coworkers and gives each member of your team a reason to push themselves and strive to meet their own personal goals. It doesn’t cost much to make someone’s day with a gift card or a team outing, but it could cost a considerable amount to continuously onboard new employees if your talent finds appreciation somewhere else.
Efforts will look different for every organization, but proper measures can help keep both your on-site and remote employees engaged.
GTM’s Employee Engagement Solution
The Mojo employee engagement platform from isolved, our payroll and HCM solution, keeps your people fully connected, whether working from home or at the office. They can share ideas, seek help, and collaborate, all within the system. Mojo allows you to:
- Set goals that align with the company and monitor progress throughout the entire year
- Drive improved performance and collaboration through feedback from performance reviews
- Post to a social-centric feed wall to easily share ideas, praise, and feedback
- Evaluate and pinpoint your star employees
- Award points to engaged team members and reward them with cool stuff
Download the isolved Mojo brochure for more information, then request a free quote to learn more about how GTM can help.