Due to the pandemic, a lot of companies have had to move to remote work. Now in 2021, some businesses are opening, while others are staying remote moving forward. Remote workers have different needs than office employees. Remote employees are confined to their homes, they must be provided with all the tools and support to feel motivated.
They don’t have as many opportunities to integrate with the company processes and culture. This is why it’s so important to make sure your remote employees are motivated. Having a hard time with remote employees’ motivation? Today we will be discussing the most effective ideas for motivating remote employees.
12 Tips to Motivate Remote Staff
- Provide your team with the best tools
- Show you care
- Provide incentives
- Make the experience personal
- Give breaks
- Send your staff some swag
- Communication is key
- Get feedback
- Focus on company culture
- Give health benefits
- Recognize employees efforts and achievements
- Organize virtual team building activities
1. Provide the best tools for remote workers
When working remotely there are a lot of tools needed for successful and efficient work. Complicating this process and having tools not working leads to demotivation for your employees. Help them achieve their best work with the right tools for remote work. Make sure they have all the Video conferencing, communication, and project management tools needed. Since video conference platforms are indispensable tools for remote working, make sure to install all the proper platforms like Zoom, Slack, and Google Meet.
2. Show you care
The pandemic has been a challenging time for people, make sure your employees receive health packages on a regular basis. Another great idea is a monthly basket containing sanitizer, masks, and gloves for the employee and their family members. It’s important to stress how important appreciating these remote workers is because their happiness plays a direct role in how motivated they are.
3. Have innovative incentives
As the world has gone online, it’s time to also use online incentives. Your employees are at home with no physical entertainment. Have an incentive that staff can enjoy in their leisure time. A good idea is to provide a month’s subscription to an online streaming service to show appreciation for all your employees’ hard work.
4. Make a personal connection
It’s important to make sure there’s lots of face time with your remote employees. This may sound like an obvious one but is essential for strong connections. It is not enough to let your staff know about their work or deadlines over emails. Make sure you schedule video calls on a periodic basis. While you are on the call, do not just discuss work. Make it personal, see how your staff are doing. Remind them that you’re there by their side. Your words become more impactful when said face-to-face.
5. Give Breaks
When working in a remote setup, many people find it difficult to always be 100% focused. To address this, we recommend instituting a process to require breaks. Try ending a meeting 5 to 10 minutes early and give your employees a chance to take a break during their stressful workday.
6. Send your staff some swag
There’s no better way to show your appreciation for your remote staff than by sending them some company swag. Employees feeling appreciated directly correlates to their motivation at work. Easily customize a personalized swag box that your remote employees are for sure to love.
7. Communication is key
When you do not get to see someone in the office every day, it becomes essential to find ways to have an ongoing thread of communication live with your staff. Share with your team the needs of each assignment, explain why they are important. People tend to be more efficient if they feel like they are working for a cause or towards a goal. Always be open to your staff’s ideas and keep communication open.
8. Get feedback
Listen to what your employees have to say. Make sure to hear out their demands, and try your best to fulfill them. Your employees should not feel ordered, they should feel heard. This is why it’s so important to make sure your process is working. The best way to determine this is by surveying staff and gathering feedback.
9. Think about remote company culture
When moving to a remote setup, you want to be thoughtful on how you can maintain your company culture. Yes, these employees are remote but it is still important to instill the same culture and values that were brought to the office. While you can’t replace hanging out with coworkers at lunch, there are ways to make sure your employees feel culturally connected.
10. Offer health benefits
In order to keep your employees motivated, give them the perks of health insurance which covers Covid related illnesses. If you want, go the extra mile by covering the insurance not just for them but their family too. This will portray your company’s adaptability to changing times while offering a lot of motivation for your remote staff.
11. Recognize employee efforts and achievements
Recognition of the efforts and achievements of employees should be an essential element for the overall success of your business. Recognizing these efforts and achievements can boost their confidence and motivation to work. Recognition is one of the most effective methods to make employees feel engaged.
Working from home in a sense makes employees feel isolated and less connected. It, therefore, becomes imperative to make every effort to keep them engaged to maintain their productivity. Therefore, recognition is one of the most important things for motivating your remote employees.
12. Organise virtual team building activities
Take out time once a month to engage them in a cheerful online office activity. Virtual games give a sense of belongingness among employees. They also boost morale and improve collaboration among remote employees. Virtual team building exercises, like a remote happy hour, can help keep teams engage with each other through meaningful fun.
Final Thoughts
It is important to remember that motivating a team doesn’t happen overnight It is a long-term investment requiring consistency from you and your management team on a daily basis. A good place to start is by sending your team some branded swag.
Remote working is the future of the modern workplace, and the sooner organizations prepare for it, the better. Employee motivation has always played a key role during such transitions. It will continue to be vital for team productivity as organizations adapt and enhance their remote work setup.
