Working remotely has become a lot more common in recent years because it has great benefits for both the employee and you as the employer. It can be more difficult to form strong connections with remote workers though, so it’s important to take active steps to improve this gap in communication and form a healthy, working relationship. Here are some tips to effectively recognize and motivate remote teams to ensure you are getting the most out of them.
Importance and Benefits Of Remote Teams
Firstly, it’s helpful to know exactly why a remote team can be so useful. For the employee, it allows them to work to their own schedule and lifestyle needs. For you, the employer, it can save on costs, increase productivity, and can improve your work-life balance too.
Check In Often
One of the most important and effective ways you can motivate a remote team is through good communication. Having frequent virtual meetings is a great way for you to discuss progress and make sure your ideas are aligned. These meetings are best done through video calls to ensure you keep the attention of remote staff. They are better than just emailing or having phone calls because it allows for more of a connection to form, as well as building trust. You can also arrange for an in-person meeting very occasionally if and when appropriate.
This can integrate the employee into the company more and motivate them to work harder because they feel part of a team. Messaging and emailing are obviously necessary most of the time as well, so ensuring that there are efficient channels of communication is important.
The main difference between remote workers is that there is less face-to-face interaction. This can often cause a barrier in things like communication, feeling respected, and understanding each other’s positions. Humanizing a relationship can be extremely important, so make sure to treat them as you would an office employee in real life. Simple acts like recognizing personal events, such as anniversaries and birthdays, can make help remote teams feel more included.
Trust Your Employees
Not many people appreciate a micro-manager. Whilst it’s important to check in with your employees, be careful not to be overbearing. It’s important to have a level of trust there that they are going to get the work done on time and to a high quality. Too much oversight with remote workers can lead them to feel disheartened, unmotivated, and disengaged with their work. Instead, it might be best to have a scheduled chat and update, and then leave them to it once they know exactly what they need to do and when to do it by.
This can greatly improve the culture of the company because it will help you build and maintain stronger relationships which are important for better collaboration and improved productivity. Happier employees mean a more motivated team.
Set Goals
Giving remote workers something to aim for and actively work towards can greatly motivate them and increase their productivity. Make sure that your employees know what the company’s goals are so that they can see how their role fits in with the wider picture. Then have your employees define their own personal goals for themselves and then have them write them down. Encourage your employees to set deadlines for themselves and help them determine how they will know when they have accomplished their goals. Make sure to check in with them regularly and encourage them so they know they are supported.
If your employees don’t know what is expected of them then they won’t be able to judge whether or not their performance has been good or bad, and without this feedback, they won’t know how best to improve their performance in the future. Make sure you recognize their individual achievements so that they know they are doing a good job.
Start Recognition Programs
When targets are met (or if you just want to show them your gratitude for their consistent hard work), you could consider rewarding them for their hard work so that they feel valued and appreciated. It’s important that this is sometimes more of a public affair because people naturally tend to like the praise and recognition by their peers, as well as their employers and managers. There are several different ways of recognizing and rewarding employees through various schemes:
- Bonus schemes
- Having an employee of the month
- Offering extra time off or early afternoon
- Writing a thank you card
- Giving out small gifts, like chocolates
- Offering a raise
- Giving opportunity for a promotion
Host Social Events
Another way to motivate your employees is through community engagement; you can plan to have company social events when a target or goal has been met. The social event can be a team-building exercise because it encourages socialization which build relationships, but it can also be a way to recognize your employees for their hard work. To add a fun element and to recognize employees, you could even hand out awards for different categories (like at the Oscars!). You can host them in person or even online via video chats if you need to.
Provide Feedback
Providing a space for remote workers to give their feedback (and your feedback to them) on how they think things are going is vital. Listening to their feedback and then implementing change can show that you value their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This will continue to motivate them to look for areas of improvement, which can play a major role in the progression and development of your company. You can host one on one meetings to share this, and you can send out an anonymous survey to allow complete transparency.
Celebrating achievements through reward schemes and providing feedback to remote workers can help them feel valued and recognized. You should also improve communication by checking in and setting goals with your employees to help motivate and support them, as well as hosting social events to build trust and teamwork too.
