1. Consistently appreciate your employees
Appreciation is the biggest motivator of all. Everyone deserves appreciation for the hard work and efforts that they have put into a task. As per studies, it has been concluded that about 37% of the employees believe that being appreciated works as one of the main factors for them for good performance in a work environment. Also, 63% of employees whose organizations acknowledge their efforts and work are significantly less prone to search out new positions or switch between jobs.
Some commonly practiced ways of appreciating the good performance for remotely working employees could be sending ‘thankyou’ emails for their efforts throughout the past week or maybe a gift card can be rewarded for high performers of the week. Employees could also be asked to nominate the best performer amongst each other to instill in them a sense of brotherhood. This would encourage them to appreciate each other’s role in the work chain. Platforms specially created for employee engagement can also be utilized for this purpose.
2. Allowing for a time-out from work
The proverb ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy‘ holds a great amount of legitimacy in today’s virtual workplace. In the fast-paced world, employees often forget to take a break to refresh their psychological and mental health. Taking a break from work would help them refresh their minds and allow them to return to work in a more productive and less stressed way than a person who works non-stop. This also helps the organization in employee retention as the employees can work in a better way and yield more productive results.
Even though some may believe that asking the employees to take a break from work might hinder the working of the organization and may prove to be a bane for its progress. However, taking some time off at regular intervals might help the employees let go of their work pressure and return with a better perspective towards the work, especially in the current remotely working scenario. Having a good work-life balance is essential for everyone to concentrate on work and at the same time enjoy a good personal life.
However, just giving some time off with a burden of work or tasks to complete might make the employees feel like they are on a clock and such time off might not even bring fruitful results. With a huge workload, even a paid time off might seem like a usual workday and would fail to serve its purpose.
Adopting a work culture where periodic breaks are encouraged would help the employees feel much more relaxed and come back with a motivated mindset.
Figuring out a way that benefits both the employer and the employee can help both to attain their goals. A few things that can help structure a time-out could be getting someone to substitute for the responsibilities in the absence of the employee going on a break. Team managers and team leads could foster a good environment by sharing their plans for their time-out with their teams, such as what they are anticipating during their time away from work. A good practice that has been seen at many organizations is to give half days off to the employees when their goals are met. This would help them work in a motivated manner and strive towards achieving the organizational goals.
3. Hosting virtual rest hours or party breaks
As per the traditional work environment, having fun or enjoyment during work hours would be highly unappreciated. But as the workplace has evolved, so have the work cultures. A few random chats with the co-works would never hurt anyone as it would help bring the employees closer so they can work better as a team. An informal group has always proved to help increase the productivity of the employees as human interaction makes them happy and appreciate their teammates. Especially in the present-day remotely working environment, the lack of human touch could make the employees dull and they might not be able to focus on the work. Since natural interactions cannot take place, virtual coffee breaks or happy hours through the great number of software that allows video conferencing play an important role here.
Scheduling a coffee break by sending out e-invites to all the team members or maybe hosting virtual games and parties can help ease out the tremendous mental pressure on the remotely working employees. Deciding what works best for the team and implementing it in the best way possible should be taken care of by the managers.
4. Using employee engagement software to settle wellsprings of physical separation
An Employee engagement software is specifically created and used by organizations to help the employees increase their job satisfaction by understanding and comprehending what is bothering them and leading them towards disengagement. These also help in figuring out ways to bypass such situations. Employees use these software to lodge in their honest and unbiased feedback about the work environment bypassing the terror of being retaliated against their criticism. These are also used to bring the feedback of the managers for the employees to help them design their goals and work together as a team to fulfill organizational goals.
5. Virtual interactions with the head of organizations and Founders
If the employees feel that their voices are being heard and the inputs that they are supplying are being recognized, they work in a much cheerful spirit. Video conferencing with the company leaders can help in this regard. It would be highly beneficial to boost the morale of the employees if they feel that their issues are being addressed and their inputs are being considered.
A brief virtual interaction between the employee and the employers can be easily arranged. This would surely help both sides share their feedback, solicitudes, and issues to a great extent and have their opinions acknowledged by one another.
6. Enrolling the employees in Online Training Programmes
The current remote working condition along with the mental trauma of the pandemic has restricted the personal growth of the employees. One such way by which they can enrich their knowledge and experience without stepping outside is by getting enrolled in the various online training programs available on the web. This would benefit the employee by helping them keep their minds off of all that’s going on and at the same time enabling them to occupy and master various skills that would help the organization in achieving its targets. Hence it’s a win-win situation for both parties.
The company should invest in online training and learning management systems and help employees accomplish various skills by enrolling them in different courses. This time should be used to complete the training programs that are obligatory for the employees keeping in mind the main aim of employee satisfaction.
7. Alter the traditional policies as per the remote working conditions
One of the major plus points of working remotely is that the employees can have a good amount of flexibility with regards to their working habits and time. Employees feel satisfied and happy if they know the fact that they can alter their working hours as long as they get the task done on time.
Traditionally prevailing policies should be altered as per the present scenario to keep the remotely working employees on record by making them aware of the expectations of the employer but allowing them the freedom to structure their days according to it. Such responsibilities that are given and the privileges that are allowed should be similar for similar job roles to avoid any conflict of interest between the employees.
Policy changes concerning guidelines for working remotely should be briefly discussed with the employees. Regular meetings should be scheduled to decide upon specific regulations like group meetings, work timings, and the interaction of managers with their direct reports.
The virtually operated world also allows organizations to redirect and reinforce their privacy and confidentiality policies for the dissemination of data over the internet.
8. Training on remote work skills by HR
The art of managing the employees during a remote working scenario may seem to be a new task for many managers and they face a lot of difficulties to keep themselves from falling. As per a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, about 40 percent of the managers feel that they have a lack of self-confidence in their skills of managing the workers in today’s virtual business environment. Coordination with their teams and motivating their team members to perform well have been observed as a key area where they felt like they lacked the most during the remote working situation. As a result, the employees feel like they do not have the full cooperation and trust of their supervisors and feel like their work is being micromanaged.
Training programs can be conducted by HR to help managers learn how to conduct their teams in the present business environment. The manager should provide mental support to the employees to help them cope up with the situation and make sure that proper equipment and requisite resources have been supplied to the employees to make their job easier. This would help them work in a comfortable work environment and feel more involved with their work. Consistent contact between the managers and the team member through regular check-ins would ensure that the managers are well aware of the work that is being done and solve the inabilities causing low progress. Through such training programs and with the aid of HR, managers can ace the remote working practice.
9. Make way for online activities and playtime
In a perfect world that existed in the pre-pandemic period, simply walking to your colleague’s desk and proposing a sudden lunch would have worked just fine. But this cannot be the case in the current work environment. To substitute for this, virtual activities can be planned with the employees like a scheduled tea break wherein all the employees would be sitting with a freshly brewed cup of tea or coffee and have a social gala over the internet via online video conferencing apps. Such candid breaks and virtual chit-chat sessions can work wonders when it comes to reducing stress and work pressure for remotely working employees.
If the employees feel comfortable and the work allows the managers to do so, a weekly movie session or maybe a happy hour can also be organized wherein the employees can interact with one another and maybe play some games or have a virtual lunch date. Organizing such activities would help the employees in building team working spirit and make up for the lack of personal touch because of the pandemic.
10. Vouch for the mental health of the employees
Lack of human interaction due to the remote working environment has caused a lot of mental stress for the employees which are often overlooked by them. As a result, their work suffers, and productivity decreases. It may even cause employee turnovers in many instances, as per McKinsey in one of his theories. Many mental health issues like depression or anxiety, bipolar disorders, or the much commonly seen attention deficit hyperactivity disorders can be a result of workplace stress for the remote working situation.
Hence it is of utmost importance that the managers promote emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing amongst the remote working employees to keep them satisfied and happy. Frequent time-offs can be a simple yet good solution for this. Such spirit should be emphasized by the managers to make the employee feel like he is being cared for and understand that it’s completely normal to take such breaks from work. Time-off culture should be accepted and promoted by the managers to take care of the mental wellness of the employees.
11. Fulfilling the recognition and appreciation needs of the employees
Even though a big fat check acts as a huge motivator for the employees to work efficiently, being shown some gratitude and recognition goes a long way. For many, recognition might just work better than the financial motivation towards showcasing their best performance. The art of appreciation plays a great role in keeping remote working employees driven and involved in the work. Positive feedback or favorable reviews or maybe a virtual pat on the back could help motivate the employee and boost his working spirits. Other things such as acknowledgment for their opinions and suggestions give the employees an opportunity to grow and be more engaged towards their work.
12. Fulfilling the necessary requisites for work
It is extremely important that all the needs and requirements of the employees with regards to work are being looked after by the team leaders. Keeping them well-equipped with all necessary things would help in an increased employee engagement and willingness to work with full zeal.
Some ways could be sending in quintessential stationery right from the basic things like pens or papers to the more complex items like office furniture including chairs, tables, systems, etc should be made available to the employees. So, they can work in a comfortable environment despite working remotely.
