Employee engagement for remote employees is a hard nut to crack, especially in a fully remote environment. Many of us have witnessed the negative impact of sudden lockdowns on engagement levels. Apart from that, it also pushed companies to find management solutions to engage their newly remote workforce.
Recent studies show that more than half of workers prefer to work from home at least three days a week. And a considerable portion would like to work remotely full-time.
The Great Resignation movement has also clarified that the impact of remote employee engagement or teleworking will be a permanent part of our future.
As we adjust to this new reality, leaders must learn new methods of enhancing the remote employee experience. Even as the world gradually returns to regularity, many employees and companies choose to continue extended work-from-home arrangements. Therefore, it is crucial to implement effective and straightforward tips to ensure your remote employees remain happy and maintain their performance levels.
We have compiled effective measures for remote employee management in this blog.
Continue reading to get a crystal clear view of remote employee engagement and how to manage it.
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What is Remote Employee Engagement?
Remote employee engagement refers to keeping employees who work remotely connected, motivated, and invested in their work and the organization as a whole.
With the rise of remote work culture and the increasing number of companies with dispersed teams, it is vital to ensure remote employees are engaged and connected with their colleagues.
Remote employee engagement involves building a positive and supportive work culture that fosters teamwork, communication, and productivity among remote workers. It includes activities and strategies, such as regular check-ins, virtual team-building events, and opportunities for professional development and career growth.
Effective remote employee engagement can have several benefits for both the employees and the organization. It can help to improve employee morale, reduce turnover, increase productivity and innovation, and contribute to a positive company culture.
All in all, remote employee engagement activities also contribute to a company’s growth. Moreover, it helps in creating a supportive and engaging work environment for remote employees. With that, companies could ensure to attract and retain top talent while promoting a positive and productive workplace culture.
So, are you looking for how to keep remote employees engaged with an effective remote engagement software solution?
Then opt for Empmonitor.
It can be the one-stop remote employee engagement software solution that can help companies to engage with their remote employees in several ways.
The key features of Empmonitor allow users to track employee activity and productivity. This software monitors how employees spend their time and identifies areas where they may struggle or need additional support.
However, Empmonitor is a well-integrated productivity and engagement solution that caters to both employees and employers.
Now, let us have a look at the features of EmpMonitor.
Shall we?
Get a Closer Look at Our Features
Efficient Tracking of Productivity
EmpMonitor provides a transparent view of the team’s working hours, enabling you to determine if employees work proactively and productively. The detailed data categorized by employee working hours, productivity, ideal hours, and offline hours allows you to establish a well-coordinated workflow that meets your business objectives.
Streamlined Project Management
Assign tasks, manage projects, and oversee your team’s progress from beginning to end. With this functionality, users can encourage their team members by delegating responsibilities and gaining a complete understanding of the work, ensuring that the team stays motivated and efficient.
Comprehensive Employee Productivity Reports
Access all-inclusive reports to monitor remote employee engagement, productivity, and efficiency. You can classify websites and apps as Productive, Unproductive, or Neutral.
Monitoring of Website And App Usage
Observe the websites your employees visit and detect any potential online distractions. With a system to protect employee productivity, you can pinpoint any areas of concern and maintain enterprise-level management.
With Empmonitor, you can improve collaboration and productivity to create a positive and engaging work environment for remote workers.
How to Keep Remote Employees Engaged | 5 Tips
Traditionally, highly engaged employees tend to show greater effectiveness, job contentment, and a willingness to exceed expectations whenever possible.
Nevertheless, most companies are shifting to innovative and concrete methods to maintain employee satisfaction without the ability to engage in in-person interactions.
Avoid micromanagement
While remote employee engagement, avoid micromanaging as it can negatively affect their engagement and morale. Many leaders struggle with remote employee engagement and may tend to micromanage to maintain productivity, but this approach can backfire in the long run. To manage remote employees effectively, consider implementing sustainable methods such as:
- Redefine performance measurement: Set up a system where employees are accountable for their goals rather than being distressed to complete tasks.
- Establish expectations: Discuss work hours, break times, and goals with remote staff to establish boundaries and create a clear understanding of what you expect from them.
- Create a clear structure: Implement SOPs, regular meetings, check-ins, and goal-setting to compensate for the lack of physical presence. Shortening hierarchy levels can also be helpful to minimize approval chasing. Although creating this structure may require effort initially, it can become easy to manage once in place.
Transform recognition with digital technology
The recognition of remote workers’ achievements may have taken a back seat for companies dealing with virtual or hybrid workforces. However, this could be a significant mistake.
According to experts, employees’ desire for recognition increases by about 30% during difficult times. Thus, recognizing and rewarding remote workers are crucial, especially in times of crisis.
Encourage transparency and vulnerability
Transparency is a crucial aspect of high-performing leaders’ daily routines, and it goes beyond just workflows. Effective communication is vital during crises, as it can alleviate panic and speculation.
The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has increased anxiety and burnout among employees, making it essential for leaders to communicate the company’s direction and how it may affect employees.
Empathy is also a valuable leadership trait that cultivates remote employee engagement. Leaders can establish open and non-judgmental communication channels to understand the unique challenges faced by remote employees.
Prioritize employee wellness
Employee wellness, especially mental health, should be prioritized by companies as it leads to increased productivity and engagement.
However, most workplace budgets for employee well-being only focus on basic aspects like health insurance. To truly empower employees to lead a life of optimal health and well-being, leaders should focus on specific workplace aspects such as:
- Make mindful breaks a priority: Encourage employees to take breaks during work hours to refresh their minds and build relationships with their colleagues.
- Provide office setup assistance: Remote work can be strenuous on the body,
- Offer health incentives: Conduct incentives-based health challenges to encourage employees to get up and move since remote work can exacerbate the physical health problems associated with sedentary jobs.
- Begin conversations about mental health: Provide counseling services or hold seminars on emotional well-being to encourage employees to prioritize their mental health.
- Set clear limits on availability: Encourage employees to take time off to relax and recharge by not responding to business emails on weekends or allowing them to take a day off.
According to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends Report, 80% of companies said employee well-being was important, but only 12% felt equipped to address the issue.
Therefore, companies need to prioritize employee wellness in all aspects of the workplace to create a positive work environment and improve productivity.
Communicate more
Communication is essential for remote team to function effectively. Without good communication, team members may be unable to do their work, leading to poor results.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a well-planned remote employee engagement communication strategy that includes a mix of tools like Empmonitor for groups and teams and one-on-one and company-wide collaboration.
In addition, regular check-ins with the team can help keep everyone on the same page, and a shared virtual space can create a sense of community among team members. It is also important to develop team rituals that can help remote employees feel connected to their colleagues. These can be simple activities like icebreakers or more elaborate events like virtual scavenger hunts.
However, it’s not just about communicating more, it’s also about making communication meaningful. By being transparent and promoting greater transparency, remote employee engagement can remove barriers and distractions from their work and allow them to be more productive.
Read More:
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT TOOLS
REMOTE EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT: ALL THE CHALLENGES AND 05 BEST WAYS TO FACE THEM
A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT – 2023: EMPMONITOR
Conclusion
Implementing these remote employee engagement tactics for businesses to maintain productivity and employee satisfaction could help in remote management. With a focus on collaboration, recognition, and wellness, companies can create a positive and engaging work culture that supports the business and its remote workforce.
We hope this blog helped you in finding a better way to manage remote teams. By the way, one most prominent way could be opting for EmpMonitor. So what are you waiting for? Get started with the ultimate workforce engagement solution now!
