Employee Engagement Tips and Tricks for Working Remotely
Home » Employee Engagement Tips and Tricks for Working Remotely
What can managers do?
Have regular 1 on 1s with employees and be sure to ask them what they need to be successful while working from home.
Including what conditions they work best in, their concerns about their workflow, and their emotional response to the current situation.
Open ended questions give employees the opportunity to express how they are feeling
Encourage employees to embrace technology and try out new time management/organizational apps/website, such as Asana, Slack, or Google Suite
Alternatively, set clear guidelines for which communication platforms will be used by you and your team
Determine where structure is needed and where there can be flexibility, such as hours worked or breaks between meetings to check on children
Focus on outcomes and be clear with expectations
Ensure employees are adapting to working from home and establishing boundaries:
Are they being productive?
Are they able to set boundaries with their family members/roommates for when they are working?
Are they able to manage their time? Including “ending their day” where they no longer focus on work and de-stress.
Giving meaningful feedback to employees at least a few times a week can lead to at least half of workforce being engaged
Don’t let celebrations fall by the wayside. For example, if you would normally celebrate an employee’s birthday, get creative and find a way to still recognize that event.
What can employees do?
Create “water coolers” online
Places where employees can engage with one another online, outside of work, by:
Sharing pictures of their pets
Talking about non-work related things
Favorite recipes
Ideas/Resources for how to distress or entertain yourself during downtime
Platforms to use could include:
Facebook Groups
Slack Channels
Zoom Rooms
Highly recommended employees turn camera on in meetings because some people need that “face to face” interaction
The time between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. has been noted as the time of greatest risk for isolation and loneliness
Recommended that meetings take place during 2-4pm to help with this. If you have team meetings in the morning, reschedule to the afternoon.
Remember to stay active now that you spend most of your day inside
