The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in governments asking people not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Consequently, many people are now working remotely. For people who are used to commuting to the office Monday to Friday, working from home can be somewhat daunting. However, for many people, working remotely has been a practical and popular option, with technology nowadays making it possible for people in various professions. Cultivating a strong, positive culture and happy, productive employees takes work. Here are some tips on how to keep your remote workforce happy.
Communication
Transparent and open communication is the first step in ensuring that your remote workers feel involved. Managing and communicating with an employee at the next desk is completely different when the person is at the other end of an internet connection. When you speak to employees, be open about goals and issues. Give them an idea of what’s going on, both in short and long term. A weekly catchup is usually sufficient, but anything critical should obviously be communicated immediately.
Praise and Feedback
Providing feedback and praising achievements is really important in keeping the moral of our workforce up. Taking the time to make a positive comment or praise a job well done goes a long way. Make sure you praise and thank remote team workers both publicly and privately. Use collaboration tools to provide real time feedback and engage with the employees.
Prioritise Development
Show your employees that their development is important to you. Meet with employees occasionally to discuss their skills and how they can progress and advance. Have a clear career advancement plan; no one wants to feel that they are stuck in their job.
Set Clear Expectations
Make sure your employees are very clear on their position; what their responsibilities are, the hours they are expected to work and what deadlines they have. At the same time, ensure that you respect boundaries. Unless there is a serious cause for concern, trust that the work will get done. Do not cultivate an ‘always on’ culture: when people are working from home it is really important to distinguish between work hours and personal hours.
Encourage Breaks
Following on from the point above, encourage your employees to take short breaks. It can be hard to stop working once you’re in the ‘zone’, but it is important to stop for a few minutes every once in a while. A few minutes away from their desks will help refocus and refresh concentration.
Tools
Keep your employees set up for success by providing them with the right tools for the job. Ensure that managers have tools to connect virtually with employees and encourage frequent check-ins and updates.
Remember
Quarantine can be a lonely time for anyone. If you feel you are struggling, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the rest of your team
The guidance above was created to distribute to our team in response to us going ‘fully remote’ and do our part to lessen the spread of Covid-19. While some of it may seem common sense, we felt it important to communicate with our team and you may do so too.
Discover more about our response to Covid-19 here.
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