The constant barrage of virtual meetings is exhausting, as we all know. The pixelated screens simply do not provide the same level of engagement as in-person interactions, leaving us unable to read the room without the use of body language and facial expressions.
Despite these obstacles, we've learned to adapt to virtual meetings and make them work for us. We've grown more at ease with using technology to communicate and have learned to deal with technical issues as they arise. We've also discovered new ways to connect with colleagues and socialize outside of our homes, such as virtual happy hours and online team-building exercises.
While virtual meetings will never fully replace the benefits of in-person interactions, they have provided us with new and innovative ways to connect with colleagues. We can expect virtual meetings to remain an important part of our work lives as we navigate this new normal.
It's important to remember that, despite the challenges, virtual meetings have a lot of advantages. They enable us to communicate with colleagues from all over the world without having to travel, which saves time and reduces our carbon footprint.
Boosting employee engagement is difficult in a remote working environment, or even just keeping it at where it is. While when there are products like Zoom and Gather Town, it does make it a little bit more fun, but the question we face is how do you foster a sense of community among employees without a physical space for interactions?
In this article we will go over X different ways to boost employee engagement in a remote environment.
1. Be Approachable, Communicative, and Visible
Leadership matters in times of change. Transparency and communication are integral to keeping a team together and working towards the same goals. Actively reaching out and letting your employees know how they can get in touch with you are going to help you become more approachable. Set clear channels where information is distributed so people know where they need to go to find news or any updates.
Connection naturally promotes engagement, so keep your employees in the know. Establish and maintain a short feedback loop to showcase how receptive and reactive you are to their opinions. You can utilize tools such as Slack, Notion, Trello, or Zoom to facilitate team collaboration and share ideas in the online workspace.
While technology and tools can be extremely useful in facilitating communication and collaboration, their effectiveness is only as good as the actions and attitudes of those who use them. The most important thing a leader can do is model the behavior he or she wishes to see in their employees. Leaders can set the tone for a positive and productive work environment by being approachable, communicative, and helpful.
2. Recognize Your Employee’s Work with Gifts
Employee engagement and morale can be greatly increased by expressing gratitude and recognition. And there are many ways to show appreciation and express recognition. Employers can show their appreciation for your employees' efforts by acknowledging and rewarding their contributions, which can foster a greater sense of commitment and dedication.
Gifting your employees shows that you appreciate and value their contributions to the company. This has the potential to boost their morale, motivation, and job satisfaction. Employees who feel valued are more likely to stay with the company and go above and beyond in their work.
The cost or extravagance of the gifts you give is far less important than their heartfelt and thoughtful nature. A simple handwritten note inquiring about their day or a small piece of chocolate to cheer them up can suffice. However, tailoring your gift to each individual remains the best option. Check out these 5 inexpensive employee appreciation gifts that can help you boost your engagement.
3. Give Your Employees More Ways to Express Themselves
Remote environment is like a long-distance relationship. To ensure everything works out, Your team's relationships must be strengthened. It's crucial to have a human factor in your interactions. This gives you the chance to check in with your team, take a brief break from your professional duties, and give them space to express themselves—positively or negatively.
You can start by opening a room serving as a virtual pantry during certain times of the week, like an office hour. Encourage employees to drop in while they finish their morning coffee to chat with colleagues, managers, etc. Give them the opportunity to check-in with each other without feeling so much pressure, where they can also share tidbits about their personal lives.
Next, you can create social spaces online where people have a chance to meet new people and feel like they’re changing up their routine to experience something new. One of the most significant challenges remote workers face is loneliness. With 15% of workers experiencing loneliness while working from home, you can help them overcome the loneliness that remote workers frequently struggle with by fostering a sense of community through virtual social spaces.
Last but not least, run weekly or bi-weekly informal 1:1 chat sessions with your team to gauge how they are doing. Show them you care by taking out your time to schedule in specific blocks where you are just focused on your employees. Be present and focused on those conversations to get an idea of how they are doing personally and professionally so you can better support them. Give feedback on how they are doing to reinforce their value to the team, and ask for feedback. You will be able to see greater productivity and better employee satisfaction by taking care of your workforce and displaying kindness during stressful times.
4. Host Celebratory Parties
Physical office parties may be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean it should be excluded from the calendar because your company is remote. These events are essential to balancing work and leisure, giving your team a well-deserved break especially considering these circumstances. It’s still possible to use your events budget to host events by mixing online and offline aspects, making it unique and memorable.
What some of Giftpack’s clients do is host an online party for all the birthday boys and girls, and play games together every month– which makes it a very rewarding and relaxing experience. Meanwhile send gifts, or even birthday cakes, directly to each of their employees’ house.
Speaking of parties, a festive-themed holiday party at the end of the year is also a very good idea. With enough preparation, you can make it just as impactful as years before by getting creative with the resources available. For example, you can send a party-themed mystery box to your employees’ doorsteps, and have your employees open the surprise gift box at an online holiday event you are hosting. This way they will enjoy the surprise of unboxing together as a team, or as a company. Even more fun, do a show-and-tell style gift unboxing during the event to raise the engagement. And of course, run other activities alongside such as quizzes and games to complete the party.
You will always be able to find clever and unexpected ways to keep social activity alive and foster a strong sense of community.
While the future of office spaces is uncertain and social distancing may be here to stay, work must go on. We’re adapting to new ways of balancing work and life during this period of trial and error. Think outside of the box to engage employees!
5. Keep Your Company Update Transparent
Keeping remote employees informed of project updates, team progress, business news, and other vital information requires maintaining open lines of communication. Remote workers run the danger of feeling isolated and cut off from the rest of the team because a lot of this knowledge is frequently shared through casual discussions or chats between offices.
To remedy this, think about putting in place a team-friendly goal-setting and tracking system that gives everyone on the team equitable access to corporate objectives, status updates, new initiatives, and other important information. To ensure that everyone has the chance to touch base and keep up to date on corporate advancements, make it a point to periodically check in with your remote workers through one-on-one meetings and team gatherings.
You can actively foster a sense of empowerment and connection among remote workers by involving them in business discussions. This will boost their engagement and job happiness.
Conclusion
Employee engagement is one of the most important things for any businesses that want to succeed and grow. But how do we keep employees engaged during this era of remote working due to COVID-19? With the 5 methods mentioned in this article, you will be able to keep your employees engaged and increase their satisfaction, even make them feel touched!
With the above methods, you can boost your employee engagement even if you are running a fully remote company!
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