The impact of the pandemic and the blend between work and personal life is inextricably intertwined. Working from home created opportunities but also a lot of challenges. This unforeseen time has pressurized life and forced us to adapt in ways we never imagined. Here are ten ways to reengage your remote employees.
Leaders are responsible for creating an engaging environment — one that is intentionally growing and improving based on the needs of the business and the individuals. That can be challenging, especially when leaders themselves can become disengaged.
A leader's talent, skill, and knowledge can exponentially improve company engagement and productivity. Gallup states that "70% of the variation between great workplace engagement and lousy workplace engagement can be explained just by the quality of the manager or team leader." This is a severe problem that has been trending upward recently.
According to Gallup's Workplace, "globally, only 15% of employees are engaged at work." That means that 85% of employees either aren't engaged or, worse, are actively disengaged. This can ruin workplaces, societies, and general world productivity.
Employee engagement is the level and type of commitment individuals have to the organizations they work for. Companies with positive employee engagement thrive, grow, and develop. Conversely, those disengaged employees create chaos and distraction from the goals of the business and can leave people upset or disheartened.
According to Gallup, "68% of workers are disengaged." Inc. references research by McLean & Company that a disengaged employee costs an organization approximately $3,400 for every $10,000 in their annual salary.
Here are ten ways you can try to reengage your remote team, today.
Collaboration provides opportunities for people to connect with a purpose. Allow them to create synergy from working on a shared project or fleshing out a new idea. One of the top reasons people stay in a job is because they like the people they work with. Create events where people can still come together. Whether it is work-related or just a team outing, find ways to get people together.
Consider what the actual needs of the business are. They likely have changed, and your team may be working on things that are no longer helping the business move forward. Update your strategic plan and align it with what your team is working on.
Given the amount of time spent at work, employees will be more engaged if they’re having fun regularly. So think about how you can infuse some fun and laughter to bring more joy to your team's interactions.
Learn about your team and what is important to them. Personalize your reengagement strategy. It doesn't have to be a one-size-fits-all approach. Think about the individual and what they need to reengage. Find out what you've done in the past that people have appreciated. You likely have some things that used to work well but you stopped doing them because you didn't have someone to drive it or it felt less important.
Ask them how they are doing and genuinely listen. Don't try to solve for what you don't understand. Allow them to share with you. If you see things that are impacting their work, ask them about it. Find out the why behind what happened.
Listen to their ideas and why they like working at your company. Have them brainstorm ways to engage a team that are meaningful to them. Then, create a team dedicated to engagement that can take these ideas and implement the best ones.
Find pockets of excellence that display how engagement is vital in your organization. Then, highlight them by sharing with the team and creating a reward. Culture is built on the things that you reward, so encourage the behaviors you want to amplify.
Reduce the number of emails and meetings that don't add value. Instead, look at your Sales Management System and find ways to refine it even more so that each meeting and interaction has value, a specific goal, and an agenda. This helps everyone prepare and know what to expect, and it gives you the information you need to make sound business decisions.
People want to feel valued. If they accomplish something and there is nobody there to recognize it, that can be frustrating. Be focused on recognizing accomplishments company-wide via video meetings, emails, etc. Remember that a personal call or email is always valued. Look for companies and resources that support employee engagement for inspiration. For example, Levy Recognition has a platform that helps companies transform the way companies engage, develop and retain top talent.
Pick something and try it. Perfection is the enemy of progress. Don't wait another three months to implement something while waiting on additional analysis. If it doesn't work, learn from it and try something else.
The elements of reengaging remote employees include clarity of expectations, a human connection, and celebrating the small and big things. In short, engaged employees are involved, motivated, and enthusiastic about their work and the organization.
Watch the supporting video on "10 Ways To Reengage Remote Employees."
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