So, to ensure virtual employee engagement, the companies started using alternative communication methods, like Slack. Also, they discuss not-so-important issues via messages, abandoning the need to have several calls per day. Things often become hectic and challenging because engaging remote employees isn’t a task you can easily cross out of your “to-do list.” It requires time and resources but results in happier and more productive employees.
HR Bit understands the struggle of keeping the team engaged while working from home, so here are 7 creative remote employee engagement activities that will also help to retain employees. When implementing the tips from the list below, you can make your team members feel valued and connected, decreasing burnout cases and increasing motivation and performance levels.
Top 7 Ways to Engage Remote Employees
Keeping employees engaged while working from home is a task that requires much effort because the engagement indicators are constantly changing, being lower one day and higher on the other. It’s critical to engage managers because they set the tone for the engagement of the team members.
According to Harvard Business Review, 24% of senior-level executives say that their employees are highly engaged. Meanwhile, 71% of business leaders believe that employee engagement is crucial when achieving overall organizational success.
So, here are top work from home engagement activities you can invest in:
Stay connected via hosting virtual classes and shows
Modern remote employee engagement practices offer a wide variety of choices. The companies often opt for Netflix watch parties, Tik Tok challenges, trivia games, and a vast amount of other activities that can keep team members excited. The main idea is about creating a virtual culture that makes your employees feel like part of the team.
When implementing remote employee engagement activities, it’s necessary to develop the ones that fit your employees but not trying to do what other companies are doing. If you have a remote team, you need to design the activities according to their preferences. As a leader, you are expected to help them nurture and put the finishing touches on what they come up with.
World-known companies like Google and Apple came up with ground-breaking ways to engage remote employees. These events include mixology classes, interactive magic shows, Open Mic sessions, virtual comedian performances, cyberspace races, and more. The mentioned work-from-home engagement activities received positive feedback, increased camaraderie, and provided new interactive experiences to the team.
Use right tools
One of the best answers to “how to keep remote employees engaged” is not to stick to a single communication tool. Sure, Zoom and Slack are great, but many issues can be addressed via other chat and collaboration tools and make problem-solving processes more effective.
Use the tools that have features of sharing company updates, getting feedback from employees via live polls and surveys, and celebrating employees’ achievements.
Work from home engagement activities that apply to communication has to be consistent and efficient. There’s no need to have one meeting on Zoom and the second on Hangouts if you can address all the questions at a whack.
Encourage internal communication
Virtual employee engagement has to be aimed at decreasing the cases of loneliness among the team members. So, it’s necessary to foster team communications. You can do this via virtual team-building activities, social hours, open forums for sharing feedback and ideas, or establishing performance goals.
One of the most significant ways to engage remote employees is to find a replacement for “watercooler chit-chat.” Employers must encourage socialization and allow employees to discuss movies, share life updates, and anything in-between, but not just meeting revenue goals and number crunching.
Send fun and thoughtful care packages
How to keep employees engaged while working from home? Make sure they have everything required for doing their responsibilities as well as for having fun. Your care packages can be not only about snacks and branded items but also meet the interests of the employees.
For example, you can send introverts’ retreat care packages to help team members relax from a day filled with socialization. Another good idea for remote employee engagement is to opt for a picnic after work or workday wellness care packages. Such packages boost employee happiness and become a great touchpoint that makes employees understand they are valued and thought of wherever they are. Besides, care packages spur creativity and bring your remote workers together.
Give employees the freedom to work on side projects
One of the most popular employee engagement ideas for remote workers, implemented by Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Jooble, is to allow employees to work on personal projects that align with company goals. This drives creativity and motivation and often results in ground-breaking products like Google’s Gmail.
Compared to other work from home engagement ideas, this one implies that team members devote a certain number of hours to work on their projects. They can break this time into different modes and work on what interests them, bringing innovation into business.
Ensure the feeling of being included
Virtual employee engagement ideas are also about creating a culture of connectedness. Team members want to discuss their funny moments, jokes, and events happening in their lives with their colleagues. This helps to establish strong bonds and build relationships within the team. The culture of connectedness implies treating your employees more than just workers, but people with their backgrounds, ideas, and hobbies.
So, one of the principal ways to engage remote team members is to create a space where different types of employees can be their authentic selves and discuss things that excite them. It helps keep employees in the loop, celebrate milestones, find like-minded people, and offer support.
There’s no rocket science in creating a friendly working environment; a simple question about weekend plans can become an ice-breaker.
Show appreciation and recognize efforts
Don’t forget that virtual employee engagement is about recognizing and appreciating efforts and results. Many people are struggling with managing several things at once and not succumbing to the feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Small details make a huge difference, so remote employee engagement activities are often about simple gestures, like saying thank you or a genuine compliment. Such phrases considerably impact the employees’ motivation because they feel cared about and are more inclined to deliver outstanding results.
Conclusion
These are the answers to “how to engage remote employees.” As you can see, remote employee engagement is no rocket science, though it probably requires as much time and as careful planning.
If you don’t want to deal with the issues regarding engaging remote employees or you are newly-minted CEO and prefer to avoid learning from your mistakes, you can choose the appropriate HR strategy and hire HR outsourcing specialists.
We at HR Bit are happy to help businesses manage remote employees, keep them engaged, motivated, and proactive.
You focus on core business goals, while HR Bit manages your employees. What do you think about this idea?
If you’re up for cooperating with remote HR specialists and make your organization’s performance grow, don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a call.
