How To Keep Employees Motivated While Working Remotely
Working remotely is becoming a more popular alternative to the traditional in-house method of running a business due to the lingering effects of Covid-19. And many employers who have adopted and adjusted to this operation mode have had their fair share of challenges. A significant concern is employee behavior toward work. This transition has not been smooth for several employees as they have to deal with other distractions during working hours. This has led to low productivity, triggered by a lack of motivation. Here are a few ways to keep your employees motivated while working from home.
Improve communication
Communication plays a crucial role in the growth of a business. And even though work is remote, there should be provisions for improving all communication forms to ensure that targets are met. After all, faulty communication cascade causes significant inefficiency, so it’s definitely something that you can’t drop the ball on. Try as much as possible to emphasize clarity of information and feedback while reducing communication gaps. Also, take advantage of technology and encourage your employees to take it seriously to meet objectives.
Reward accomplishments
It is often said that an employee who is rewarded for their accomplishments is motivated to work harder. This is practical, and an employer who recognizes their employees’ efforts is often rewarded with increased productivity. Do well to single out deserving employees and celebrate their achievements. MTI Events does this effortlessly, offering employee incentive programs that make employees feel special to foster a strong bond between employees and management.
Focus on objectives
Although working from home may not be a new concept, for many employees, this means added responsibility. Quite frankly, some employees function best in the office setting. For these types of employees, working from home can be a struggle. The best way to balance this situation is by being flexible. Allow your employees a certain degree of freedom and let them focus on meeting their objectives within stipulated time frames. Micro-managing under these circumstances may yield the opposite of what you desire as an employer.
Maintain a feedback loop
Feedback loops in the form of progress reports and others are vital in this situation. These are the only ways to efficiently assess all information to draw a strategy that guarantees that organizational goals are met. Feedback must also be timely and continuous to be useful. Encourage all employees to provide feedback no matter how minute it may seem. Remember that feedback is meant to inform so that your business can improve. Also, note the tone and time of your feedback; if not, you risk losing critical information.
Trust the team
As an employer, you should trust in the ability of your team to deliver. And if your recruitment process is top-notch, you should be working with the best employees available. This means that everyone is adept at their job. But it doesn’t end there; provide your team with all the tools they need to accomplish their tasks, and they will definitely deliver. Trust is built over time and is reciprocal, so trust the team, and they will trust you too. Just provide them with the essentials for the job and motivate them to achieve the organization’s objectives.
To conclude, although it may seem challenging to keep employees motivated during such times, adopting these tips can help them adjust to the situation and give off their best.
10 Comments
Kate Sarsfield
Remote working has brought new life to rural Ireland. Many people have moved away from the cities and bought houses in small towns or villages. That means that small independent shops, rural post offices, pubs, schools etc. have been able to remain open & even expand when pre-pandemic they were really struggling to survive
heather
This is a great post and I think communication is key and it is also so important to reward accomplishments. Thanks for sharing this great information saving this one to my favs.
Kate Sarsfield
We’re back to working remotely if at all possible due to this new variant from S. Africa. Most employees prefer it as it saves on childcare & commuting costs.
Bhuvi Kumar
Communication really plays a very important role as it is the only way to express your views to the employees. The post is really very great and I am happy to come across this. Thank you so much for putting up this article.
Veronica Lee
These tips are beneficial to employers.
Communication is essential, in my opinion.
Rosie
These are good tips. I know quite a few people who work remotely (before Covid when many have been doing it), and they typically felt disenfranchised and not valued as much as in-office workers. It can be demoralizing, so it would be wise to pay attention to finding a way to keep remote workers motivated like this!!! Many places count your output, and even your keystrokes, so it can be stressful!
Thomas Gibson
Keeping motivated remotely for me is much more easier than working around others. I can crank up my music when I am not on a call. I have my dog nearby. No problem here! Great article though.
Tamra Phelps
I saw an article the other day discussing whether employers will want employees working remotely after COVID is gone. Most seemed to want employees back in the office but most employees said they preferred working from home and wanted to continue like that at least a few days a week. They liked being home with their kids more often.
Kelly Kimmell
These are all good tips for employers. I think communication is so very important.
Dana Rodriguez
These are great tips. Rewarding accomplishments is very important for moral.