"Engagement is an abstract term that can apply to a variety of situations, but it's usually about how happy and committed people are with their work."
The sentence above perfectly sums up the focus of this blog post.
We will talk about how to keep remote employees engaged and why they are not engaged in their work.
We'll also share 10 best practices to keep remote employees engaged as well as 3 companies who have excelled in engaging remote employees.
Which can lead to an array of issues such as the lack of communication, trust, sense of belonging, and camaraderie in the team and toward the company.
When this happens, it's difficult to collaborate effectively, put their best foot forward and deliver high-quality work.
This is particularly true for new employees who have never seen their colleagues and managers in person before.
But, it's not impossible to build trust and camaraderie between colleagues who have never seen each other in the office before. It just takes a longer time.
Partying in a restaurant is not the same as partying on Zoom. The vibe, the excitement, the sense of belonging can't be replicated by technology (yet).
Worse, if there are connectivity issues, the remote employee is going to feel even more left out.
As of today's technology advancement, nothing can replace the moments of your employees having fun physically together.
That is why companies are organising company retreats for all employees, on-site and remote, to spend offline moments together.
Because your remote employees can't feel the vibe and excitement (reason #2), it's difficult for them to stay motivated. Subsequently, their mental health will also be affected
.If your remote employees gain motivation from other people, you need to go the extra mile to keep their motivation high.
Related reads: 5 ways to support mental health at work
Buffer
Buffer is a social media management company with over 85 employees spread across 10 different time zones. Some of the great initiatives they've implemented are:
Zappos
Zappos is an American online shoe and clothing retailer, based in Las Vegas. The company has 27 full-time remote employees, and the CEO is very community-driven. How does the CEO ensure his remote employees are culturally connected? Here are some of the things he did:
Magellan Health
Magellan Health is a healthcare company with over 40% of its 10,000 employees working remotely. And it was a pioneer in remote work back in the 1990s. This is what they did right:
As mentioned above, building engagement with remote employees whom you've never met physically is not an impossible task. The 3 companies above have proven a fully remote or hybrid work model can achieve a high employee engagement rate.
Here are 10 simple ways to keep your remote employees engaged and happy.
Remote employees are not engaged because they do not have enough one-on-one meetings, face time with their managers and feel a sense of belonging to the company.
There are many ways on how you can keep remote workers engaged, such as:
In short: keep your remote workforce highly engaged by making them feel inclusive, informed, and invested.
Related reads: The complete employee experience guide for HR
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