Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

By Henry Brown

Much has been said about the remote working revolution that is underway. With everyone working from home due to the coronavirus, major companies have had to figure out ways around the typical office setup. And while many companies have wholeheartedly altered their organization and have made a success of remote working, one of the big problems this can throw up from the perspective of employees is the idea of morale. In an office environment, it’s far easier to keep tabs on how everybody is doing but when your workers are dispersed so widely you have your work cut out for you. What can you do to ensure that your remote workers are happy and engaged?

It’s the little things

You might be one of those people who, every year, on the button, provides holiday food gifts for employees, and you view this as a simple gesture to show them that you value their hard work. It’s the little things that will go a long way when your employees are remote and isolated to a certain extent. This means you need to communicate, but when sending a message to an employee could very well take 5 minutes out of your day and you add up the amount of time it will take to message everybody in a single day this can eat into your productivity. This means you’ve got to find the right balance. The little things are crucial because this is what will make your employees feel valued.

Keep an eye out for scapegoating

When everybody is working remotely they are not able to defend themselves from accusations. Scapegoating is something that erodes trust and productivity, not to mention morale. This means that you’ve got to keep an eye out for it, especially when your employees are coming to you with complaints and are assigning blame to other people. This could very easily turn into a blame culture because everybody is scattered far and wide. The one benefit of having remote employees across the board is that everybody is on an equal stance, so you can take the opportunity to speak to people on an individual level.

Highlight their ability to advance

They make an appointment when some employees go back to the office and if this is the case you will have to incorporate a revolving door of sorts. This can help every employee to come into the office on occasion so nobody is left out. But if you take the route where everybody is working remotely you need to ensure they are able to progress. One of the big problems, especially right now, is that people feel that they are out in an ocean all by themselves. Transparency ensures that your team members can progress beyond the daily grind.

Remote employees need engaging and before you put all the stops in place you need to make sure that you have the ability to communicate with them. It’s not just about having the right tech in place but it’s about making sure your employees never feel like they are on their own. It’s definitely easier said than done, but with the right tools, you can accomplish a lot.

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.