Motivating and Engaging Your Remote Workforce

Dr. Harold Hardaway and Shannon Hernandez / Cardigan

With only a day’s or two notice, organizations found themselves required to send their folks home and set up remote work protocols. Employers and employees alike were quickly learning the nuances of Zoom meetings, with catchphrases like, “I think you’re on mute,” and “Is it your WiFi or mine?” spawning hundreds of memes. While our new normal of remote work has definitely given us all opportunities for much-needed laughs, it has also given employees a chance to use the time once spent on a long commute to instead have breakfast with their children, or to practice self-care with a workout.

COMMENTARY

For many, remote work has now become a way of life. While there will come a time when it is safe to return to the office, employers are already questioning whether the typical in-office 9-to-5 practice is one that they will return to in a post-COVID-19 world. With that in mind, they’re also wondering, “How do I keep my remote work force motivated and engaged?”

Your Employees Want to Work

For leaders new to managing remote teams, it can be tempting to try to adhere to the office hours and common managerial practices, only to become quickly frustrated by a perceived lack of response on the part of their employees. It’s important to keep two things in mind:

• First, your employees want to work and are not only grateful for the opportunity to work from home, but also incredibly thankful to have a job—even in industries not as hard hit by the pandemic, employees are still feeling the effects of a shaken economy.
• Second, in addition to adjusting to working from home, many employees are now sharing a workspace with a spouse, homeschooling their children, keeping toddlers entertained, caring for elderly family members, coordinating grocery pickups, and preparing every meal – to put it bluntly, there are a ton of competing priorities.

The fact of the matter is, if your employees seem to have gone a little MIA, it’s likely that they’re being pulled in a million directions, and not that they’re engaging in a Tiger King binge-a-thon and enjoying PTO on the company’s dime. It’s important to give your employees some grace, but that’s not an excuse to not communicate with them, or express concern if warranted.

Communication is Key

Employees have time and again stated that they look to their direct supervisor for information on important projects and company updates. With a remote workforce, be wary of falling into the under-communication trap of “out of sight, out of mind.” While the bulk of the American workforce (Millennials and Generation Z) are incredibly digital generations, humans crave interaction and collaboration. In fact, our research has shown that one of the biggest complaints of remote workers is the feeling of being on an island.

Much of the communication with your remote workforce may be via email, text, or telephone conference, but it is important to check in through other, face-to-face means such as video chats or FaceTime. Schedule weekly one-on-ones as well as team video conferences where you can discuss matters and brainstorm about projects that may be harder to convey through email or text.

Instead of diving right in with business matters, build in time to allow for water cooler talk, or begin team meetings by allowing everyone to share “something good” that may or may not have anything to do with work—celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries, and professional accomplishments. If your corporate culture supported team building games and off-sites before, keep it going with virtual team building and happy hours. Ask your team members for their suggestions on how to stay connected— in fact, let them take turns planning the next team “event.”

This is all part of human connection that allows your employees to form personal bonds. If possible, keep these virtual meetings and meet-ups small (eight or fewer) to allow for conversation and connection.

For managers of remote teams, daily touchpoints are crucial but not one-size-fits-all. The personal preferences of your individual team members may vary—everyone has individual needs. When you all in an office together, the way you motivated one employee was different from how you motivated another—nothing has changed just because people are now working from home.  Take the time to see what it is that each of your employees needs based on the current situation, not what you knew before.

A best practice is to send out a short survey asking team members about their preferences for communication including vehicle (i.e. phone call or video chat) and best times to talk within a given window of time. For example, your employee with a toddler at home may choose to take advantage of an afternoon nap time while your employee with teenagers may find it best to chat first thing in the morning while their older kids sleep in.

When it comes to motivating your remote workforce, direct supervisor communication is incredibly important, but do not underestimate the value of communication from top leaders as well. Establish consistent touchpoints, such as a weekly newsletter or video from the CEO, or monthly Town Halls with top leaders. Establish a process to bubble up ideas and education on KPIs and targets to help focus efforts and give your employees shared goals to rally around.

Conduct frequent climate checks with your remote workforce. Organizations can send out pulse surveys or conduct focus groups periodically as a touchpoint to gauge how employees are feeling and to identify areas of opportunity when it comes to communication and connectedness.

Allow for Frequent Feedback

Think of the many informal touchpoints and opportunities to quickly bounce an idea off someone you have when you physically sit next to or near a coworker or employee. With a remote workforce it’s equally as important to keep frequent two-way collaboration and feedback channels open, both between team members and employee and manager.

Just as with any workforce, you should allow for open and honest two-way communication and feedback that is measurable. This means specific, actionable, and trackable feedback.

Focus on Work Product vs. Hours Worked

With your remote workforce, it’s important to focus on the goals accomplished vs. hours worked. It allows them the flexibility to care for their family or other important matters, and it lets your employees work at their most productive times—instead of focusing on when things are being done, have trust in your people and concentrate on what is being done.

Use your communication channels and virtual team meetings to make sure the whole team is on the same page, on task, and clear about each of their responsibilities. Set quarterly/weekly goals or benchmarks, and track progress toward them. If employees are meeting their deadlines and goals, and their work product is meeting or exceeding expectations— great! If not, just as when you were all in-office together, it’s time to look into why. It could be as simple as needing access to a tool, or a talent development opportunity with training and coaching.

As we always like to say, communication is not one size fits all and neither is how you motivate your employees.  The best way to learn how to motivate your employees in our current times is to ask them what they need and listen.  Leading with a listening, empathetic ear and adjusting your style will make sure you’re the leader your team needs.

—Dr. Harold Hardaway is a speaker and thought leader on corporate communications and culture. He serves as co-founder and CEO of Cardigan and oversees research and strategy for all client projects. Shannon Hernandez, a certified health coach, is a communication and marketing strategist. She serves as Chief Creative Officer for Cardigan and oversees creative and video production for all client initiatives.