Motivated employees tend to be more productive whether they’re working from home or the office. Here’s how to keep motivation high in your remote team.
A lot of companies shy away from offering remote work due to how difficult it can be to motivate remote teams. According to reports, motivation levels are constantly falling with 29% of employees saying ‘they’re not motivated’ while 63% of employees are more productive working from home!
Since motivation is important, it is vital that businesses take steps to increase it. In this article, we’ll talk about how to
Why Motivation Is So Important in a Remote Team
More and more businesses are going mobile. from 2005 to 2017, there was a huge increase of 159% in remote work. Employees like to work for companies that offer remote work, but you can’t really benefit from it if you do not keep your employees motivated.
Motivated employees tend to be more productive. This is a major concern because some businesses feel that engagement and productivity fall when employees are allowed to work from home.
Plus, management can be an issue as well, especially if you’ve started to go mobile just now. Managers do not always know how to handle a remote team because they’re not experienced to do so.
Employees can also have trouble working from home despite it being beneficial. They can face challenges related to communication making being productive as a team a challenging task.
Some employees have to work with people they have never met. They have no idea who they’re working with. This situation can create communication barriers, demotivate employees, and reduce productivity.
Here’s How to Keep Motivation High in Your Remote Team
Here is how you can solve such problems and motivate employees to put their best foot forward.
#1 Improve Communication and Be in Constant Touch
Create a communication plan so that there are no communication gaps. Managers and team members, especially those who are working on the same project or in the same department, must be in constant touch to ensure there are no problems.
Do not stick to one form of communication, you can use everything from video to audio to emails. This is the best way to reduce the risk of miscommunication and get the message across.
All your employees should know they can get in touch with you whenever they need to.
#2 Trust Them and Let Them Be to Increase Loyalty
While communication is important, you must know where to draw the line. Do not be the person who checks on their remote employees every few hours. It’s best to have a call once or twice a day to discuss work then leave the line open for communication.
Constantly calling your employees for no reason will not only disturb them but may also demotivate them. Show some faith in them and allow them to work at their own pace.
Such behavior can improve loyalty and push employees to feel more connected.
#3 Help Your Employees Learn and Get Better
Whether an employee is working from home or office, training has been proven to be a reliable way to keep them motivated. Plus, it offers other benefits as well.
Trained employees are more productive and reliable. The more knowledgeable or experienced an employee is, the better it will be for your business. Hence, do not shy away from investing in employee development.
In addition to this, make sure to teach employees how to make the best use of a virtual environment. Consider creating an employee handbook. It should contain tips for working remotely so that employees can refer to it if they ever need help.
Your employees should know how to use different tools and get the job done.
#4 Give Employees a Chance to Know Each Other
We tend to be more motivated when we work around or with people we know or understand. Working from home can end up being tiring if you do not get a chance to relax and have a breather.
Consider creating schedules that include breaks where employees can chat with each other and build relationships. Employees who have friends at work are said to be more motivated and productive than employees who have no friends.
You can encourage employees to take part in group chats. It might also be a good idea to hold weekly or monthly meetings where everyone can discuss work with each other.
Some experts also suggest virtual parties to celebrate occasions such as work anniversaries.
#5 Enjoy the Benefits of Technology
Enable collaboration by using tools like Gsuite, or Asana. They have been proven to be effective in keeping employees on the same page and reducing errors.
You can also use time management and productivity software to make sure you meet all your deadlines. There are both paid and free tools available for businesses. Consider all your options and pick what suits you the best.
#6 Pay Them Generously and Offer Bonuses
At the end of the day, it is about money. Remember that working from home is not a reason to deduct money. Make sure to pay your employees generously and offer incentives such as bonuses.
Money is still one of the top motivators. Employees who feel underpaid will never be motivated enough. The solution is to scan the market and find the true worth of an employee.
The amount you pay someone should never be over or under the market value. The employee should have financial reasons to stick to your company.
#7 Exchange Feedback and Appreciate Them
Make your employees feel valuable by requesting their feedback and paying attention to what they have to say. Also, appreciate employees for their efforts by announcing Employee of the Month and holding small ceremonies to celebrate milestones.
If all this is not possible then at least write an appreciation note. It might be a good idea to let others know about the success of an employee as it can motivate others to do better as well.
#8 Make Things Easier for Them
About 80% of employees choose to work remotely due to the benefits it offers including flexibility. However, some companies are very stringent regarding the rules and take away all the benefits of remote jobs. This makes working remotely look like a burden and ends up demotivating employees.
While it’s important to stick to a schedule, you must make sure to offer employees a little flexibility. Employees should be allowed to get some rest as it is all about being satisfied. The purpose is to offer employees ease.
It is the job of the business to provide employees with all the tools needed to perform well.
Conclusion
We hope we have been able to present properly the idea of motivating remote employees. Remember that no two people are the same and different workers have different motivators.
Some enjoy challenging jobs, some are looking for more money, and some are interested in ease and comfort. If you want to truly motivate your employees then you must offer them an environment that they enjoy working in.
