Including your hybrid and home working employees
Whether remote working is a perk your company already offers to its employees, or a change in circumstance you’ve had to adapt to, keeping remote or hybrid employees engaged should be a high priority for leaders today.
Engagement is crucial to a loyal, productive workforce, which is only more difficult to achieve without face-to-face interaction. Engaged employees tend to stay longer, take fewer sick days, are more productive and deliver a greater customer experience.
Not everyone is cut out or equipped to work from home, so it is crucial to ensure that you develop a strategy that meets these requirements so that they feel included, and part of the team, and you may need to recognise their contribution in a way.
Here are three tips for recognising your employees from afar and keeping them engaged.
Communicate
Without human interaction, employees can easily feel isolated and less ‘belonging’ to a team. Over time, this can lead to a lack of motivation and decreased productivity, so make sure your employees receive regular communication to feel included.
Check-in
Ensure that you have regular one-on-one meetings (virtual, on site or at a neutral venue) with your team members and set a clear agenda. This is where you can brainstorm and be creative, implement feedback and review sessions, or simply talk about how your employee is feeling.
Technology
From harsh email tones to the lack of non verbal cues, remote communication can be challenging. Video conferencing is the best replacement for in person interaction, and showing your face should be encouraged. In addition, many roles now lend themselves to working with software programs that can be completed equally well outside the office, so give your staff the appropriate tools to do the job.
Recognising your hybrid and home working employees
The key to establishing a successful work from home program is ensuring that everyone knows that they’re truly appreciated, and their contributions are valued. This starts by making sure that you do all you can to recognise remote workers on an ongoing basis, so they never feel like they’re on the outside looking in. This may include “self recognition” for specific targets and KPI’s that your hybrid workers are set.
Be consistent
Just like with normal communication, it’s crucial to be consistent with recognition. For remote workers, this means regularly acknowledging when they meet expectations, not necessarily only when they exceed them. A quick ‘thank you’ and ‘you did a great job on…’ goes a long way.
By following these recommendations, your home based and hybrid employees who are either on the other end of town or on the other side of the world, will feel like they’re sitting at the next desk.
Tony Delaney, Brownie Points
