I met with a client today that asked how to engage remote employees. Interestingly, I had to think back to my days working as a Metro President at DeVry University to think about the “old” differences of managing employees that worked locally at the campuses versus those individuals working remotely with high schools, community colleges, and other university partners.
Today, it is difficult to differentiate between employees working at the office versus working remote, because the new normal is that most employees are working hybrid with some component of their role being remote and leaders must have a strategy to manage everyone. Identifying how to establish a strong organizational culture in the current state is the solution.
What do we do about it?
Here are 10 ways to Engage Employees in Remote Work Environments:
(Adapted from SHRM article, “Top 10 Ways to Build Trust”)
1. Designed Alliance
Design an alliance/partnership with each employee with a commitment to clarity and transparency. When we design an alliance, we create a partnership to ensure open and honest communication regarding achieving goals efficiently, effectively, and harmoniously and in a timely fashion. The manager continuously implements adjustments based on the changing information between the individual and the organization.
Patience and compassion will be critical elements to fostering a trusting workplace culture. It is understandable that business will still need to thrive to fill a need, but it’s equally important to understand that employees might have legitimate reasons to have challenges or struggles while at work.
2. Maintain Effective Communication
Design an alliance/partnership with each employee with a commitment to clarity and transparency. When we design an alliance, we create a partnership to ensure open and honest communication regarding achieving goals efficiently, effectively, and harmoniously and in a timely fashion. The manager continuously implements adjustments based on the changing information between the individual and the organization.
Patience and compassion will be critical elements to fostering a trusting workplace culture. It is understandable that business will still need to thrive to fill a need, but it’s equally important to understand that employees might have legitimate reasons to have challenges or struggles while at work.
3. Manage Employee Well Being
When working remotely, everyone needs to communicate regularly to stay updated on projects and upcoming events. However, closely monitoring what employees are doing, when they are working, and where they are always can breed feelings of mistrust. To build trust in remote work environments, companies need to give employees autonomy, hold them accountable for their deliverables, and focus their performance.
Check in on:
- Thinking: Gratitude Reflection, Perspective Taking, News/Social Media impact
- Physical: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Meditation
- Relationships: Goals, Connection, Conferences, Industry Events
- Environmental: Playing Music, Candles, Outdoor Activities
4. Avoid Micromanagement
When working remotely, everyone needs to communicate regularly to stay updated on projects and upcoming events. However, closely monitoring what employees are doing, when they are working, and where they can breed feelings of mistrust. To build trust in remote work environments, companies need to give employees autonomy, hold them accountable for their deliverables, and focus their performance.
5. Address Manager Bias
Many remote employees worry that they may be unfairly overlooked for advancement opportunities because they won’t have “face time” with leaders, or that their achievements may go unnoticed by managers. A recent survey found that managers viewed remote workers’ performance less favorably than that of their in-person colleagues, even though data analysis showed that the remote workers were more likely to be higher performers. To build an equitable system–and employee trust in the same–train managers to be aware of these unconscious biases and create opportunities for remote workers to meaningfully engage with leaders both inside and outside of their chain of command.
6. Help People Connect
Trust is built when team members feel connected. That can’t happen if everything is just email and Zoom meetings. Sharing wins or highlights across the organization helps create transparency – it keeps people in the know. Providing a way that people can connect on non-work items is just as important and the companies that enable a sense of community will have cultures that attract and retain talent!
7. Be Empathetic
When working remotely, everyone needs to communicate regularly to stay updated on projects and upcoming events. However, closely monitoring what employees are doing, when they are working, and where they are always can breed feelings of mistrust. To build trust in remote work environments, companies need to give employees autonomy, hold them accountable for their deliverables, and focus their performance.
Check in on:
8. Measure Outcomes
Rather than measuring employee performance based on virtual presence, such as employees being active on the company chat, or the ability to respond to emails immediately, measure based on outcomes. This measurement system judges employee work on the product of work, rather than the appearance of working. All employees have different work styles and focusing on the work that gets done will build trust between your remote employees and their managers.
9. Empower and Hold Accountable
- Ensure that each remote team member has the tools they need to be successful
- Hold individual and team meetings more often
- Provide transparent and clear expectations
- Don’t micromanage or create an environment where individuals must be “on the clock”
- Collect feedback by asking what barriers get in the way of their individual or team success
- Create an individual develop plan for each team member
10. Recognize, Appreciate and Thank Employees
The most important way the appreciate remote employees is to ensure they have working equipment. One employer I am aware of also sent a $200 check to each employee monthly to reimburse them for at home office supplies.
Also, pay attention to important days like birthdays, work anniversaries, etc. Be sure to discuss vacation time and extra days off.
Write an appreciation email and copy your boss and potentially the next level boss. Be sure to be specific about how the employee contributed to the results of the organization. Other ideas are to send an appreciation kit and/or create an individual certificate of achievement.
Include remote employees in all the meetings they should be invited to; however, don’t invite them randomly to meetings that are not necessary
Final Thoughts
The goal of any high performing team is to adapt and change to new conditions to stay engaged in functioning effectively over time. As the work environment changes, adapting behaviors to support team members is necessary for continued success. The best way for a manager to engage remote workers is to stay connected and communicate often with extreme clarity.
