Remotefulness

How to Motivate Employees Working From Home

The Corona Virus pandemic hastened the adoption of remote working as the new business environment. Companies have managed to overcome the struggles of establishing their remote team by ensuring all team members have the necessary tech tools needed and are properly logged into their permanent video conference accounts. Company leaders understand how to work with a remote team and have provided them with clear work processes, and some have mastered how to motivate employees working from home.

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However, there are another critical questions companies must ask themselves if they are planning to continue reaping great operation efficiency and productivity benefits. The issue of keeping remote team motivation is a vital one because it determines the overall performance of employees. Working from home undoubtedly is bound to reduce motivation; hence there is a constant need for companies to strategize approaches for motivating their remote team.

Below are some ideas for motivating remote teams.

Ways to Boost Remote Team Motivation

Reward Employees Once in a While

If you’re wondering how to motivate employees working from home, consider rewards. There is nothing that has stood the test of time in regards to virtual team motivation like a good reward system. Vroom’s expectancy theory explains that employees are motivated to work because of the rewards they expect to receive for their effort. The policy extends even to when working with a remote team to keep them focused and interested in performing their best. Rewards could include sending your employees E- gift cards, having snack packages delivered to their homes, or even sending them monetary rewards.

Planning Virtual Retreats

In the onset of a pandemic, social distancing and stay home policies virtual teambuilding has gained greater popularity. Companies can introduce online gaming activities that help in the ice breaker sessions to eliminate isolation feeling and promote engagement. These virtual activities can help motivate employees working from home and include:

•       Online Office game

•       Tea vs. Coffee

•       Online Team Building Bingo

•       Photo Channel

•       Quarterly Christmas

•       Guess the Emoji Board

•       Storytelling Workshops

•       Petri

•       Virtual Pub Crawl

•       Virtual Pub Trivia

•       Online Team Dinner

Implement surveys to measure employees’ morale

Surveys are essential tools for measuring the effectiveness of policies and activities carried out in companies. Plus, they can help with motivating employees working from home because you can figure out how your employees are doing. Instead of assuming your remote team is doing fine, companies should issues surveys on a weekly or monthly basis to rate the mood of their employees and know what changes would help improve their morale. Then, make the changes to help motivate employees working from home.

 

Invest in the Development and Skills of your Employees

In an environment where there are constant learning and growth, employees are deemed to be motivated at all time. Training and learning have proven to be important in retaining and motivating employees working from home by helping them learn new skills and constantly improve their knowledge base. There several online learning platforms like skillshare, udemy, Hubspot, or LinkedIn learning that is beneficial for training which can help with motivating remote teams.

Show your employees that your Trust Them

Trust is a big motivator of performance that is often neglected but very efficient in encouraging self-drive and responsibility. It does not exactly mean that managers should be hands-off completely; they still have to set deadlines, expectations, and responsibilities as well as constantly checking up on the remote team. It simply means that managers should trust employees will follow their guidelines, deliver work according to the expected guidelines and on time without being micromanaged. This is a simple way to boost virtual team motivation.

Conclusion

Practices that motivate employees to work have been in existence even in the traditional office working environment before the covid-19 pandemic outbreak. Currently working with a remote team has proven to need more concentration on building their motivation now more than ever. We’ve provided effective tactics that companies should use to motivate employees working from home to keep working.

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