Keeping Employees Connected In a Remote World
5 Ways to Successfully Keep Employees Feeling Connected While Working Remote
Many companies today are working remotely which makes it very difficult to maintain communication and to uphold the company culture. How can people feel connected when they are now working in separate locations? To keep the growth of a company going, to keep morale up, and to keep the day to day processes running, a manager needs to be diligent and creative.
Keeping the Culture Alive
Many companies advertise and pride themselves on having a great company culture. In fact, applicants will flock to these types of companies because they have a great atmosphere and take care of their employees. But how can you do that from behind a computer at your home?
First, appreciate your employees. Many employees are working harder because their responsibilities are more difficult to do at home. If you reach a milestone or an employee goes above and beyond, be sure to thank them or reward them. A “thank you” or an “I appreciate you” go a long way. Many people are stressed and anxious given the pandemic, so feeling appreciated for doing a good job may brighten their day.
Stay Connected to Their Lives
I find when you connect with your employees on a personal level, they will respect you more. Just asking if their daughter received any college acceptance letters, how their son did in their game, or if the baby is crawling will show them that you really do care. Being remote has made it difficult for everyone to have the chit-chat that would go on in the office to help the employees bond. Now, you need to go out of your way to ensure you can stay connected to your employees on a personal level.
Show Them You Care
We had multiple employees get positive for COVID this year. To show them that we were there for them, we sent them dinner and a care package. We know that when you are very sick, the last thing you think about it cooking, so we made sure they had enough food for a few meals. Then, the care package had cleaning supplies, sanitizer, tissues, and little items that are needed when someone is sick. While we did not spend a lot of money on it, the thought goes a long way with them. Also, we had employees that had celebratory highs and tragic lows. If someone lost a family member, we made sure to show them we were a support system and sent them a basket and card. We wanted to let them know that we were with them every step of the way.
Be Accommodating
Right now, we are half virtual and half in the office on a rotating schedule. When developing this schedule, I made it a priority to take into consideration the limitations that my employees have right now. Many have children home from school or limited day care at the moment. It is important that these factors are taken into consideration for the employees. Having to homeschool your child or even having your daycare close is stressful enough. Be understanding and accommodating when making decisions that could directly impact these employees. I have even been flexible when it comes to work schedules because the employee may need to sign off early for child care. As long as the work is getting completed and they are in some way working a full time schedule, then I think that during this time, that is appropriate. Why add more stress to the employee if it is not necessary?
Stay Connected Virtually
This past year has been a learning curve for communication. We tried many different methods to stay in communication with each other to make sure nothing got lost. We started an all day Zoom room with cameras on. While its not fun sitting on camera all day, we found that the employees actually started to enjoy it as time went on. We all got to see each other’s faces and if you needed to talk to someone, they were right there. While I do not feel this would work for a large company setting, for smaller offices or departments that need to work together, this can be effective.
We found that the sense of morale and community came back when we implemented this change. We were able to joke with each other, the chit chat returned, and everyone was connected again.
We also utilize the Zoom chat feature. If someone is on a phone call or in a meeting, we can still communicate quickly to each other. Everyone who is in the Zoom room is also on the group chat. When you are unable to speak, it is effective to get a message to a person quickly. Also, it helps when you are on a meeting or away from your computer because you can come back to the chat and catch up on what was going on.
Overall, we are all struggling with working virtually, but there are ways to make it effective. While we were virtual, we were able to still effectively grow our business and have high satisfaction scores. People are struggling with being isolated, having children home from school, and just overall being limited in their day to day life. If you keep your employees happy, make them feel connected, and truly care about them, they will continue to perform.
