How to keep your remote team motivated

Before the use of email, intranet or amazing communication tools, there were geographical limits for employees to work: Basically teams needed to be in the same location to work effectively. There was no such concept as “work-from-home”.

But those days are long gone.

It isn’t difficult to understand why this concept is gaining popularity. Faster internet speed and better connectivity have brought the world together, so people can even have brainstorming sessions while enjoying the comforts of their house. It is even established that employee efficiency increases and they become more productive if this flexible option is chosen.

However, there are two sides to each story, there are pros and cons of everything in the world. Firstly, it is a test to find good remote workers, who know when to take a break, or how to stay focused when working. They should be committed and loyal to their work, and have the focus and motivation to be productively working remotely. Then, there are numerous other challenges: Preventing remote team members from feeling isolated, getting all members to buy into the team’s objectives and stay on track effectively, or keeping the team’s morale high while ensuring everyone is motivated.

Here are simple hacks to strengthen your relationships with your remote team and keeping it unified and motivated:

Keep communications open

Know that your employees are the building blocks of your company: Without them, you would have to come in and address the massive amount of work piled up for you every single day. Tools like Slack, Basecamp, Trello and Asana are all excellent collaboration tools, ascertaining that there are no barriers for communication and no one gets left behind in voicing their opinion. When your team is remote, it’s natural for some employees to use the distance as a shield. But you, as a manager, must take an active role in encouraging them in giving their opinions. Remember: Transparency is the key to develop strong employee engagement, and for that to happen, there should be clear communication between the team members.

Appreciate them socially

Everyone loves to get appreciated in public. Promote your team and sing their praises on your communication channel or social media platforms. It is a win-win situation— it shows them how much you appreciate them and value their work, and they see you as an encouraging and supportive boss! How excited would they be if they come across a post like “Excellent job with the presentation, Bryan. It couldn’t have been better. I can’t imagine my team without you!”
Appreciation and recognition gives them the motivation to work harder the next time. It makes them feel they are a part of the same team.

Give them honest feedback

You want your team to excel, you need to tell them what’s working and what’s not. You need to steer them to the right direction. Constant positive feedback actually does little to motivate a team. They’ll respect you more and work harder if you tell them where they’re going wrong, and what you expect from them. You must give them regular, fair and honest feedback. It’s easy for remote staff to feel unmotivated and isolated if they’re working far away from the rest of the team, or in a different time zone. You must stay in regular contact with them so that they never feel left behind.

Share your team wins

Your team would want to know when you’ve landed a major client. Your developer would be thrilled to know that users loved the details in the website design. Your bloggers would be excited to know their post went viral. Your team will be motivated to give you their best work when they see how it’s meaningful, how it was their contribution that led to this win. Share positive emails from customers, and good news about your company. Treat your team members like family. These little things make big differences.

With just the right planning, you could create an amazing team regardless of the location. Work-from-home and Remote offices are a trend that is going to be followed for years. It’s important for you, as a manager, to stay ahead of this trend to ensure remote workers thrive at your company.

Over to you! How do you keep your remote team motivated?

This article is Part 1 of a two part series. The next article will talk about how Engazify can help you in keeping your remote team motivated. It will be uploaded soon, so stay tuned! Check out Engazify Bot for Slack here!