How to Keep Your Employees Engaged in a Highly Remote World

As worker engagement declines in the workplace, it’s time to face the issue with new techniques. The work environment is not the same as it was 10 years ago.

With less in-person work comes fewer opportunities to connect with your people. The minute moments that helped keep your workers engaged–one-on-ones, office chat time, lunch with co-workers, brainstorming, and sit-downs–may be threatened if not recreated in the modern-day workplace. 

Gallup reported last month that worker engagement in the U.S. has declined to its lowest rate in over a decade: 30 percent. Many companies have transformed in recent years to a remote or hybrid workplace and now realize the effects it’s had on its people.  

It’s time to get creative in how you engage your employees so you can foster a productive and healthy culture. Adopt the following specific techniques to combat disengagement within your company. 

1. Communicate via phone or video call at least once a week. 

What do phone calls have to do with engagement? Conversations are most effective when the speaker’s tone of voice and body language are present–that is, not through written messages. Emails and texts have no feeling behind them and are often poorly written, causing miscommunication that can foster disengagement over time.  

Having your tone of voice present, or better yet, your face present, creates a connection regardless of the distance between you and your team. Of course, it’s unrealistic to always communicate via phone or video. Instead, utilize these methods when possible–especially if you have a sensitive or complex topic to cover. 

2. Ask questions, don’t just demand.  

Paying your workers isn’t enough to keep them motivated and engaged. You must check in and show you care. Ask them how they’re doing, what they need from you to be excited about coming to work, and any issues they face.  

First-line managers should meet with each person on their team at least quarterly. This will build trust between your company and its people, showing them that the company cares about their feedback.  

Just as important as the one-on-one is implementing what you’ve learned. For example, during a check-in, your employee tells you they’ve been overwhelmed due to a current project and their newborn at home. The stress has been causing them to fall behind. You as the manager should use this information and act accordingly. Perhaps you give them a few days of paid time off or assign an assistant to the project to help them. This will avoid what could become a disengaged, unproductive, unhappy employee.  

3. Give honest feedback regularly. 

People don’t leave companies, they leave managers. The relationship between a worker and the person they report to is pivotal in their feeling about a company. Therefore, prioritize training your managers to mentor their reports properly.  

If a manager offers little to no feedback, how can you expect your talent to improve and stay engaged? No matter the role, every worker will have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to performance. The manager’s job is to coach their reports, and the only way to do that is to be honest. Believe it or not, receiving critical feedback motivates and engages workers when done correctly.  

Performance reviews only go so far. Do not rely on them to promote growth. You need to sit down, virtually or in person, and discuss individual progress whenever necessary.  

4. Be intentional when planning in-person time. 

Whether you’re able to get your teams together every week, every month, or every quarter, use that time wisely. If in-person time is spent working on laptops at the same table, is that going to improve engagement? 

Plan collaborative meetings, bonding time, feedback sessions, and other ways to work together. Feeling a part of a team is key in keeping workers engaged.  

Host in-person gatherings at least every six months. 

At the core of business is relationships.  

Keep this concept in mind as you lead your organization every day. The common denominator between passionate and productive workers, a healthy culture, and high profits is great employer-employee relationships. If engagement is an issue, it likely can be fixed by working on the quality of workplace relationships. 

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