How to Engage Remote Employees? - Best Practices for New Hires

As more companies embrace remote work, understanding how to engage remote employees becomes increasingly important. A highly engaged remote worker contributes to higher productivity and innovation and fosters a positive company culture that attracts top talent. 

Clear channels for informal communication and professional discussions, fostering a positive work culture, providing opportunities for professional growth, and recognizing achievements are all key aspects of keeping remote employees engaged. This blog post will touch on these points to help you build strong connections with your team members regardless of location.

We'll explore a few ideas related to effective technology use, flexible work schedules, clear expectations, and encouraging human interaction, even among remote workers—all crucial elements in creating an environment where your employees feel valued and motivated to perform at their best.

Why is remote employee engagement important?

Remote work has become integral to how people work in today's globalized work. As such, companies need to realize that ensuring their remote employees are engaged and satisfied is crucial to the organization's success.

The impact on productivity

According to a Gallup study, businesses with high levels of remote employee engagement result in a difference of 23% in profitability. When personnel perceives a bond and significance within their firm, they are more prone to exert additional effort toward accomplishing corporate objectives.

Retention rates

Remote employee engagement plays a significant role in retaining top talent within your organization. Engaged and productive employees are less likely to leave their current employer for another opportunity or seek alternative employment options when faced with challenges at work.

Mental health and well-being

One common challenge faced by remote workers is social isolation due to limited face-to-face interactions with colleagues. By actively engaging your team progress other remote workers engaged as team members through regular communication video meetings and virtual events, you can help alleviate feelings of loneliness or disconnect from the workplace community.

Remote employees often struggle with establishing a healthy work-life balance, as the lines between personal and professional, better work life balance along with mental and physical health can easily blur. Encouraging remote workers to set boundaries for mental and physical health and maintain regular working hours can help prevent burnout while fostering employee engagement.

The company's reputation

Sometimes, internal aspects like employee and engagement efforts can affect how a whole company culture is perceived from the outside. An organization that actively seeks ways to engage remote employees is likelier to have a positive reputation among job seekers, clients, and partners. Moreover, it can help attract top talent that keeps the business competitive and innovative.

Best practices for remote employee engagement 

Engaging remote employees can be challenging, but it is essential to maintain productivity and job satisfaction among virtual workers. Let's look at some best practices you can use to keep remote workers feel your workforce engaged.

Establish clear communication channels

Clear communication starts with a remote-first handbook that details guidelines and best practices for digital communication within your team. This guide should outline the different types of communication within your team meetings or organization, from instant messaging to video calls to meetings and everything in between.

For globally distributed teams, these guidelines should include the specifics for those working remotely in different or headquarters time zone, expectations for synchronous and asynchronous communication, and documentation best practices.

Foster a positive work culture

A great remote company culture plays a significant role in engaging remote employees. Encourage a full culture of trust, transparency, and open communication by setting an example as a leader. Recognize remote employee' achievements and provide constructive feedback on ways to engage remote employees autonomy help them grow professionally.

Encourage social interaction

Create opportunities for remote employees to interact with their colleagues on both professional and personal levels. Organize and host virtual meetings, coffee breaks or virtual happy hours, where team member working remotely can catch up informally. You can also set up interest-based groups such social events such as book clubs or fitness challenges that allow employees working remotely to bond over shared hobbies.

Provide opportunities for professional growth

Offering chances for personal development can be a powerful way to increase remote employee engagement and to keep remote employees engaged. Employees who perceive they are consistently advancing and developing in their jobs tend to be more involved employees engaged, energized, and devoted to the organization. This can lead to higher job satisfaction, increased productivity, employee feedback, employee engagement, and better retention rates.

Create a learning environment

To create a learning environment within your remote team, consider implementing regular training sessions or workshops on relevant topics such as new technologies or industry trends. You can also encourage employees to attend online courses, webinars, or conferences related to their field of expertise.

Mentorship programs

Mentorship programs can boost employee morale and also play an essential role in fostering professional and career growth opportunities among remote employees. Pairing experienced professionals with less-experienced colleagues on remote teams allows knowledge transfer and skill development while building strong relationships within the team.

Career development plans

In addition to offering educational resources and mentorships, it's crucial for organizations to have clear career development plans in place for each employee. These plans should outline specific goals and objectives that align with both individual aspirations and company needs. Regular check-ins between managers, company leaders and employees ensure progress towards these goals is being made while addressing any potential roadblocks along the way.

Offer flexibility

Remote work is highly sought after because it grants people the freedom to choose their schedules. This single advantage can be crucial in having an engaged and satisfied workforce. After all, having flexible working hours and conditions can greatly improve employee morale and well-being.

In the brick-and-mortar office environment, remote workers must stick to fixed schedules that do not always align with their personal lives or productivity patterns. The flexibility remote workers gain can significantly impact their work life, leaving them plenty of time to have a meaningful life outside of work. Some ways to foster flexibility in your workplace include:

• Allowing for asynchronous communication: engage remote workers to communicate via email or collaboration tools like Slack instead of relying solely on real-time meetings.

• Implementing core working hours: Set specific times during which all remote team members should be available for meetings while allowing them the freedom to manage their time outside these hours.

• Granting autonomy to employees by entrusting them with the power to manage their own tasks without close supervision.

Set clear expectations

Establishing clear expectations is crucial for a remote workforce and can boost employee morale, engagement and employee satisfaction. When personnel comprehends their duties and obligations, they are more likely to be invigorated and involved in their labor. Setting expectations also helps prevent misunderstandings that can lead to frustration or disengagement.

A comprehensive remote work policy should outline the company's guidelines on communication, screen sharing, availability, performance metrics, and other essential aspects of working remotely. This document will serve as a reference point for managers and employees when setting expectations for remote working.

Use technology effectively

Technology plays a critical role in remote work, and organizations should leverage it effectively to engage remote employees. As digital transformation touches on all aspects of remote work, companies must provide employees with the tools that they need for everyday work. Proper hardware and software access is essential for employee productivity. 

When thinking about technology, organizations need to cover everything from collaborative platforms, project management tools, video conferencing, and other communication technologies that can facilitate collaboration. 

Recognize employee achievements

People are a precious resource for companies, and as such, they must be recognized. Celebrating employees work, their successes and recognizing their achievements not only engage employees but it makes them feel a part of something bigger. This sense of belonging can make employees more inclined to stay motivated and involved in their work.

Fostering a culture of employee recognition from within your organization encourages everyone to celebrate each other's achievements, both big and small. This can be done through regular shout-outs during virtual team meetings or by creating dedicated channels on communication platforms like Slack where remote team members can share praise for one another employee accomplishments with another.

Conclusion

Engaging distant remote employees is necessary for any business to stay connected and succeed, particularly in the modern digital world. Knowing how to effectively engage remote workers as staff ensures your business stays competitive and easily adapts to changes.

An essential aspect of engaging remote employees is providing them with the tools they need. From IT equipment to software tools, having the right resources guarantees they can perform their best work. Valuing and motivating new remote employees also starts by providing an environment where they can easily succeed.

At GroWrk, we can help you provide your globally distributed teams with the tools they need. WE HAVE YOUR REMOTE TEAMS COVERED, from IT equipment procurement to asset management. Our IT asset management software can transform your team's productivity. Give us a call to get started today. 

FAQs about engaging remote workers

How do you engage employees to work remotely?

Creating an environment with clear guidelines and expectations is best for remote staff and those still unsure about remote work. That way, you can set your any new hires and remote employees up for success. Detailing what communication tools to use, how flexible schedules work, and providing access to the resources and equipment they need is a surefire way to get them started. Additionally, provide regular feedback on performance while promoting collaboration through virtual team-building activities or employee recognition.

How do you drive engagement in a remote workforce?

Drive employee engagement even in a remote workforce by ensuring open lines of communication with managers and peers. Encourage teamwork through collaborative projects or platforms like Microsoft Teams. Provide continuous learning opportunities to keep remote employees engaged, such as online courses or workshops or remote meetings. Recognize accomplishments publicly within the organization via newsletters or meetings.

What best practices does your organization use to keep your remote employees engaged?

• Create an inclusive culture

• Promote transparency across teams

• Incorporate video conferencing tools like Zoom

• Schedule regular check-ins between managers and team members

• Acknowledge individual contributions during team meetings