How to keep remote employees engaged

Remote Employees

Post pandemic, many employers switched to hybrid-remote work as it was preferred by most employees. However, there has been an undeniable increase in these employees experiencing loneliness because they spend long hours working alone, interacting with colleagues only through screens. With back-to-back meetings scheduled all day, there is little opportunity for remote colleagues to create any kind of informal bond outside of discussing work.

This has led to a paradoxical state of employees who wish to work remotely but feel lonely and disconnected. If organizations want to retain these employees in the long run, they will have to learn how to keep remote employees engaged. Here are some ways to achieve this goal.

Create Employee Communities

Employee communities are internal groups who share common interests, backgrounds or experiences. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) or Interest Groups or Learning Communities allow for employees to connect on topics and interests beyond work. Remote employees get an opportunity to participate and also lead initiatives they are passionate about such as awareness campaigns, community service, donation drives and fundraisers. Employee communities provide a sense of purpose, pride and belonging.

Conduct Virtual Events

Organizations need to think beyond Annual Town Halls to engage with their employees. Providing employee communities the freedom and technology to plan and organize interactive, virtual events is a great way to boost employee engagement. Remote employees can attend these events from their homes and learn something new. Interactive sessions give a voice to employees everywhere. Inviting Guest Speakers to deliver meaningful talks is another way to engage with all employees.

Design Discussion Boards

Discussion boards are a great way to facilitate interaction among your remote employees. They act as virtual water coolers and provide an avenue for informal conversation. To encourage participation, reward those who initiate discussions with points which can be redeemed against gift vouchers or a system of your choice as supported Teleskope’s ERG Points Module. Open, fun and interesting discussions can help build connections between geographically dispersed team members.

Enable Instant Recognition

Employees who work remotely do not get a chance to showcase their work. Instant peer and self recognition, enabled by Teleskope’s Recognition Module, is a great way to keep employees motivated. A technology solution takes away the pressure of setting up standalone events for recognition and increases the ease and frequency of showing appreciation. Self recognition gives remote employees an opportunity to share their achievements with a larger audience, while peer recognition boosts morale and creates a positive work environment.

Encourage Collaboration

Provide opportunities for remote employees to work on projects together. Set-up cross-functional teams to work on projects. Such collaborations give remote employees an opportunity to interact and work with employees from other teams and thus, expand their circle. Connecting with a diverse set of team members and working with them promotes teamwork and friendship. Creating cross-functional teams has been highly simplified by Teleskope’s Team Builder Module which automatically creates teams based on custom filters and attributes.

Though employees all around the world may seem connected through technology, they could still be disengaged from the organization. Organizations should conduct anonymous surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and work proactively in cultivating a sense of togetherness and belonging among the workforce. An all-in-one platform like Teleskope can simplify these tasks using automation.