Over the last couple years, with the advent of technology and a greater desire for freedom in their employment, more Americans have been working remotely or seeking employment that will allow them to work from home. While this leaves them with a greater sense of freedom, it can also lead to greater social isolation and a non-engaged workforce. This might leave business owners caught in a bind, wondering how to best engage your remote employees. While we here at ShiftHR can help you create employee policies that address this issue and increase the profitability of your employees, here are a couple things to be considering if you’re running into this problem as a small business owner.
1-Following through on evaluations and employee check ups
During certain phases or lengths of time, every employee gets their yearly or quarterly evaluation check up. You as a business owner and manager need to ensure that this is happening and that this process is being followed through properly. Just because an employee might be working remotely, does not always mean they are happy to be doing so. The social isolation caused by this can lead to issues with a worker's mental health and possibly lead to further decreases in overall work engagement and desire to be productive. Failure to follow through on straightforward evaluations will not make your employee happy nor productive long term. Being concerned with their productivity and following through is the first step to engage your remote employees.
2-Have a process in place to check up on your employee personally
In remote work, sometimes a business owner might forget to check up on their employee and be considerate of what is going on in their personal life. "Out of sight, out of mind" is an idea that comes to immediate thought! While you need to be focused on the bigger picture of your employees, you must be concerned (on some level) with the personal issues and details of your workers' lives.
- How are their parents doing?
- How are their children doing in school?
- How are their outside pursuits and interests going?
- Is their any way you can help them with any of these pursuits?
It should come as no surprise than when a manager, business owner or leader is concerned with their subordinates; those under them tend to pay that back in hard work and loyalty. While it's easy to get caught up in running your business and maintaining a focus on the bigger picture overall, your employees are your greatest asset for getting things done and moving the bottom line of your business.
3-Communication is still an utmost priority
Make no mistake, just because your remote workers are not physically around does not mean that they care any less than the workers that are present in your office. To ensure they are engaged properly not only in their work but also in the company, everything simply comes down to how well you communicate. From ensuring their tasks are being completed on time (and using project management software like Trello or Teamwork), to ensuring they’re fully aware of their proper lanes and responsibilities, everything comes down to proper communication. The best way to engage your remote employees as a business owner or manager is to set these proper precedents and lanes correctly from the beginning. Failure to do so will hurt both you and that employee further along the line when breakdowns occur because responsibilities were not assigned nor communicated properly. Proactive communication will be important on both sides, as will full accountability. While communication is always a priority in any relationship and with any of your employees, this importance will be multiplied exponentially with any of your remote workers.
If you’re considering what are the top ways to engage your remote employees, you can learn more about our recommendations here.