Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working was still a novelty concept for corporate management. However, remote work became the new normal and was used in many businesses.
Work-from-home policies were put in place during the pandemic as a way to keep the virus from spreading and protect people with weak immune systems. However, what does this imply for industries?
Working from home sounds well, especially when you think of the quality time you’ll spend with your kids and your pets. And rightly so, remote work has its advantages. For instance, you’ll save time and money you use for commuting. All you really need is a good CenturyLink internet connection and you are ready to work. Thus, working from home can encourage a better work-life balance.
On the other hand, remote working has its drawbacks. Since you’re not in the workplace with your colleagues, it’s easy to feel less involved and connected to your organization, which can negatively impact your productivity and performance.
For companies, employee engagement is quite straightforward. It’s the practice of making workers feel contented, fulfilled, and devoted to their workplace. However, is it a challenge to engage in the new normal? Not really.
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How to Boost Employee Engagement In A Virtual Setup
Here are some stress-free, exciting, and practical ways to boost team member engagement in a virtual setup:
Implement Virtual Fun
Creating strong connections between remote employees can be a challenging task, especially in countries where social distancing is still the new normal. Nevertheless, you can try implementing virtual fun and games to ease this challenge.
While remote working has its benefits, don’t be surprised if your team or employees are bored out of their minds. Remember, some are stuck in their homes, or they can’t go to their local gyms, while others are glued to their screens most of the time.
However, virtual games can be the perfect fix and the ideal answer to save them from the ennui and allow them to take part in fun virtual events that will require their keen intelligence, decision-making abilities, and social skills.
Strengthen Personal Connections
As a manager, you might want to keep every interaction with your team at a professional level. However, remember that your team is made up of humans. They like to celebrate once in a while, spend time with their family, and experience bad days. Therefore, as a manager, you need to identify their strong points, flaws, and interests to interact better with them virtually.
You can start by monitoring what your employees do. But on the other hand, find out what excites them. When you identify what your workers love to do, you can apply it to their assignments or award them promotions based on their liking.
As a result, remote workers will feel more engaged and devoted to the organization, especially if they’re aware that the company cares about them as workers and human beings. Something as simple as sharing with workers about their experiences in a personalized manner will stand out to remote employees.
Primarily, organizations must recognize that transparency and integrity are crucial to promoting strong team member engagement in the office or a virtual setup. Cultivate strong connections with virtual employees. Most importantly, personal, direct, and genuine communication is essential.
Virtual Water Cooler Chats
The spice about the ‘normal’ working office hours is the water cooler chit-chat, and laughter employees have during work breaks. Water cooler chats are informal conversations and networking that allow people to interact and sympathize with one another.
Water cooler conversations play a significant role in any organization’s culture. Sadly, remote working has dramatically affected such long-established workplace customs.
As a manager, you can ensure that the connection is intact between remote employees by seeking methods for workers to have virtual water cooler chats. It’s an awesome team member engagement concept that will boost team bonding and foster participation.
You can request the human resources department to develop or create virtual clubs. By doing so, it ensures that everybody gets the chance to dialogue with other team members concerning their daily activities.
Meanwhile, the company can invest in communication apps, such as Slack, where team members can discuss random stuff to smooth things out. In addition, members can also share their version of ‘hairstyles’ and discuss them.
Final Thought
Ensuring remote employees are engaged is an essential part of guaranteeing success in the operations of a business. Without the chance to have casual chats during breaks or at each other’s booths, it will take a more concerted effort to boost team member engagement in a virtual setup.
However, when leaders and corporate managers focus on employee engagement and communication, irrespective of an employee’s locality, the company as a group prospers.
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