3 ways to support staff working remotely
Staff working remotely poses unique challenges for businesses and managers. While staff save time and money by not having to travel into an office, wearing corporate clothes, etc, other staff miss the daily contact and interactions with their colleges and managers. Here are 3 ways a manager can support staff working remotely.
- ENGAGE your team. Touch base with your remote workers daily. Whether it`s a quick email, a conversation on Microsoft lync, a phone call or a video call, schedule in time to connect with your remote workers to keep them engaged. Take an interest in them and show you care. A simple “Thank You” at the end of their shift, costs nothing and goes a long way to making staff feel valued, appreciated and part of a team.
2. Encourage staff to LEAVE their desks to break up their routine. Encourage them to schedule time away from their desks to avoid “Cabin Fever”. extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time .Some ideas they could try; - Go and make a coffee, go for a walk outside, Hang up the washing. One of my remote workers lived on a life style block and every morning they would take time out to feed their chickens. Encouraging staff to leave their desks is also a great way to promote health and wellbeing by getting them active.
3. FUN, look at different ways to add fun to your day. I regularly sent my remote workers fun quizzes they could do during quiet times throughout the week. Ideally the quizzes need to take approximately 10 minutes to complete and should not be too hard. I would send them on a Monday and give my team until Friday to submit the answers. I varied the type of quizzes I would send. Some quizzes I used were; - “Name the song” by supplying some lyrics to a song, with the year and music genre as a clue. “Name the company” which was a visual quiz based on part of a famous company’s logo.Other popular topics for quizzes include , T V shows, movies , hobbies , depending on the demographic of the team. I would also send work-based quizzes whenever there was a new product or service which staff needed to learn.
So remember ELF to support remote workers …
Engage – your team
Leave - their desks to promote physical activity
Fun – develop a fun working relationship
So give ELF a try. You and your staff will be pleasantly surprised with the results. Please feel free to comment and share your ideas for supporting staff working remotely.