4 Questions That Will Engage Your Remote Team

Leading a remote team is uncharted territory for many managers and supervisors. 

Whether we like this emerging reality or not, working remotely is expected to become more of a common practice after the pandemic subsides. According to Gartner, 48% of employees will work remotely after the pandemic, compared to 30% pre-pandemic levels, and by 2030 demand for remote work is expected to increase by 30%.

The questions are many: How do we motivate our teammates? How do we monitor their productivity and hold them accountable? How do we keep our team engaged?

Before the pandemic, the U.S. workforce was already under-producing and severely disengaged. For the past 20 years, Gallup has reminded us only one-third of employees are engaged. Making matters worse, according to a study recently published in the Harvard Business Review, remote workers are even less engaged and less loyal to the companies they work for, due to their isolated environment.

However, there are four questions any manager or supervisor can ask their remote team which will help to counteract their team's tendency toward disengagement. 

Why does the organization need us?

This question should open your team’s mind and give them a greater opportunity to deliver strong value.

The answer will refresh and reinvigorate your team’s efforts, stimulating them to productive action. This question also introduces an aspect of entrepreneurial thinking, by providing a higher view beyond just their routine tasks.

Here are some further probing thoughts and questions that can help your team think of a meaningful answer to this question.

Think about all the ways your employer would suffer if your team was eliminated and not replaced. What would happen? Who specifically would be affected? Follow the domino effect within your company, but don’t stop there. Envision the impact of your team’s absence all the way to your company’s external customers.

After your team has traced this negative impact, you should be able to clearly articulate why the organization you work for needs you. Your answer now becomes your team’s service mission and driving purpose.

Who do we really serve?

Unfortunately, most of us believe we serve our boss. While there is some truth to this, your team is serving someone or some group outside of your department, and you can be sure their needs are very important. Figure out who they are and start talking to them (as opposed to emailing them). 

How do you determine who you serve? As a team exercise, follow the trail of falling dominos again. You’ll find you serve some folks directly and others indirectly.

Keeping digging. Ask your boss. (Your boss may have trouble with this exercise, so this might be enlightening to them as well.) Stay curious and talk to others you work with. They can also give you plenty of insight.

What do they need that only we can provide?

Meet with your team and jot down everything you produce: reports, analysis, system inputs, internal support, etc. Does anyone else deliver what you do? 

Ask those you serve; they can tell you if they receive similar deliverables from other sources. Your goal is to be the only team within the entire organization that delivers your offerings.

Secondly, and most important, you want to be sure what you uniquely provide meets a vital organizational need or solves a key problem. Here again, talk to those you serve to confirm your deliverables are accomplishing what is essential and useful.

How can we make our deliverables more useful and reliable?

Did I mention you need to talk to the people you serve? Here’s another opportunity. 

Go through the list of deliverables your team produces for those you serve. Ask them two basic questions, but let your curiosity and their needs guide your conversation:

1. How can we make the deliverables we produce for you more useful and relevant?

2. How can we make them more reliable?

Don’t just do this one time. Keeping talking periodically to those you serve; their needs are dynamic and will change over time.

These four questions will revive and inspire your remote team to rediscover their purpose and mission. When they understand why their work and contribution matters, and they can see who is benefiting from the value they create, your team will engage at a higher level and maintain strong productivity.