5 Ways to Ensure Your Remote Employees Feel Valued
Nancy Rubin, Ph.D.
Owner @ NRR Consulting | Online Learning, Instructional Design
Keeping your remote workforce engaged can be challenging. However, there are plenty of ways to ensure that your remote employees feel valued and connected. Find the right mix of strategies, and you’ll see an increase in each team member’s personal motivation and happiness. In turn, this should lead to more productivity and plenty of other flow-on benefits for your business.
To ensure your remote employees feel valued, consider implementing the following five ideas:
It isn’t always easy to check on the well-being of your remote team, both professionally and personally. However, there are some clues to look out for that suggest a person might be struggling. These include late work submission, avoiding face-to-face camera meetings, less contact overall, and a general change in the way they interact with you and their colleagues.
You can support your remote team’s well-being by giving them a physical and virtual space for communication and collaboration. If your team is too scattered for meet-ups to work, consider offering training opportunities, access to online therapy services, and other services to support their personal and professional well-being.
Studies tell us that being acknowledged and appreciated is more valuable than financial incentives when it comes to helping employees complete tasks and gain pleasure from their work. Acknowledgment and appreciation don’t need to be absent because of the distance.
Checking in with the person and not just the work is a great start. So, remember to check in with them about their hobbies and plans. This can go a long way to making them feel appreciated as more than just a worker.
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Encouraging the team to connect remotely is a great way to bring everyone together and collectively create a feeling of value. Of course, contact with you is important, but things like virtual coffee breaks can encourage the development of trust and intimacy across the whole team.
Employers of remote teams commonly offer anonymous pathways for team members to share their opinions and feelings on the company and working processes. This seems like a good idea on the surface. However, a recent study found that anonymous feedback reinforces the idea that there is something to be afraid of by sharing your opinion.
Instead, why not encourage your team to openly share ideas in brainstorming sessions? You could also encourage their feedback during one-on-ones. Just remember that it’s crucial to act on ideas and opinions shared, taking valuable feedback and developing it into workable ideas that enhance your company’s processes and culture.
It’s hard to feel valued when you’re told which systems to use online, which type of meeting you’re attending, and what time you’re submitting work. While you may have certain milestones, preferred tech, and ideas about free time, you need to give your employees a sense of agency. If you don’t have the scope to offer too much flexibility, at least give them alternative choices so that they have some control over their workdays.
The suggestions above demonstrate just how little you need to do to help your remote employees feel valued and happy to be part of your business. With the right methods, you can connect with your team in a meaningful way, encouraging them to feel more positive and excited about working with you moving forward.