Keeping your team engaged is a challenge you will face during the next weeks if your employees are working from home.
Working remotely is not always easy, particularly if it’s the first time, but the following ideas can help you make the process smoother and more straightforward. And who knows? Maybe you and your team will end up appreciating the benefits of remote work.
Keep Your Team Engaged With Updates
In order to keep your team engaged, team members must receive all the necessary information to perform their jobs and offer feedback on other projects. Make sure that all members of your team are aware of what’s going on within the organization. Video meetings solve this problem to a great extent, but don’t forget to use other instruments. For example, send memos by e-mail and make individual phone calls to discuss matters that can be solved in one-to-one meetings.
Follow Best Practices
Video conferences are the most efficient way to coordinate work from home. Although this is a novel tool, there are already a few guidelines to ensure that your remote meetings are efficient and enjoyable. Make sure keep your team engaged by doing do the following:
- All participants must use video
- Ensure good quality of audio
- Ban multitasking
- Have a facilitator
- Follow etiquette: Don’t interrupt, don’t cover your camera, avoid sudden body movements.
Get Feedback to Keep Your Team Engaged
In many cases, the shift from conventional work to remote work has been sudden or even unexpected. Even if you think that your team is adapting well, encourage feedback. There is much to learn if you are willing to see things from your team’s point of view. Organize feedback sessions both individually and in group. When you listen to your team, be open to suggestions and constructive criticism that can improve workflow or boost morale.
Foster Friendly Interactions
Yes, the shift to remote work can be understandably stressful. This is inevitable due to the ongoing circumstances and the rapid change most companies had to enact. However, encourage your team to use the tools at their disposal to have friendly exchanges. Most remote work platforms have quirky features, such as gifs or virtual backgrounds, that can elicit smiles if used appropriately. Humor is a very important component of professional interactions and leadership. It promotes bonding and it can defuse tensions that would be hard to dissipate otherwise.