7 tips to keep your employees working remotely motivated ?

Having to work alone is good and it makes the job much more flexible than being at the office. That is the best response to the current situation. But there is a small disadvantage to it, that you will not be able to motivate the team working from home to achieve goals, discuss problems with them ,come up with solutions together or just have a good time. No worries there are plenty of ways on how to motivate employees working from home

Motivating a team working from home to achieve goals can be quite the struggle. However, it can serve as an opportunity to implement existing workforce’s skills in new and different ways. An employer should be able to conduct the following tasks: managing workflow, utilizing technology for organizational benefit, being the support system of the staff, ensuring open communication within the organisation and  performing team building activities in lockdown.

However there are few challenges that the staff must be facing and the employer should be aware of:

•  Employees facing social isolation.
•  Gap in communication within the team.
•  Difficulty managing professional and personal time.
•  Concerns regarding family members.
•  Problems while dealing with new technology. 

To know how to counter these challenges and how to how to motivate employees working from home, Here are 7 tips that will help you properly manage work in lockdown:

1. Prepare a team plan

Make an effective plan for your team and share it with them, it will stop any misunderstandings from occurring out of the communication gap. Create a plan that clearly defines and lays out important information like roles & responsibility, communication structure, setting team & individual goals etc.  Staff should know, whom they should report individually and the activities that all team members should be performing jointly. This provides a proper plan that the team can follow dealing with tough situations like these.

2. Build an open and transparent communication system

It is an important part of any business to excel in the long run. If you want a team that is both focussed and dedicated during lockdown, it is certain that you should keep an open communication between colleagues, superiors and subordinates. It provides teams with discussion grounds on ideas, projects and keeps a positive work environment.

The communication should be such that it addresses the current situation and gives full disclosure. Most importantly, latest updates regarding work, briefs new guidelines and work culture.

3. Fully Utilize the available technology

One easy way on “how to motivate employees working from home” is by introducing them to new technology which might scare them at first. Accepting it and adapting to it may seem very tedious. That is why there are so many resources through which you can learn new technologies such as Zoom, Microsoft teams or FaceTime.

Based on the nature of the work, an employer must decide what all new technologies should be adapted by the staff. It can be beneficial for interacting with the employees, brainstorming, planning ahead of time and conducting team building activities in lockdown. 

4. Become your team’s support system

Employers not only should help their team in their good times but also give support in their bad times. It can be anything like giving them advice on work-life or sharing some tips on time management. Carrying the team and providing support in tough times is the only ‘way to motivate the team to improve performance’. In addition, Help your staff accept and adapt the ‘new normal’ work-life. Understand the team and give them time to adjust.

Try to keep staff in the normal business cycle where everything is running smooth as usual. It helps to increase employee productivity and stops unnecessary creation of panic. It also indicates that managers are confidently handling the situation and addressing their concerns in these tough times.

5. Develop a conflict resolution strategy and motivate employees working from home

It is certain that the team will face challenges accepting the new work environment and conflicts may become harder to deal with, as there is no face-face interaction. By putting a plan in place, your team can know what steps to take to resolve conflicts quickly. Discuss with your staff in the initial days what to do if conflict arises and how to deal with it in the fastest way possible.

In addition on how to motivate team working remotely there are a few more questions. For instance employer must seek an answer on How to resolve the conflict & negotiate. 

6. Collaboration tools to enhance relationships

It has been made easy to motivate a team working from home to achieve goals, using online collaboration tools. You can use a wide range of platforms for connecting your staff. While- WhatsApp used is for conveying brief information and reminders, Zoom call is used for team discussions and holding virtual meetings, and Skype can be used for handling work within the team by one team member to another.

Even Though, you can’t physically see each other in the near future, you will be able to do the work by scheduling regular online calls. Apart from traditional emails there are plenty of tools and ways to motivate teams to improve performance.     

7. Adapt and Repeat 

The answer of how to motivate employees working from home is to constantly adapt and keep moving. Motivate a team working from home to achieve individual as well as organisational goals by keeping a consistent routine and assessing it regularly. 

Adopting a new behaviour and maintaining a routine work is the key to overcome these tough situations. These small changes in workplace habits can help your team to adapt steadily to new conditions and accept the ‘new normal’ in a much better way.

Takeaway

In conclusion, An employer should have their own opinion on how to motivate employees working remotely. Remember the future is ever changing and keeping your employees highly motivated will guarantee that you and your staff will come out of this pandemic much more evolved. Hopefully you have learned different ways to motivate the team to improve performance.

Just stay connected with your staff and support them towards achieving individual and organizational goals. But holding regular contact with your staff, you can boost their morale and build a positive team spirit. Subsequently, you and your team will return after lockdown with some favourable work habits and high motivation levels.