As the world continues to adjust to the pandemic, companies worldwide are facing drastic challenges and embracing dramatic changes. Flexibility is the core pillar of building and maintaining an effective operational performance. Those who have managed to shift their work to the digital realm are now facing even bigger challenges.
Working remotely is a safe and productive solution if arranged properly. Thanks to the recent technology advancements, teams can accomplish coherent communication that results in high-performance capacity. However, insufficient supervision of employees’ engagement in work processes can be a drawback.
The Problem
Remote work has its undeniable advantages that became crucial for many enterprises to survive. At the same time, it places unforeseen constraints on employees’ mental health and sense of community. Communication is the key to solving issues of demotivation and emotional drain. But what if communication is not an option anymore?
You can’t just approach your subordinate at the coffee point and have a heart-to-heart. Chasing after every team member on Zoom daily isn’t an option either. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the pandemic has significantly changed employees’ priorities and reduced their financial motivation.
The Reason
Breach of the usual order of things can knock the bottom out of the most self-disciplined person. Introverts are better apt to working remotely, yet they aren’t an exception to the rule either. Loneliness and a novel working environment make it difficult to manage productive performance. Far from many can arrange a healthy work climate at home.
Besides, being torn apart from the community adds pressure. Some desperately need society and like-minded people to stay inspired and productive. But it is the false time-management approach that poses the greatest struggles. Wrong prioritizing, multitasking, and distractions are among the things that enhance professional burnout and cause demotivation.
The Solution
Even if your business is thriving, don’t avoid checking on your employees’ engagement. They might hit the wall any minute now, leaving you with zero explanation but a voluntary resignation. It is not up to an employee to fight back demotivational factors, unless they are personal. It is the company that has to provide a healthy work setting even if working remotely—ESPECIALLY when working remotely.
Think there is nothing you can do, outside of hoping things will get better? Wrong! You can prevent your staff from losing motivation and productivity without financial incentives and extra perks.
Effective Communication
First, you must provide your employees with convenient and unfailing communication channels. Forget e-mail; it’s not nearly enough to keep the sense of a productive working community.
Initiate a basic group chat for better communication flaws. Add channels unrelated to work to diversify and encourage knowledge-sharing. For example, invite your colleagues to join a hobby club. Create a fun channel with memes. Make a knowledge-base platform with useful online classes and helpful articles. Encourage your employees to open a dialogue, even if it’s taking place online.
Share useful tips and tricks to help employees stay motivated, organized, and focused, not only for an enlightenment purpose but also to share support and care. And most importantly, keep your staff updated on the company’s progress.
The best way is to initiate a weekly newsletter. Share everything that has happened in the past 7 days, highlight important achievements, enlighten them on current difficulties, etc. Your team must be aware of everything that is happing in the company. It gives a sense of security, a sense of community, and a sense of self-importance.
Uplifting Company Culture
Company culture is the heart of a work community, a shared vision that builds bridges between coworkers and guides them toward a common destination. It is more than just a set of rules, values, and goals. It is the meaning that stands behind the working process in general.
Time is the greatest asset entrusted by an employee to the company. Every member of the team must understand what his or her purpose of work is. According to this study, 66% of employees pay attention to the company’s culture and make it their top priority when seeking a job. Make sure to check that your staff has been introduced to the company’s set of values at the outset.
The next step is making your values infusive, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. An unattainable goal kills motivation at the start. A repulsive working principle makes it difficult to choose between the moral compass and company priorities. Your employee must agree with the presented attitudes and practices and draw inspiration from them. Otherwise, it is a tinderbox waiting to explode.
When put to practice, company values become more than words—they become actions. And the best way to enable the action-taking process is by setting an example. This brings us to the final and most important step: You must embody the company’s culture and translate its purpose and significance to the other.
Reversible Feedback
Being appreciated is a basic human need. We all look out for appraisals and hope our work makes a positive impact. Disregard is what dismisses motivation and leads to false or insufficient results. Moreover, it is important to provide full-featured feedback, whether good or bad.
Don’t ignore employees’ successes. Make an effort to share your appreciation and encouragement for future achievements. Many managers refrain from providing positive feedback, leaving their subordinates in limbo. They don’t know whether the work was done right or if there is room for improvement.
Always evaluate your team achievements. Even if it seems insignificant to you, it may mean the world to your employee. Especially when working remotely, many find it difficult to spot hidden messages. Your head is a closed book that no one can read but you. Give your thoughts a voice, and make sure your staff hears them out.
Negative feedback is a tricky matter. But it is crucial in terms of arranging a healthy and productive work performance. The trick is to make it sound more like guidance rather than a scolding.
You don’t school your employee to do a better job. You share knowledge grounded in your profound expertise to enable his or her personal and professional growth. Feedback must be constructive and concise and, most importantly, must motivate and encourage bigger accomplishments.
Last but not least, remember to ask for feedback in return. By doing this, you show that every employee’s voice matters. Your staff isn’t just a labor force but a superpower that stands behind your business’s success. Besides, you’ll be surprised by how much you can learn about your performance from somebody else’s perspective.
Extra Encouragement
Never miss out on a chance to lift your team’s spirits. Give them a sense of purpose and a sense of friendly community by setting up extra challenges.
Excessive pressure? Not at all! The progress goes on amid the pandemic, and your employees must keep growing professionally and stay hungry for better results.
What challenges can be offered in terms of the digital realm? Here are a few suggestions:
- Invite your team members to an online hackathon.
- Choose one presenter a week to share knowledge in an online lecture and inspire others.
- Hold online competitions (for example, for the best-arranged work space).
Be creative and search for exciting opportunities that will boost your team’s motivation to aim higher.
Fun and Entertainment
Flawless communication is not enough to ensure harmonious teamwork. And teamwork isn’t always about seriousness.
Give your staff a break, and let them have some fun. It is crucial to fuel their inner energy with an exciting and relaxing pastime. Sure, they can find ways to entertain themselves on their own, but it’s better if you can offer them a chance to do it together.
What online entertainments can spark interest within your workers? Here are a few interesting suggestions:
- Quiz Breaker: Connect and engage your team with online quizzes.
- The Escape Game: Invite your team on an exciting adventure from the comfort of their own homes.
- Murder Mystery Game: Offer a role-playing online detective game.
- Book club: Start a weekly discussion group to share thoughts and ideas on the world’s best literary pieces.
You can find out more virtual team-building activities here. Don’t forget to have some fun, too!
Final Words
Motivation is a driving force that opens new horizons and nullifies limitations. What may seem like an unattainable goal becomes your next achievement, with a motivated and committed team standing behind it. Money is a pillar of employees’ motivation, but it is not the only one.
Finding the way to approach staff with nonfinancial encouragement is key to every business’s success. But you must look for it with genuine aspiration and not only to your advantage. Place yourself in your team’s position. It is the ultimate formula to acknowledge the significance of a healthy and motivated work climate.
And it is the best method to make it happen.
Jilian Woods is a freelance journalist and a contributing writer with more than 4 years of writing experience. Being a team member of the essay writer service at Grademiners, she sees her purpose in producing and sharing relevant content with people who are willing to expand their knowledge base and learn something new.