Category: Remote & Hybrid Workplace

What most managers do not realize is that with the changing work culture, it is important to monitor the employee’s progress and help them with the roadblocks they face from time to time.

Employee check-ins are a great way for managers to gain a clear understanding of their employees. They help you improve your organization’s overall productivity by enabling managers and team members to frequently discuss any questions, concerns, or ideas they have. In the current scenario, where most organizations are still functioning remotely, the importance of weekly check-ins cannot be denied. It will not only help everyone stay updated but will also keep the employees engaged.

Also Read: Want To Measure Employee Engagement? Here’s How

Here’s how having a culture of frequent check-ins at your company, can help you increase overall productivity.

Establishes Communication Channel

Having frequent employee check-ins allows you to communicate with your employees frequently and get a proper understanding of their current work. This also makes employees feel that they have a safe place to share their concerns as well as discuss their ideas. Keeping an open line of communication between managers and employees boosts morale and fosters positive relationships.

Also Read: Awkward Post Review Conversations? We Have Your Back

Builds Trust And Support

Communication is the key to establishing trust between employees and managers. Having weekly employee check-ins allows you to build that rapport with your team members. Encourage employees to come to you with questions, ideas, and concerns so that they understand that you genuinely want to support them.

Instills Sense Of Responsibility

Having healthy work discussions from time to time through weekly check-ins leaves no scope for employees to procrastinate. This practice helps them understand and stay current with what the organization expects of them. It helps in reinforcing good behavioural patterns in employees and make them stay away from bad practices.

Also Read: 5 Best Practices For One On One Meetings

Increases Productivity

Having weekly check-ins for your remote employees allows you to fix potential issues before they escalate. It is easy to correct any employee performance issues quickly and enhance employee performance that contributes to an increase in productivity. Employees tend to feel valued and included when their work is validated and approved by their managers. Employee check-ins allow you, as a manager, to motivate your employees to feel validated and heard that in turn results in improved performance and improved productivity.

Leadership And Problem Solving Skills

Having frequent discussions with different levels of employees helps you improve your leadership skills and helps the employees improve their problem-solving skills. This practice is a great way to understand the nature of work and predict any roadblocks and fix them beforehand.

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Want to know how Engagedly can help you with your weekly check-ins? Then request for a live demo

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The year 2020 is coming to an end, and it is time for office parties. This year has not turned out exactly how everyone had wished. It has been a year of uncertainty and unprecedented changes with the presence of COVID19. Businesses changed the way they work, and employees shifted to working remotely. While the year may not have been as everyone expected, it can surely end on a high note.

A typical office party, unlike last year, may not be on the cards this time. But thanks to technology, organizations can still conduct a virtual office party. It helps employees to reduce their stress, reduce disengagement, and start the new year with zeal. Moreover, it will also help your employees know that you appreciate them and want them to stay with your organization.

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Performance Management Software

Here are five simple virtual celebration ideas for this holiday season that will help your team bond remotely.

A Meet With Close Ones

Celebrations and holidays are incomplete without friends and family. Divide your team into small groups of five or six and invite them with their spouses, children, partners, and pets in the virtual happy hour. It will give everyone a chance to meet each other’s loved ones and know them better. Moreover, it also helps employees to connect at an informal level and improve their bond with each other. Otherwise, remote working has restricted a “business only” connection between the employees. It was not the case when people were working out of the physical workspace.

Online Meal

There’s no better way to connect with your peers and employees than sharing a meal together. In the current scenario, many organizations are still working remotely, and many countries have strict norms for social distancing. But a team lunch or dinner celebration is still possible. Yes, you heard it right! Companies like Amazon have initiated informal luncheons and cocktail parties for employees.

Book and schedule a suitable time slot of forty minutes to one hour on your team’s calendar for having the celebratory meal. Everyone can connect over a video call at the scheduled time and have their meal together. You can give them a chance to showcase their culinary skills by letting them bring in their own food. Alternatively, you can even get the meals delivered to their doorstep from nearby restaurants. It will help everyone to bond, especially the ones who joined the organization virtually.

Also Read: Virtual Onboarding: A New Reality

Play An Online Game

Online games are a great way to get your office party started and your employees to bond. Board games are still a favorite among many, and they help in refreshing the mind and boost productivity. Board games like Chess, Checkers, and Scrabbles improve the thinking capacity of individuals. As a result, it leads to creativity and the generation of new ideas. Many online applications such as ‘Tabletopia,’ ‘Vassal,’ ‘Board Game Arena,’ and ‘Dicebreaker’ have online libraries and stimulations where employees can play with each other on their browsers.

Other online games such as UNO, BINGO, Pictionary, and charades are some great options too.

Annual Virtual Award Ceremony

As per a recent study, 69% of employees would have worked harder if they received appreciation for their efforts.

Awards and recognition motivate employees more than anything else. When employees receive rewards, recognition, or praise for their contribution, they feel valued. It makes them feel good and inspires them to continue to work harder. In this era of remote working, it is essential that your employees stay motivated and engaged at all times. So a year-end virtual award ceremony will motivate your employees for the year 2021. Some of the ways how you can recognize and reward your employees in the annual virtual award ceremony are:

– Give them awards digitally
– A call out for all those who performed exceedingly
– Gift cards for all the rewardees
– Announce names on company social media accounts
– Praise using a Real-Time Performance Management Software

You can choose to be creative to reward your employees and add some new and innovative categories for recognition and rewards. It will increase the probability of maximum people getting rewarded.

Also Read: Employee Rewards And Recognition For An Engaged Workforce

Gifts

Holidays are gifting seasons, and everyone loves getting one. Get gifts packaged and delivered to your team at their doorstep. Make sure they keep them wrapped and open them together during the virtual celebration. Depending on the budget, the gifts can be something as simple as a coffee mug or chocolates. You can also send them office goodies or party bags.

You can also organize a Secret Santa where team members give gifts to each other. It is an exciting activity for everyone to guess from whom they have received the gifts.

 

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Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you improve Employee Engagement? Then request a live demo.

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“It’s [employee engagement] about getting the best people, retaining them, nurturing a creative environment, and helping to find a way to innovate.” – Marissa Mayer, Co-founder of Lumi Labs, former CEO of Yahoo!

Continue reading “Employee Engagement Ideas For Your Remote Team”

Over the past year, more than half of the global working population shifted to remote working due to COVID19. It has been quite some time now that teams have been working remotely and getting adjusted to the new normal. It has proved to be beneficial not only to the employees but also to the organizations. For organizations, it helped them in reducing the costs and recruiting employees globally. And, for employees, it allowed them to work flexibly. Remote working has a lot of benefits, but it comes with its own set of challenges. One of the major challenges faced by remote employees is that they suffer from anxiety and stress, which affects their mental and physical health. It results in disengagement and affects their productivity, which in turn affects the success of the organization.

Also Read: Employee Recognition and Rewards During COVID19

Let us look at some of the common causes of stress and anxiety among remote employees:

– Lack of Social Interaction: When working from home, one might be disconnected from others for long hours. It can lead to loneliness and isolation, and have a negative impact on employee productivity and mental health

– Work / Life Balance: Employees unknowingly put in extra screen hours while working from home as there is no specific demarcation between work hours and non-work hours

– Too Many Distractions: While working from home, employees can get easily disengaged as there are too many distraction

Here are some tips for you which will help you manage your stress and that of your remote team.

Establish A Routine

Establish a clear and well-defined routine for yourself that will help you create a synergy between work and life. Decide on an appropriate start and end time for your work hours and stick to it. In-between your work hours, set apart some time to take breaks or interact with your peers to get your mind off from work. In addition to creating a work schedule, it is also recommended to design a schedule to include reading, exercise, and self-care in your daily routine.

Having a well-established schedule prevents employees from overworking and hence avoiding burnout.

Also Read: Employee Engagement Software To Help Enhance Productivity

Connect With Your Team Frequently

Connect with your employees on a weekly or bi-weekly basis depending on the need, to track their progress and share updates with them. Share with your team members all the rules and policy changes of the organization from time to time. It reduces uncertainty about the future and helps in reducing any possible anxiety.

As a manager, schedule one-on-one meetings over video conferencing tools with each member of your team to hear out their concerns. When communication takes place over a video call, it is easier to understand them as it sets a personal connection.

Frequent check-in with your employees keeps them engaged, reduces their stress, and they feel more connected to the organization.

Virtual Meditation And Yoga Classes

Yoga and meditation are known to reduce stress and calm the mind. Organize virtual yoga/meditation classes for your employees before or after work hours. With so many video conferencing tools such as Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet, and Skype, it should be very simple to organize one easily. Reduce stress and produce a calming effect on the mind and body by encouraging your employees to practice breathing exercises whenever possible.

Also Read: How To Curb Digital Distractions

Team-Building Activity, But A Virtual One

Team building activities help employees to work better as a cohesive team. But in the current scenario, traditional team-building practices are not feasible anymore. So, plan and organize virtual team-building activities that will help in building a strong team culture. Meet over virtual lunches or conduct activities such as quiz sessions or a virtual book club. These activities will help in building a sense of trust among your team members and will keep them engaged. Moreover, these activities help employees to take some time off from work and reduce stress.

Empathize With Your Employees

Remote work is still a relatively new concept for most employees, so it can be overwhelming for them at times. Acknowledge and empathize with their struggles and anxiety so that they can stay engaged and productive for a longer period of time. Ask them simple questions such as, “Are you managing well so far in the remote work situation?” or ” Do you need any help to make your remote work experience better?”. Listen to their concerns and responses and find a solution. At times just talking and empathizing with your employees about their stress and anxiety can help a lot. Formalize and document the responses with the help of employee survey tools.

Engagedly’s inbuilt survey feature allows you to create and assign simple surveys to measure employee engagement, employee motivation, and employee happiness.

Also Read: Employee Burnout: What You Need To Know About It

Identify High Productive Hours

According to research on ultradian rhythms, the human body follows a cycle that affects how productive they are. They go through a cycle of 90-120 minutes, where they go from a productive peak to an unproductive trough. 

Encourage your employees to identify their highly productive hours and schedule their most important work during those hours. During high productive hours, the human body is more active, focused, and more engaged at whatever it does. It helps employees to improve their intensity of focus and produce better results. The routine and less important work can be scheduled for low productive hours when the body is not as focused and engaged. It helps employees to improve their intensity of focus and produce better results.

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Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Engagement? Then request for a live demo.

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When it comes to work, we all know that there isn’t any better feeling than accomplishing all the things you have on your plate. With the current remote working situation, it is understandable that you might not  always feel pumped up to work and accomplish the tasks assigned to you.

Continue reading “Tips To Improve Productivity As A Remote Worker”

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The COVID-19 pandemic has completely limited our workspace to our homes. Globally, managers and leaders are suddenly finding themselves managing remote teams who are working from locations all over the world. This has created challenges for managers, including those from the HR industry. In this article, we have shared some tips on how to manage your remote team.

Setting Up Remote Work Space

Whenever a new employee joins the organization, the manager works on setting up the workspace, which includes assigning desks, providing laptops or desktops, and other important job-oriented necessities. Similarly, when employees are working from home, they need proper tools and applications to make their work easy. Employees should be able to collaborate and interact with each other easily with the help of these tools. Some of the tools which employees can be given access to, are:

• Engagedly: A real time performance management software to manage goals, performance reviews, rewards and recognition, and feedback
• Slack / Zoom / Google Meet: To communicate with each other easily
• Trello / Basecamp / Asana: For project management

These tools will help in improving employee engagement and productivity for remote employees.

Frequent One-on-Ones

Ensure to engage with your remote employees on a daily or weekly basis. Use emails, Instant Messaging, or Video Conferencing tools to communicate with your employees. As a manager, interact with them to know whether they need any support with their remote working. Keep them informed with all the rules and policy changes of the organization. 

Also Read: Know How To Conduct One-On-One Meetings Effectively

Video Conferencing

Conduct your weekly team meetings face-to-face over video conferencing tools, instead of conducting it over a call. As per the Harvard Business Review, when employees connect over a video conference, they feel more engaged and motivated. It sets a personal connection with the teammates, and everyone gets an in-office feeling, although working remotely. Tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, or Skype can be used for the meetings.

Recognize Success

Employee reward and recognition helps in improving employee engagement, productivity, and lowers the turnover rate. With everyone working from home, it is very common for employees to feel disengaged from time to time. As a manager of a remote team, appreciate and recognize your remote employees whenever possible. It is the best way to keep them engaged and motivated. Since traditional appreciation methods are ineffective in the present circumstances, you can do the following instead:

• Feature employees on the organization website
• Gamify your employee’s achievements
• Invest in performance management software that supports rewards and recognition functionality

Also Read: Employee Recognition & Rewards During COVID-19

Team Activities

Organize virtual team-building activities to motivate and engage your remote employees. Team building activities give all the employees a chance to engage and bond with each other. These activities help in building a human connection and trust irrespective of the physical distance. Activities such as a virtual book club, a quiz session, or facts sharing session can be conducted to involve and engage your employees. Make the team activities engaging so that your employees take part in them and not refrain from doing so.

Prevent Meeting Overload

Although connecting regularly or frequent check-in with your employees is recommended while managing a remote team, be careful not to overdo it. Holding too many meetings or check-ins will end up disturbing your team’s productivity instead of improving it. Schedule meetings before-hand and keep them short, preferably under 20 minutes. Group calls should be planned once or twice a week and not more than that. If the meeting is completely unavoidable, try to include small games in your meetings, which reduces the stress of your employees and makes it more interactive.

We at Engagedly value employee engagement and satisfaction, so we include games like ice-breaker challenges in our weekly meetings.

Also Read: Wondering How To Set OKRs for the Engineering Team?

Be Flexible

As everyone is still getting adjusted to the new normal, give your team a certain degree of flexibility to work. Focus on whether the work gets done on schedule instead of stressing on the number of hours they punch or the time of the day when they work. Allow them to take a day off from work if they request one. Some time off from work will reduce employee burn-out, stress and anxiety which in turn, will improve employee engagement and productivity.

Find out more about Engagedly’s Real Time Performance Management Software by requesting for a free demo!

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Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.

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Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit. 

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