In the past decade, we have discussed enough about how to build a positive work culture in various workplaces. The core aspect still holds true. But now, we’ve to concentrate more on how to amp up the company culture for remote workers.
The modern world spins around technological advancement and since we have moved forward in gallops, it has brought about massive shifts in the way we work today. While a novel virus plagues the planet and has driven us to take shelter in our homes, it is due to this technological advancement; we find it so easy to keep companies running. And to make remote work even more feasible, we are required to develop a certain positive culture for all employees.
The foremost thing to understand as a manager or boss is that, just because you can’t see your employees sitting and working in an office environment, does not mean they are not working. Harvard Business Review once published an article of a research conducted at a Chinese call center. The employees there were asked to volunteer if they wanted to work from home for nine months. Half of the employees worked from the office and the rest worked from home. And at the end of the study, it was derived that the employees that worked from home were happier, more productive and less likely to leave the organisation in the near future.
There are certain perks for the company as well. Employees who work from home tend to take less number of unscheduled leaves, gets more productive and helps cut down company costs. So it’s important to have some faith on your team and that faith will be the first stepping stone towards building a great remote work culture.
When employees are working from home, often it’s easier to get work done in one shot of 4-6 hours. But creating bonds between team members and colleagues becomes a problem. When there is work, they can communicate and get the job done, but aside work; casual conversations, social outings, friendships and lunch hour talks almost never happen. This leads to fall in employee engagement.
So if you wish for your employees to remain well-bonded, it’s necessary that you pick some socialising forums and get your employees to interact with each other. Certain companies have even started cocktail gatherings online, so that their employees can continue to establish an informal rapport with their colleagues and bosses.
Not all of your employees will have prior work from home experience. But now work from home has become the norm anyway, it’s the company’s responsibility to ease them into a space from where they are not anxious about working remotely. Be open enough so that they can approach you about their discomfort.
There might be some others, who have prior experience. Ask them if they can provide guidance to those in need and then create a mentoring program for the ones that are not experienced. This way, you can seamlessly tackle employee anxieties and create positive bonds between them as well.
Be it team meetings or one-on-one communications, keep them coming often. It’s one of the most significant ways of keeping up employee engagement and building a high-vibe company culture. Share latest insights with your employees, discuss the recent accomplishments of your team, thank them for the amount of effort they are putting in, be it anything, talk and get them to talk.
For any kind of work, your team members would need to coordinate. So encourage them to communicate with the others, ask them to hold meetings and solve problems, brainstorm for ideas, create plans… They can even hold group chats.
Good communication can lead to very happy employees. While you don’t want the whole communication thing to become overbearing, have a strategy in mind and keep your employees productively occupied.
In an office environment, it’s very easy for you to see a completed task and immediately acknowledge the employee’s efforts. It all comes very naturally and provides instant gratification for them. But that’s not possible when the team is working remotely. So make it a point to recognise their efforts and communicate it to them, be it in a one-on-one meeting, team meeting or on your company’s social forum, give a shout out and let your employees know you value their contribution. This will keep them immensely motivated.
If you put all the above concepts into practice, it can create a very powerful and positive work culture for your remote employees. Not only would this improve employee retention, the company will draw others who would want to become a part of this great culture.
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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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