Keeping Your Remote Workforce Engaged – Challenges and Solutions
One of the top concerns for organizational leaders is: How can organizations keep their remote workforce engaged, motivated, and thriving?
The modern workplace has indeed transformed. The era of cubicles and water cooler chats has given way to a new paradigm, where a significant portion of the workforce is thriving in a remote setting.
As reported by Forbes, 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% work in a hybrid model. Also, by 2025, 32.6 million Americans will work remote.
While posing unique challenges, this shift also brings many benefits, such as increased flexibility and improved work-life balance. As discussed in our recent podcast, “Keeping Remote Workers Engaged”, supporting a sense of connection and maintaining a vibrant company culture can be more difficult when your team is geographically dispersed.
“Many organizations struggle to create consistent experiences for both remote and in-office employees.”
– Mark Rogers, leader of global sales at Eleviant CTG
The Digital Workplace – A Bridge to Connection
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 97% of companies accelerated their digital transformation initiatives. Source– Twilio
This dramatic shift challenged deeply ingrained notions of work-life balance. We saw children peek into video conferences and pets become surprise guests during meetings.
Yet, a surprising benefit emerged. Previously hesitant to fully embrace digital tools, companies were forced to adapt.
Video conferencing platforms, cloud-based collaboration software, and other technologies became essential tools for a widespread workforce. This rapid digital transformation ensured business continuity and offered a more flexible and empathetic workplace culture.
The pandemic, in its own way, became a catalyst for progress.
But how do tools like these keep employees connected and accountable? And do employees even like them?
Mark Rogers recounts, “Employees use tools in intranet portals and widgets to engage themselves, like discussion boards, polls, leader boards, and surveys. They also show who engages often, and to incentivize, points are given to employees who effectively use the system.”
A digital workplace is not just a tool but a bridge that can connect your remote teams, equipping them with the tools and resources they need to collaborate effectively, access information, and stay connected with colleagues. This unified environment provides a sense of community and belonging, even when employees are physically apart, offering a promising way forward.
Mark emphasizes, “The digital workplace is a big topic right now. How you get in line with the latest technology and how you perceive the market will decide where you will be in terms of the digital workplace five years from now.”
Challenges of Keeping Remote Workers Engaged – The Flip Side of the Issue
Maintaining employee engagement in a scattered workforce presents distinct hurdles. Here’s a closer look at some key challenges:
1. Catering to Diverse Personalities and Needs:
Mark highlights the need for catering to diverse portfolios, “There’re so many generational impacts. The younger generation, for instance, by design, needs more guidance and more nurturing because they’re on the lower end of the totem pole. They’re learning business. They’ve learned the concepts of a trade, but they really need to start putting them to practical use. Whereas as you move up into more senior level roles and even leadership, you start to see different types of proficiency, the ability to work, manage tasks more efficiently, and the work environment starts to matter less.”
A remote environment isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
- Experience Gap: Younger workers may require more guidance and mentorship compared to experienced professionals. Providing adequate training resources and offering a culture of knowledge sharing becomes crucial.
- Personality Types: Introverts might like the focused quiet of a home office, while extroverts may miss the camaraderie and social interaction of a physical workspace. Customizing communication styles and offering a variety of collaboration tools can cater to these differences.
2. Lack of Social Connection:
Humans are social creatures by nature. The absence of face-to-face interactions, casual conversations, and ad hoc brainstorming sessions can lead to feelings of isolation and a decline in morale.
Mark on how organizations had to keep up during pandemic, “You had to mimic a lot of situations. Going out, coffee room discussions, in-person conversations, ad-hoc group meetings, and many more scenarios. This was a challenge during a pandemic. You had to keep all this in alignment with the organization’s tasks, goals, and different deliverables.”
- Missing Social Cues: Remote communication often lacks the nonverbal cues available in in-person interactions, making it harder to build rapport and gauge employee well-being.
- Replicating Social Interaction: As discussed in the podcast, mimicking social aspects like virtual coffee breaks or encouraging informal online social spaces can help bridge this gap and provide a sense of connection.
3. Standardization of Workplace Culture:
Cultivating a solid company culture is essential for employee engagement and overall success. However, achieving this when your team is geographically dispersed can be challenging.
- Physical Distance: Remote work can create a physical barrier to the shared experiences and traditions that typically establish a company culture.
- Dispersed Teams: Employees in different locations may develop sub-cultures within the larger organization, leading to disconnect or inconsistency in company values.
These challenges require creative solutions to ensure all remote employees feel valued, connected, and part of a larger team.
Solutions for Enhancing Remote Work Engagement
“More and more organizations are adopting centralized portals or modern intranets to connect their workforces.” -Mark Rogers
1. Centralized Digital Workplaces
Imagine a central hub where your remote team can actively collaborate, access information, and stay connected. This is the power of a centralized digital workplace. These cloud-based platforms act as a virtual office, offering numerous benefits:
- Unified Communication: Forget jumping between multiple apps. A central platform streamlines communication with features like instant messaging, video conferencing, and document sharing.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Discussion boards, project management tools, and file-sharing capabilities allow teams to work together effectively on projects, offering a sense of teamwork even when miles apart.
2. Gamification & Recognition
Let’s face it: sometimes work can feel monotonous. Gamification injects a dose of fun and friendly competition into everyday tasks. This can involve:
- Points and Leaderboards: Awarding points for completing tasks, participating in discussions, or achieving goals can create a sense of healthy competition and motivate employees to excel.
- Badges and Rewards: Recognizing achievements with badges or virtual rewards adds a playful element and acknowledges exceptional performance.
3. Open Communication & Collaboration
Clear and consistent communication is the lifeblood of any successful team, especially in a remote environment. Organizations should prioritize:
- Regular Team Meetings: Schedule virtual meetings to keep teams informed, discuss project progress, and address roadblocks.
- Open Communication Channels: Ensure multiple communication channels are available, from instant messaging for quick updates to video conferencing for in-depth discussions.
- Transparency and Visibility: Inform employees about company goals, successes, and challenges. This will give a sense of trust and ownership within the team.
By implementing these solutions, organizations can bridge their physical distance and create a healthy remote work environment where employees feel valued, connected, and motivated to achieve their full potential.
The Future of Remote Work
The global pandemic catalyzed remote work, but the trend toward remote and hybrid work models was already gaining momentum. We can no longer expect employees to work from the office through the week.
- 57% of workers would look for a new job if their current company didn’t allow remote work.
- 35% of remote employees feel more productive when working fully remote.
- 65% report wanting to work remote all the time.
- 71% of remote workers said remote work helps balance their work and personal life.
- Research shows that employers can save $11,000 per employee when switching to remote work.
- 32% of hybrid workers report they would take a pay cut to work remotely full time.
This shift demands adaptation from organizations. Organizations that resist the shift to remote work risk losing top talent who prioritize the flexibility and work-life balance it offers. The key to success lies in embracing this change and investing in strategies that support and empower a remote/hybrid workforce.
PeopleOne: Prepping for the Future, Enhanced for Today’s Needs
The global shift to remote work during the pandemic presented a unique challenge for many organizations. Even before the pandemic, our team with offices across India and the US recognized the need for a more unified, collaborative workspace. We used existing tools like Office 365, Teams, and SharePoint but envisioned a more streamlined experience.
This led to the creation of PeopleOne.
We optimized the power of SharePoint and began developing custom programs to address the specific challenges of remote work. Our proactive approach ensured we were well-positioned when the pandemic hit.
PeopleOne’s centralized platform significantly increased employee adoption, attention, and engagement. We developed a suite of widgets that supported communication and collaboration regardless of location.
A Single Source for All Your Needs
Imagine logging into PeopleOne and having everything you need at your fingertips. Collaborate and communicate with colleagues, access essential files, and even check your leaderboard within a single platform. PeopleOne goes beyond just work tasks. It also facilitates social interaction and team building. Employees can click on their mood for the day, discuss topics of interest in online communities, participate in virtual book clubs, or even share upcoming holiday plans.
The key is to create a space that provides connection and engagement.
Tying the concept of employee engagement back to the success of PeopleOne, we can conclude with Mark’s response from the podcast. When questioned about those who view employee engagement as a distraction, his answer is clear: companies that solely focus on work tasks without enabling connection and communication are unlikely to thrive.
PeopleOne embodies this philosophy by facilitating strong connectivity and open communication, ultimately contributing to its success as a solution for a truly engaged remote workforce. Ready to see how PeopleOne ca transform your remote work experience?
