First off, what does an engaged team mean?
An engaged team is an active, productive group of people, working together as a team to achieve a common goal. Engaged remote teams are the ones who care for their job, show up on time, and are willing to go the extra mile.
So how do you ensure your team is motivated, engaged, and successful?
Six Easy Tips to Keep Your Remote Team Engaged
If you want to help your team feel connected, here are seven easy steps to keep them motivated and engaged:
1. Define goals for the remote workforce
Research shows that 39% of the remote team complete their task faster than those in the offices when you clearly spell out the goals and deliverables. So, entrepreneurs and business owners must set clear and measurable goals for their remote teams. Goals for the team are shared with all team members and followed up at each weekly meeting via Zoom or Slack channels. With a remote workforce, communication may be more challenging and things can easily fall through the cracks, so it’s vital to be crystal clear about the responsibilities and duties of each team.
2. Empower your remote team with relevant tools to succeed
You hold the key to the success of your virtual workforce. Provide them with the tools so they can perform their roles.
Be clear about the tools your team is going to use.
Are you going to use Dropbox or Google Drive for file sharing? Is communication done using emails only or Slack? Will you use a project management tool like Asana?
Every team member should be oriented on these tools so you’re on the same page. Create an “SOP file” or how-to tutorials so that if a team member does not know how to use software, they can access these tutorials.
3. Place relevant information at their fingertips
According to research from Wakefield Research and Elastic, 54% of US knowledge workers reported that searching for information is their greatest problem while working remotely. Your workforce should not spend hours finding relevant information. The information should be easy for them to access.
Your team should always direct their energy towards proactive work.
Brief each team member who is involved in a project to let them know what’s required of them.
A brief is a clear set of instructions specific to that client that needs to be written by you or your project manager, distributed with the team members involved, and discussed prior to commencement so that any queries can be clarified with the client which increases productivity and turnaround times. Keep your clients happy!
4. Keep communication lines open
The number one key point to engage and motivate a remote team starts and ends with communication. Create a shared space where everyone can discuss projects, chit-chat, and provide valuable feedback. For example, create a relevant channel on Slack or Discord specific to these topics where all team members can share information. As a team, you should be clear on your expectations regarding response times especially if your members are in different time zones.
Here are important things to remember when it comes to team communication:
- Establish performance goals for the month
- Decide the tools you’re going to use as a team
- Set expectations for tasks
- Encourage feedback on marketing strategy, projects, and customer satisfaction
5. Gamify your teamwork
Gamifying your teamwork is a new and fun way to encourage engagement among remote teams. You can inspire competition and rewards for everyday activities to build a sense of cooperation and collaboration among the virtual workforce. Game-based performance management systems also help to standardize and measure performance metrics and evaluation criteria.
6. Develop personal relationships and social interactions
Every remote team is first and foremost a human being. Treat them as a vital part of the team as they are and not just mere employees. This means taking the time in getting to know them like birthdays, interests, and what they love doing. One thing so many business owners do not do is say “Good morning team, how is everyone today?”
Here are more suggestions you can do to develop a stronger team relationship:
- Find out the birthday or work anniversaries of your team members and send them a greeting card
- Don’t forget to say “well done” on projects they did well
- Start a tradition of sharing each team member’s “What am I grateful for this week?” during team meetings.
- Provide maternal and paternal benefits
- Provide extra bonuses for urgent jobs
- Be respectful of their culture and let them celebrate their national holidays
When your remote team knows you care about them, they would be inspired to do their jobs and be more committed to your business.
It’s essential for entrepreneurs and companies to be proactive and step up their management efforts. When companies invest in their team and long-term success, you create a company culture that will be rewarding to you and your employees. Additionally, workforce engagement is a direct result of great leadership styles.
Gallup reported that 70% of team engagement directly results from outstanding leadership. It is a clear indication that managers are the leading cause of engagement or frustration in the workplace.
Whether you’re the type of business owner or manager who views remote work as driven by circumstances or just embracing the change when creating workforce engagement, it all rests on your shoulders.
There is a huge benefit of teams’ engagement in a workplace; every entrepreneur and business owner should consider it as an essential part of your business culture. Engagement is all about the establishment of trust and connection between the company and each of its teams. Are you interested in keeping the remote team engaged and motivated? Would you like more time to focus on your clients?
Contact us today and we’ll help you create your dream team.
