7 Ways to Motivate Remote Employees

Companies across the globe are adjusting to new and innovative ways of working. A remote setup is no longer an alien concept for many of them.

Around the world, a good majority of employees telecommute at least once a week. However, there are still challenges in motivating and managing remote workers.

With the current state of the world, many businesses may find themselves at a crossroads. They need to solve common business challenges while simultaneously establishing productive work environments for their remote workers.

You can encourage your remote staff by providing the tools they need to execute their jobs. If you can cultivate a culture of trust among your employees, this will also be a huge plus. 

Adopting a development mentality and maintaining open lines of communication will also benefit them. These are just a few of the primary methods for keeping your remote personnel motivated.

In search of new approaches to encourage remote workers, the company has the chance to create a new shared culture. It should have trust at its core while maintaining stability, openness, fairness.

For a company to be truly successful, its employees must remain engaged while working. Although challenging, managers must maintain this even during a strategic transition to a remote work environment.

This article discusses some of the significant variables that can help you inspire your remote workers and keep them engaged.

Growth and development mindset

A development mentality is when you recognise that you will always have room for improvement no matter where you are in your profession. This should be the prevailing mindset for all your team members.

When you are successful in instilling growth mindset ideas in your remote workforce, it encourages them to seek ways to be better. They will initiate and look for new training programs that will benefit themselves, and consequently, the company.

What’s great about this is that remote employees will continue to be inspired. This will positively affect their performance objectives and the business culture in the long run.

Employee recognition 

People are an essential aspect of any workforce, whether on-site or distant. In a remote environment, offering a recognition program to your whole team will help remote employees feel like they are a critical part of the team.

It makes them feel that the management values their hard work. This addresses the need of every human being, which is the desire to be seen and appreciated. When managers highlight the achievements of top performers, it has excellent benefits.

One is the boost it gives to those given the spotlight. Also, it will serve as an inspiration for the others who are working hard as well.

When business owners show their appreciation, employees respond positively and stay with the company for a long time. They will also be more fulfilled at work, which will increase their productivity. Another effect for team members is developing a sincere desire to make significant contributions to the company.

Trust

Meanwhile, if you want to kill the morale in a company, the surefire way to do it is to micromanage people. It makes them feel that you do not trust them enough to make the right decisions. Once they feel this, it will make them second-guess their work. This will result in slower turnaround times and sloppy output.

Employers often downplay the effect trust has on people. When managers allow team members to take ownership of their tasks, they adapt and grow. In the long run, this kind of system will bring to the surface a new set of empowered leaders in the company.

Communication

In a remote setup, you do not get to see your workmates often. Therefore leaders must figure out how to keep a constant line of communication open with them. It’s even better if you can do it over video conferencing.

Research has shown that nonverbal communication accounts for more than half of all human communication. You need to see other people to understand better what the messages they are presenting. A video call will show far more than an audio-only conversation or a chat will.

Many free or somewhat inexpensive digital video calling alternatives are readily available, such as Skype, Zoom, Teams and other remote conference software. These tools are currently readily available on the market. Employees continue to feel engaged and motivated due to such virtual meetings.

Feedback

Receiving positive comments on their performance makes remote employees feel more involved.

Regular feedback is essential for keeping your staff engaged since it helps connect expectations and objectives with performance. This seemingly simple act also demonstrates that you care about their job. 

Big picture

One of the most effective ways to keep your employees motivated is to inspire them. Always tell them why your company is doing what it is doing. This is not just about the money. 

Remember, even if people care about the financial rewards of what they are doing, they also desire to do something big. If they are aware of their positive contribution to the company and the world, they will see that they are making a difference in others’ lives as well. 

Right tools

Of course, it is also essential that employees have the right tools to succeed. This signals the company’s commitment to their success as well. 

A digital-first mindset involves more than choosing a tool: it is a new way of thinking about methods. Before you try any products, make sure you get your practices right. The tool needs to align with how you want to work, so if you wish to directly convert your ideas to a Gantt, and/or a resource plan or project tracker in real-time, or need an effective cost management or risk management solution be sure to select the right tool to make this happen.

A great approach for PMO’s, supervisors, managers, and remote employees is to adopt project management software to streamline all operations. It is useful because it helps everyone navigate the often complicated world of remote work.