Working from a remote environment can be a peaceful experience. But it also takes a toll on mental health due to lack of physical proximity with your colleagues. Sometimes, it can also make employees feel disconnected from the organization despite working daily.
Undoubtedly there are challenges in managing a team that is working remotely, but with some tips, you can make your employees feel valued.
Let’s get to them!
1. Have Regular Team and 1-on-1 Meetings
One of the most basic tasks that you can undertake to show that you care for your employees is to have a regular one on one meetings. Even though you might have team meetings, one-on-one conversations ensure that your employee is in free space to discuss the challenges they encounter in their job.
You can organize such discussions once a week. Take this as an opportunity to ask your employees if they face any particular issue or any changes they’d like in the workplace.
2. Conduct Virtual Coaching sessions on Mental Health
While work from home has its perks, it also takes a toll on mental health. We do like to work in a calm environment, but the lack of peers’ physical presence makes us feel isolated, even though we seem connected virtually.
According to this survey, 45.7% of employees miss their desks and office friends.
One way to take care of your employees and address this challenge can be to conduct a virtual coaching session on mental health. You can partner with a mental health organization and lead a virtual meeting with your employees.
During the session, the mental health expert can suggest tips and exercises for employees that can keep them motivated and productive while working in a remote environment.
3. Equip Your Remote Team with the Right Tools
Thanks to advancements in technology, more than a few apps are making remote working more comfortable than ever. Right from virtual performance recognition to coffee with your colleagues, you can enjoy the typical office environment using several apps.
Some of these apps include Slack, Zoom, MS Teams, etc. Apart from these, you can also provide your employees with access to smoother communication tools across multiple teams and platforms that facilitate online polls, quizzes, etc.
4. Help Them in Setup their Home Office
Since working in a remote environment is going to stay in for an extended period, employees must be prepared to set up a work station at home.
As a leader, you can help your employees with this task. For example, you can dedicate some employees’ funds to your organization and help your employees set up their home office with the necessary infrastructure. This could mean furniture, a good internet connection, among others.
While this is a crisis for everyone, taking this measure will make your employees feel valued and increase their productivity.
5. Provide Regular Feedback
Whether working in the office or remotely, feedback is equally essential for your employees. Try to note the areas where your employees are performing well and the areas where they need more focus.
This will build a culture of trust between your team and help your employees realize their improvement areas. Remember that the key to a happy team is effective communication and feedback is one of its enablers.
6. Have Fun Team Breaks
If there’s one thing that people love about the office, it’s the constant chatter of the office breaks. Team breaks are all about fun, from talking about random topics to discussing ideas and elaborating on meeting presentations. While working in a remote environment deprives us of physical presence, there is no reason you can’t take your employees on team breaks.
You can plan a team activity for the break and have an off work chat with everyone. This will help them loosen up and enjoy sometime stress-free. You can use several apps to your rescue for this purpose. You can use Tools like Trivia to play virtual quizzes with your team to bring fun back to your workspace.
7. Celebrate Achievements and Milestones
Achievements and milestones are an essential part of the work culture. Just because your employees are working from home doesn’t mean they miss out on these.
Take some time out to celebrate the achievements and milestones of your employees. Send them a virtual card or an Amazon gift voucher to celebrate the day. You can highlight the same in the organization and let everyone congratulate your employees for their achievement.
Even though these things might seem small, their recognition has a significant impact on employees’ motivation.
