Keeping remote employees motivated is all about support, culture and communication.
Home-based employees need the tools to do their job well, but it's also about company culture. Building a culture of trust, open communication and a growth mindset can inspire remote employees and help them feel like a valued part of the organisation.
Helping your home-based employees feel motivated doesn't have to be complicated. Check out these ten great tips to boost remote worker productivity and motivation:
#1 Flexible working
According to a Forbes survey, 91% of people who work from home do so because it offers better work-life balance and flexibility.
Offering truly flexible working can help keep remote employees motivated. Having the choice about when to work is good for productivity, motivation and mental health.
Rather than monitoring the minutes of clock-in and clock-out time, focus instead on output - if your remote employees are completing everything to a great standard, the exact hours they are working is irrelevant. A flexible working policy is also important for inclusion and can help build a culture of trust.
#2 Staff feedback
Regularly ask your staff for feedback on remote working, on what's working (and what isn't) and their career progression.
Keeping your finger on the pulse of the mood amongst your employees can help you take preventative action and remove any obstacles that are making work hard for your employees.
Fostering a culture of openness is key here as employees need to feel like they can bring their grievances to you without fear of retribution. All employees need to know that you will take their concerns seriously.
#3 Regular check-ins
Schedule regular check-ins with your remote employees. This might just be an informal chat about the projects each employee is working on and how working from home is (or isn't) working for them.
These check-ins can give your employees the chance to give you feedback (as mentioned above), but it's also important for developing a positive working relationship.
A word of warning here: avoid digitally looming over your employees' shoulders all the time. Give your remote employees and co-workers space. Constant distractions will undermine productivity and trust.
#4 Provide the best equipment and tools
Set your home-based employees up for success by providing them with the equipment and technology they need to do their job.
This might be a new computer and additional screens, productivity software or other necessary programs and equipment.
#5 Ergonomic office furniture
Help your remote employees work productively and healthy by financing their work set up. Ergonomic office furniture can really make a difference when it comes to health, motivation and productivity.
For example, ensure every employee has a standing desk and ergonomic office chair. Height adjustable desks are a great investment as they can help your employees stay more active throughout the day.
FlexiSpot's Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk EG8
FlexiSpot's E1 Classic Standing Desk
#6 Share successes
Keep the remote office motivation up by setting up a platform for celebrating successes across the company. This is important for company culture and for encouraging a growth mindset, creative thinking and an element of competition.
Shout-outs for great employees and reward systems are a great way to celebrate hard work. Or use remote tracker boards to share success stories and good ideas across the whole company.
#7 Project autonomy
Allow employees to choose their own projects and decide how to run them. Giving employees a degree of project autonomy encourages workers to take more ownership over their work.
This can also help create a culture of trust that is especially important when all or part of your team works remotely.
#8 Remote co-working
If in-person co-working is not possible, try remote co-working. This allows teams to virtually get together, discuss any problems or ideas and build effective working relationships.
One of the most de-motivating factors of working from home is the sense of isolation - remote co-working can help overcome this.
The weekly virtual co-working session can also be a great place to share successes (see point 6).
#9 Online team building events
Arrange online (or if possible in-person) events to encourage team bonding and communication.
This could be something as simple as a Friday afternoon quiz or a monthly social outing. Social events can be great for building teams that feel connected, despite working from home.
#10 Care packages
Remember the coffee and tea that colleagues used to power through in the office? Pay for it for employees that work from home.
A little care package that arrives through the post every now and then can make an employee feel valued and less isolated. These packages could be simply filled with tea bags, coffee beans and wellbeing products like aromatherapy candles or facial sachets. Or really show your employees that you care by investing in their health - this could be annual membership to a gym or yoga studio, or vouchers towards a new bike.
Fostering a culture of trust, openness and productivity is important for all employees, but most especially for remote employees. Getting the balance right between oversight and autonomy can have huge benefits for staff motivation and the key is often good communication. Helping home-based employees feel like an integral part of the business is vital.
