Remote workplaces are all the rage in 2022 because flexible working hours are one of the most desired employee benefits, and many businesses and teams had a taste during Covid 19 lockdowns. Despite the obvious perks of remote operations, it becomes more challenging to motivate teams. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways for business leaders to keep teams engaged with work regardless of their location (domestic or international).
Offer Healthcare Benefits
In 2022, businesses should be providing health insurance, regardless of the requirement dropping from federal law. However, there are some aspects of healthcare not covered by insurance, which would benefit your employees and allow them to feel fired up for work. Fortunately, you can easily provide a supplemental insurance solution with a prepaid flexcard. These cards can be used for anything from wellness trips and prescriptions to weekly grocery shopping.
Virtual Parties
Thanks to innovative communication technology, remote teams can come together to celebrate events including holidays like Christmas and Halloween. To host a virtual party, you will need to choose video conferencing software, pencil in a date, and get planning fun activities. For example, you can set a fancy dress theme and host party games. If you wish to encourage more employee interaction at virtual events, consider initiating breakout rooms, which allow for more intimate conversations.
Workplace Competition
A little friendly competition goes a long way to encouraging motivation in the workplace, and they’re easy to run in virtual landscapes. All you need to do is set award-winning KPIs like closing the most valuable sale or making the least mistakes. With your competition metrics set, you can sit back and watch productivity boom. To incentivize engagement, and make sure prizes rotate, here are some great ideas:
- Digital gift cards
- Paid lunch
- Pick-a-perk (employee choice from a prize pool)
Employee Engagement Tools
Integrating an employee engagement tool is one of the most straightforward ways of increasing motivation across your remote team. These tools track data behind the scenes and offer instant rewards when preset milestones are reached. Being rewarded little and often will encourage team members to work at their best and feel more connected, especially if you make a point to publicly shout out about achievements by putting them on your socials and virtual noticeboards.
Digital Buddies
Working from home can be a daunting process for some people, especially if isolation sets in and reduces performance. To help alleviate this across your team, you can introduce digital buddies. The first step is splitting your team into pairs. Then, allow those members to schedule regular virtual check-ins. These conversations will help reduce isolation and provide an excellent avenue for collaboration. If you need help setting up these meetings, you can explore the ideas in this article.
Managing a remote team comes with countless hurdles to overcome, especially finding ways to connect your team and nurture motivation. Fortunately, regardless of distance, you can introduce any of the above strategies into the culture of your workplace.
