Remote working has become the new norm of the modern era. The global pandemic has revolutionized the modern workforce while resulting in the mandatory shift to the concept of ‘work from home.’ A number of businesses -both small and large, have adapted the all-new mode of remote working during the global crisis while adding the same to the policies as well.

The notion of working from home or remote working has significantly altered the ways in which employees tend to interact with the managers and colleagues. While remote working is not a new concept, the compulsory shift to working from home without ample transition time has proved to be quite challenging for both the employees and the employers.

If you are struggling with keeping your remote employees motivated and excited about work, you should offer them the zest to work without even having a physical presence in the workplace. Therefore, we help you with innovative ideas on how to motivate employees.

Most common problems with remote work

Given the unprecedented scale of remote working and the fact that it is going to be a long-term change, it could result in demotivated employees and reduced productivity for the entire organization. A number of organizations have now started significantly in high-end technologies towards building a seamless digital workflow amongst employees and the respective managers.

The transition to working-from-home from the physical presence at workplaces can leave the employees feeling unmotivated and lost. It is primarily due to the physical absence of office infrastructure, colleagues, and relevant office support. This only gets aggravated when it is not known until when the mode of working will last.

As you keep your employees motivated while adapting to the ongoing change is pivotal to make sure that the overall organizational performance will not suffer.

8 useful tips to motivate remote employees

When you seek new ways to motivate your remote employees, it helps in presenting an opportunity for the employers to come up with a new shared culture of social cohesion, belonging, trust, and stability. Here are some useful ways to motivate employees throughout:

1. Provide the right equipment

A team that is ill-equipped cannot function effectively and on time. When your organization features the lack of proper tools, it will also interrupt the entire workflow of the employees. Communication issues become significant when you have remote employees and there is no proper communication access to the IT team.

Remote employees require access to email, time tracking tools, a reliable internet connection, video conferencing tools, remote communication tools, a direct messaging platform, a way to share & download files, and project management tools. It further ensures effective collaboration and communication -regarded as vital ingredients for influencing the motivation of the team and its resulting success.

2. Communicate

When you are not able to see others in the office every day, it is important to look for ways to ensure an ongoing mode of communication between employees. It becomes even better when video conferencing is involved. It is important to have visual elements to ensure effective understanding of the entire thought process.

As an organization, you can come across a number of affordable digital solutions for video calling -including Zoom, Skype, and other remote communication software solutions. Virtual meetings also make your employees feel connected and motivated.

3. Encourage professional growth

Employees who are stuck at home and cut from the outside world due to the ongoing lockdown can end up feeling uninspired. As a team leader or manager, you can motivate the remote team by encouraging them to opt for professional and personal growth opportunities. Adoption of the growth mindset implies that irrespective of the position, there is always more room for growth.

It is important to set up a learning culture while motivating employees to test the respective limits and acquire new skills to grow professionally.

 4. Educate employees on adaptive performance

When you are the employer, you might consider seeking remote employees who are highly versatile and not hesitant to change while revealing higher adaptability and handling the overall stress without compromising on the work quality.

You should educate the employees on adaptive performance. It is crucial for the overall success of the team over time. Ensure this by organizing specific days of the month for performance-centric meetings.

5. Give enough feedback

Employees tend to feel highly involved when they receive constructive feedback on the respective work. Regular feedback is vital to keeping your team engaged and motivated. It is because it helps in aligning objectives and expectations with relevant performance. It also reveals that you care about their work.

6. Provide health benefits

If you wish to make your employees feel motivated throughout, you should offer them the perks of a reliable health insurance cover -especially the one covering the ongoing pandemic. If you wish, you can also go beyond and extend the health insurance cover for the entire family of the employees.

7. Organize virtual team buildings

Aim at taking time out once a month and engaging in interactive online office-based activity for effective team building. For instance, virtual games can offer a sense of belongingness amongst employees. Moreover, they help in boosting morale and improving collaboration amongst remote employees. Moreover, virtual team building activities help in keeping remote teams engaged with the help of meaningful fun.

8. Create an Employee Recognition Program

Recognition of the achievements and efforts of the employees should be a core element of the success of your entire business. Recognition turns out to be one of the most effective strategies for making employees feel engaged throughout. When employees are recognized for their achievements and work, it makes them feel highly engaged and motivated to do the best.

What Issues May Appear When Employees are Not Motivated?

The resulting factor of employees that are not motivated in an organization is their reduced productivity throughout. If you do not make your employees feel motivated, they will end up losing the zest of working dedicatedly -especially when they are working remotely. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations to come up with a dedicated motivational program to keep the remote employees motivated.