By now, we all know the benefits of remote work: no time-consuming commute, no hovering managers, and no one stealing your lunch from the office fridge. But now, a few years into this new practice, we’re better acquainted with its challenges. A 2023 poll conducted by Robert Half found that while 46% of surveyed workers prefer fully remote work, they are vulnerable to longer hours, poorer collaboration, and occasional distractions.
Despite these challenges, there are solutions you can implement to encourage engagement and, by extension, productivity:
1. Short, Purposeful Meetings
Due to the lack of interaction that naturally arises from physical proximity to colleagues and managers, remote workers often attend more meetings than their on-site colleagues. It is therefore important to keep meetings short and necessary, with a clear agenda to avoid “Zoom fatigue.” Consider using instant, accessible updates via email or an app to reduce meeting frequency.
2. Structured Social Events
Host virtual social events or gathers, like book clubs, trivia games, or show-and-tell. Ensure these events are structured to encourage participation from everyone, making sure quieter employees are also engaged.
3. Informal Virtual All-Hands
Conduct virtual all-hands meetings to foster transparency. Allow different teams to showcase their projects, facilitating company-wide visibility and inclusiveness. This also helps build a connected and transparent work culture.
4. Ditch Email for Instant Messaging
Use dedicated tools for real-time instant messaging instead of relying on email. Tools like Blink enable flexible, informal communication, allowing remote workers to build relationships and access necessary information efficiently.
5. Remote Working Resources Library
Create a central hub using an enterprise agile tool like Atlassian Confluence or Asana for all company documents, including policies, manuals, and onboarding checklists. This makes crucial information easily accessible and reduces silos between departments, enhancing collaboration. If you have an LMS integration, you can also use these resources to develop your training materials.
6. Digital Org-Wide Updates
Use a single digital communication tool such as Slack or Mattermost for company-wide updates. You can create polls for non-work related topics or schedule weekly writing prompts to encourage engagement in a virtual watercooler. This ensures effective communication without overwhelming employees with multiple channels. You can also pin important updates to the top of news feeds or use mandatory read options.
7. Offer Online Training Opportunities
Consider integrating with an LMS platform, such as AnswerNet’s Splendtastic LMS. You can upload various training courses and ask employees to complete company-mandated training. In addition to an LMS platform, you might purchase and provide access to other relevant courses through, for example, LinkedIn Learning or Udemy. This can help employees advance their careers and achieve their goals.
8. Invite Them to Play Multiplayer Games
Employee engagement ideas for remote workers don’t have to be boring or limited to work-related activities. Give your team a chance to unwind and relax by inviting them to play multiplayer games.
Here are some popular choices that only require a mobile device:
- The Jackbox Party Pack
- Words With Friends 2
- Crossy Road
- Minecraft (also available in Spanish)
- Heads Up!
