With the transition to teleworking many companies have lost the communal and productive interactions that a traditional workplace offers.

Although 2020 forced many companies to hastily build out a teleworking program, company leadership can still create remote employee engagement opportunities to help foster a productive workplace environment.

Remote Employee Engagement Encourages Productivity 

The ability to telework became a necessity, rather than a luxury for many companies.

Due to screen fatigue, lack of collaboration, and home distractions, teleworking has become a challenge for many employees. According to Buffer, 17% of employees report collaborating and communication as their biggest struggle when working remotely. 

Employees miss the office talk and sense of community and pride that collaborating in the same office space can bring. By implementing a set of “best practices” you can proactively foster employee engagement with a remote workforce. 

1. Regular Team Meetings

When working from home it can be easy to get caught up with distractions and keeping a traditional work schedule. By setting regular team meetings over zoom you can help implement structure into your employee’s workday. 

You may use a task manager to help keep each individual accountable. Even when individual tasks are divided out, scheduling regular department or team meetings can help each employee feel like a team member working towards one united purpose. 

2. Virtual Break Room 

Many individuals who have transitioned to working from home miss the social aspects that a work environment provides. By creating a “virtual break room area” you can allow for the side conversations that allow employees to foster relationships with each other. 

Your virtual break room can be a virtual meeting that all employees have constant access to. If you want to mix it up and provide opportunities for fun sometimes leave a link for a multi-player game in the breakroom for some office fun. 

3. Virtual Coffee Meet-Ups

In a large company, it can be difficult, even in a traditional office space, for top leadership to get to know everyone at the company. To make all employees feel valued scheduling one on one meetings between top leadership and the employees can help bridge the gap in a hierarchical system. 

4. Fund Merchandise 

A great way to show your employees you care and to help them feel more pride in their company is to fund merchandise orders. NPS Office Furniture advise that investing in home office furniture will not only boost moral but you’ll see productivity spike as well. It’s even better if it’s included with company swag that can be helpful in the office such as a mousepad, quarter zips, or planners can make your employees feel prideful in their company.

During the age of teleworking, it can be especially difficult to make new employees feel like a part of the team during onboarding. New hire swag can make employees feel like a part of a team, even from the comfort of their laptops. 

5. End Of Week Wrap Up Meetings

Building a structure into each workweek can help to promote remote employee engagement. Company wIf you don’t want your weekly wrap-up meeting to be mundane you can program a speaker series or have virtual give-aways for employees to look forward to. 

Build An Engaging Work Environment

Remote work may cut overhead costs, but it can also inhibit your business from achieving its potential. By implementing remote employee engagement activities you can help employees overcome the natural communication barriers of teleworking. Using useful tools like Gantt chart software, can help save time as well.

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