Having remote employees has been increasingly popular and ultimately the new norm in recent years. While the restrictions put forth during the Covid-19 global pandemic accelerated the practice of remote working, more and more business owners are adopting this type of work environment to provide a more flexible and convenient setup. The advantages and disadvantages of remote work are highly debatable. However, it’s impossible to deny that remote working significantly changed some work dynamics and processes. 

One of the frequently tackled matters in remote work revolves around productivity, employee motivation, and leadership styles. Since remote working environments lack personal and physical contact, many argue that this can adversely affect an employee’s motivation to work. If not managed properly, this can lead to work dissatisfaction and turn into inefficient and unproductive team members. 

Despite this, many believe that these are factors that good management and leadership can handle. But what exactly can business owners do in order to keep their remote employees motivated, satisfied, and engaged? To give you some idea, here are different ways for leaders to boost the motivation of remote-working employees. 

 

Build a Positive Remote Work Environment

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Whether you’re building a remote team or shifting to a remote work setup, one of the first thighs that a good leader should focus on is creating and fostering a positive work environment for their employees. 

Since team members are physically distant from one another, it can be easy for them to feel alone, isolated, and detached from their work. Aside from that, remote work also carries the risk of poor work-life balance. To prevent this from affecting their drive to work, it is crucial for business owners to build a positive work culture that fosters a sense of teamwork, bond, and togetherness.

As a good leader, it’s important to set an example and facilitate a positive culture among your employees. Establish measures for open communication and encourage personal and informal conversations among team members. Give them opportunities to connect and build personal relationships with each other through fun non-work-related activities.

In addition to this, it is extremely important to create a remote work environment that encourages work-life balance. Create work policies and regulations that ensure employees do not spend too much time on work while they are working at home. Assign day-to-day tasks that are achievable well within the work hours to avoid employees working extra and burning out quickly.

 

Focus on Good Communication

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One of the most challenging elements of a remote work setup is the lack of face-to-face interaction and communication. Problems in communication can even lead to crucial errors that can hurt the company or business. To minimize this risk and avoid things getting lost in translation, it is crucial to invest in workplace tools, such as Zoom and Slack, which make communication between groups and individuals significantly easier.

To avoid any communication gap, utilize instant messaging platforms that directly notify the individuals involved. Regular check-ins and virtual meetings can also be used to keep everyone up to date and facilitate collaboration between teams and team members. Ensuring that communication is concise and clear even in a remote work setup can keep employees satisfied and engaged despite the lack of physical and face-to-face contact.

 

Provide Dynamic Opportunities for Growth

Employees working from home often spend much of their day stuck in their houses. While this can be a convenient and efficient way of working, employees staying indoors can sometimes feel uninspired and demotivated to do anything else. This includes hobbies and activities that encourage personal or professional growth.

As a leader, it’s important to encourage a growth mindset among your team members. Regardless of their position or role at work, provide your employees with more room to learn and grow themselves and their careers. To further boost employee motivation, emphasize their potential instead of looking strictly at their performance.

 

Provide opportunities for growth by delegating tasks to well-capable employees. Part of a good delegative style of leadership is giving flexibility, authority, and accountability to an employee when you assign responsibility. 

You can also encourage your employees to join seminars, conferences, and training programs. This will be a perfect opportunity for your employees to broaden their knowledge and enhance their skills which can help grow your business in the long run. 

 

Acknowledge and Recognize Accomplishments

Aside from providing employees with positive work culture and environment, another way to keep them motivated at work is to show your appreciation towards their hard work. Every member of your team strives to work to the best of their ability. Some, even put extra time, effort, and resources in order to do their part in achieving the company’s goals or objectives. 

One way to keep your employees motivated to perform at their best is to consistently recognize their accomplishments and achievements. Mentioning their job well done during a virtual team meeting or even giving a certificate or performance bonus can highly motivate employees to work harder. 

 

Delegate Responsibilities

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Employee motivation is a crucial factor in maintaining productivity and efficiency. However, keeping employees motivated can be a bit more demanding when it comes to handling a remote team or remote employees. Given that you’re managing your team virtually, it’s crucial to adapt and adopt unique solutions to keep your team members engaged, satisfied, and motivated.

One way to keep your employees engaged is to delegate work to different individuals. A delegative leadership style works well with a remote team since working from home already creates a barrier in terms of supervision and guidance. 

This style of leadership and management will not only increase employee engagement but will also become a way for your team members to showcase their skills and grow in their careers. Delegating tasks will also make employees feel responsible, independent, and trusted which extremely helps in building their self-confidence as a professional. 

 

Want to know more about effective leadership strategies? Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company and we’re eager to help visionaries and entrepreneurs like you. Get a free ebook and learn more about how we can help you by signing up for our newsletter. We also offer a free 30-minute consultation if you prefer something more personal.

 

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