Tip of the Week: Methods to Preserve Remote and Hybrid Employee Engagement

With remote and hybrid work models becoming prominent parts of the business world, it’s time to start considering the challenges and benefits that such work can bring about for your own organization. Specifically, you want to examine how engagement is affected by these workplace models. How can you ensure employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention even while utilizing a remote or hybrid workplace model?

A Closer Look at Remote/Hybrid Workplace Engagement

When we examine workplace engagement, we specifically examine variables such as commitment, motivation, and connection that your employees feel toward the work they do or your business. This is divorced from the location of that work, and the best way you can show your dedication to it is by making sure your team feels valued, heard, and a part of the community.

Again, this doesn’t specify any particular environment. Workplace engagement can be fostered in any setting, in-person, remote, or a combination of the two.

It’s easy to see when a company culture works. Here are some of the signs of engaged employees:

• Clear and consistent communication between team members
• Regular feedback and recognition being shared amongst departments and coworkers
• Opportunities for professional growth and upward mobility in your organization
• A strong sense of team and company culture
• Support for work-life balance and mental health

If you can work to make these trends noticeable and impactful within your business, you’re doing the right thing to build workplace engagement. Of course, dispersing the workforce across various locations can make certain aspects of this more difficult. Some remote workers are known to experience feelings of isolation, and in situations like this, communication is more important than ever, yet increasingly more complicated as a result.

You’ll have to do some legwork to ensure workplace engagement doesn’t slip from your remote or hybrid work policies. Thankfully, there is a lot you can do!

Improve Your Company Culture in Remote/Hybrid Environments

Be Clear with Communication and Expectations

The best way to improve workplace culture is to ensure that your employees communicate with each other and are involved. Everyone should know their role and what they bring to the team. Similarly, you’ll need to ensure that responsibilities are clear and expectations for work hours, deadlines, project goals, and performance markers are common knowledge. Furthermore, clear communication channels can help to bring any issues that arise to attention and swiftly resolve them. Everyone should know how and when they can communicate with one another.

Make Check-Ins and Feedback a Priority

Remote workers still need regular check-ins and feedback on their work progress. Managers must be prepared to connect and discuss work with their employees, especially over their concerns and constructive feedback. You can make these check-ins weekly or monthly—however often you think they are necessary—and they can be in whichever format you want: one-on-one, formal, informal, or even just quick conversations through your instant messaging platform. Really, the important thing is that employees know you are paying attention and you care about them, as well as the work they are performing.

Highlight Recognition and Awards

Everyone likes to feel appreciated, and you can make your employees feel like their work is recognized, whether they are in your office or working remotely. If you notice the good that employees do, they’ll be more likely to remain productive. You can have smaller gestures of appreciation, such as kind words in a staff meeting, a thank you email, or even specific rewards for years of service or work excellence. However you choose to celebrate your employees, prioritize meaningful recognition.

Track Your Employee Engagement and Satisfaction

Finally, you should treat and measure employee engagement like any other important metric your business relies on. Even an informal assessment of your company culture and employee engagement can teach you a lot. The insights you gain from informal conversations about your company with your employees can be used to improve things for everyone involved.

Prioritize Employee Engagement Today

Washington Works understands that employee engagement can be hard when you feel like your remote and hybrid employees are unreachable. It all starts with appropriate technology solutions that allow you to connect with your team whenever and wherever you need to. Whether you have a hybrid or fully remote work model, we can support your efforts to improve engagement. Learn more by calling us today at 301-571-5040.