Social detachment: how to keep your team engaged in remote work

Following the recommendations for social distance released by the World Health Organization (WHO), many companies have adopted changes in their operating models in order to ensure the safety of their employees and customers during the pandemic. For some businesses, remote work was the alternative found to preserve the health of their employees without having to pause the company activities.

What was only an option before, has now become the only way out for many brands amid the coronavirus outbreak. Although remote work is not feasible for some segments, a study by Hibou concluded that about 60% of respondents are currently working on a home office system in Brazil.

Breaking paradigms

The pandemic caused changes in the beliefs of many companies regarding remote work, which was imposed by the needs of the present moment. After all, the possibility of having your employees produce from home provides a significant reduction in expenses, in addition to benefits for employees and urban mobility.

Therefore, there is a tendency for this work model to continue in the post-pandemic phase. According to a survey carried out by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, the probability is that up to 30% of organizations will maintain the home office system after all this is over.

But, remote work is not a bed of roses

Despite the advantages, this method often makes integration and the feeling of belonging difficult among employees. In addition, the same survey by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation concluded that, for many professionals, maintaining the routine of working at home is not easy: 34% are unable to maintain their motivation to work and 36% stated that their productivity has fallen and became harder to focus on activities.

Thus, for the practice of the remote work to be efficient, some factors need to be observed. Employees must follow some basic steps, such as organization and routine, to maintain productivity while working from home. In turn, companies and managers need to think of strategies to engage their teams, in order to guarantee satisfactory results in remote work, even in an atypical reality. With that in mind, we’ve listed some suggestions that can help your brand in this process:

#1 – Good communication is the key to success

To keep your team aligned with respect to processes, deadlines and demands, communication – in remote work – needs to be even clearer and more objective. With the diversity of digital resources available today, this process has become much more easier. But, to ensure that it is really efficient, it is needed to identify which communication platforms work best for your company and employees.

Videoconferences are a great alternative, both to replace face-to-face meetings and for quick problem solving. After all, a good conversation avoids noise and is always more effective than sending an email, for example.

#2 – Encourage autonomy without leaving results aside

Encouraging freedom in decision-making helps to increase employee motivation. When managing their own time, for example, they feel more autonomy at work. Therefore, try to make processes and schedules more flexible.

On the other hand – to ensure the team’s good performance – it is important to hold periodic meetings or make use of a process management platform, which can help leaders to monitor deliveries more closely.

#3 – Always give feedback to the employee

Keeping the professional inside the company’s perception of its results is essential in any work reality. But in remote work, this becomes even more necessary. Therefore, it is important that the manager gives frequent feedback to each employee, so that he understands which aspects can be optimized. In addition, recognizing his strengths helps him feel motivated to achieve even better results.

However, it is necessary to choose the most appropriate communication channel. For the application of feedback, speaking individually – preferably in a call – prevents noise and prevents the person from being uncomfortable. On the other hand, when we talk about praise, sharing the employee’s achievement with the whole team is quite interesting.

#4 – Provide moments of integration

Now that people can no longer “drink coffee together”, it is important to encourage team integration, so that employees continue to feel part of the company, and to provide moments of relaxation in order to relieve the tension of everyday life.

Thus, making videoconferences more informal, encouraging the exchange of experiences and offering workshops with themes that help people better deal with the new reality – such as time management classes, yoga and online exercises – are some possibilities that can be thought of by your brand to “bring” the team together.

# 5 – Provide the necessary tools

Last but not least: when implementing the remote work, the company needs to ensure that its employees have the equipment to work at home. Therefore, having a conversation with each of them, in order to understand their needs, is essential.

In addition, it is important to provide tools that facilitate remote work. Corporate communication platforms (such as Slack or Rocket chat) and process management are essential. Also, remember to define which videoconferencing software will be used, so that employees can prepare in advance for meetings.

To help combat COVID-19, many companies have adopted the remote work system. Thus, they are able to maintain their activities and, at the same time, ensure more safety for their employees. However, maintaining team motivation in the face of the new reality is not always easy. But with some adaptations, it is possible to make your team remain motivated to achieve the results of your brand. Did you like the suggestions? Follow us on social media:  Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn!