{"id":6930,"date":"2020-04-17T16:47:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T20:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=6930"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:07:41","slug":"employee-engagement-working-remotely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/employee-engagement-working-remotely\/","title":{"rendered":"6 ways to maintain employee engagement when working remotely"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t6 ways to maintain employee engagement when working remotely\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tOwen Sweeney<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Engaging with your employees and your teams is easier in a face-to-face situation. However, if you need them to work from home, as is the case with the coronavirus<\/a> outbreak, then maintaining that engagement can be trickier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can you help your people to adapt to working remotely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we feature a series of tactics that you can put into play that will help to foster employee engagement for all staff members, and give your managers tips to maintain collaboration within their teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Online weekly team meetings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While your employees may be used to sitting round a table once a week for a catch up with their team, a move to remote working means that physical presence isn\u2019t possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t have their weekly catch up \u2013 using technology, you can take things online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video conferencing tools, such as Microsoft Teams, are pretty commonplace now providing easy access for employees to have their meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since multiple people can feature and contribute using those tools, your teams can continue to have their regular catch ups, albeit virtually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a daily scrum is their catch up of choice, simply follow suit and encourage everyone to show up online for 10 minutes each morning to highlight the tasks of the day before they dive into their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Switch on your cameras<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When your employees have their meetings \u2013 be it team catch ups on one-to-one chats \u2013 try and avoid doing it in a faceless setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fill the gap of your employees not seeing each other on a daily basis, ask them to be bold and turn their cameras on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s right, rather than speaking to an image of their colleagues, up the ante and see if they\u2019ll switch on their cameras so everyone can see their faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By seeing each other, it will help to generate the human interaction that your employees may be lacking when they are working from home<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if they\u2019re not keen on doing so, then don\u2019t force the issue \u2013 allow your employees to do what\u2019s comfortable for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, with the requirement for schools across the US to be closed in line with local government guidance, don\u2019t be surprised (or worried) if little ones try to take some of the screen time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone\u2019s in the same situation, so it\u2019s nothing for your employees to get embarrassed about \u2013 and the kids may offer some light relief too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Keep up with performance management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How are your employees getting on with their workloads? Are they achieving their goals \u2013 or do they need support to stay on track?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance management<\/a> is easier when everyone is working in the same location but when working remotely, that\u2019s not so simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To counter that, put processes in place so managers can check in with employees regularly to measure progress and offer guidance. Doing so using cloud HR or performance management software means goals and documents can be kept in one place and easily accessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then use those video conferencing tools (with the camera switched on if desired) so your managers and employees can have regular one-to-one interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Employee feedback on how they\u2019re getting on<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When your workforce in it\u2019s near entirety (depending on your industry) moves to remote working, some of your employees will be taking a big step into the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as providing support to your people as they work from home, it\u2019s worth checking in to see how they are getting on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not try creating an employee engagement survey and sending it round to your staff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That way, you can get their views on how they\u2019re finding the experience, what they\u2019re enjoying, what\u2019s not working well and their perspectives on what could be put in place to improve the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may learn, for example, that your employees want to hear more from the business leaders on how the company is performing and what\u2019s coming up next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That might lead to the creation of a weekly update \u2013 in the form of a newsletter or an online company meeting, where people from around the business get to make a positive contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Virtual water cooler catch ups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The chance for spontaneous catch ups may have disappeared from those trips to the water cooler that your employees are used to \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t still have quick chats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By utilizing instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, your employees can stay in the loop with the latest gossip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there\u2019s also a work-related benefit to this too, in addition to the social one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say someone from your accounts team has a cash flow management query<\/a> and needs to check in with the finance director. Rather than sending an email and having to wait for them to get round to reading it, a quick message via a messaging app can result in a faster response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Virtual team building activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s right, paintball trips and go-karting are out when it comes to remote working. But that\u2019s not to say that your employees can\u2019t participate in some team building. You\u2019ll just have to take it online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a number of things your business can do to keep employee engagement levels high in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could put on virtual coffee and cake sessions where your employees get together in an online meeting to chat about a topic of choice \u2013 it could be something light-hearted that allows everyone to avoid talking shop for a while and get to know each other better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or you could even venture into online gaming and set up competitions for your employees to participate in, be it via consoles or gaming apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only will you add a fun element to proceedings, you\u2019ll also bring your people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion on maintaining employee engagement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Employee engagement is one of the key parts of running a business. While maintaining that engagement can be tricky when people are working remotely, it\u2019s not impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By taking steps to ensure that your workforce is involved and communication lines are open, managers and employees will be able to engage with one another, while keeping your business moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utilize technology as part of this, using video conferencing tools and mobile apps, and check in regularly with your people to ensure they are getting the support they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article is part of our Managing uncertainty<\/a> series which offers practical advice and support to help you keep your business moving as we all navigate these unprecedented times.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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