WFH is here to stay, how do you motivate your team to give their best work?
COVID has changed the landscape of workplaces as we knew them. Working from home has provided benefits that are game changers for many employees. Flexibility, better focus time, and work-life balance are all non-negotiables now that we know they’re possible. But with so many employees working from home, how do you make sure that they are delivering their best work? How do you keep them motivated to stay?
Communication is key
Having regular communication between your team members keeps people from feeling like they’re on a raft floating out at sea all alone. Set regular meetings to discuss issues so everyone feels in the loop, give people the opportunity to ask questions that are better worked through face-to-face instead of over email, and let team members socialize and build relationships with their coworkers.
Setting expectations
It’s much easier to do a good job when you know what is expected of you. From a manager standpoint, setting goals with your team and having regular check-ins keeps everyone on track. From an employee standpoint, knowing your goals and having a time frame for those goals allows employees to set their priorities, keep themselves organized, and feel like they are actually accomplishing something. Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Having the right tools for the job
People working from home should have the same resources that they would have if they were working in an office. It’s important that employees have a quiet, dedicated place to work and internet that moves at a good speed. Employers should also make sure that they are providing the technology and equipment that employees need to work easily, like computers, software, monitors, or an IM system so that employees can easily communicate with one another.
Team building
While there are many benefits to working from home, it can be a lonely existence for some people, especially those that live alone. Give employees the opportunity to get to know coworkers and even people from other departments. Schedule dinners or a holiday event for in-person socializing, or there are virtual experiences for teams that can’t meet in-person, like an escape room over Zoom, or even doing weekly ice breakers so people can get to know each other outside of what they do for work.
Trust
Putting trust in your employees goes a long way. When people feel trusted, they are generally more engaged, and it helps to make them feel more valued. Take a “benefit of the doubt” approach with people first, it will show in their work.
Ownership mindset
Everyone in an organization, from the top to the bottom, should have an “ownership mindset”. People who have an ownership mindset are dependable, reliable, and bring their best to work each day. They take personal accountability for their work, they’re proactive instead of reactive, and they seek to assist in areas outside of their standard scope of responsibility. When you have a team of people with an ownership mindset, they will be equally invested in the success of the team as a whole regardless of where they are working from.
The experts at PEAR Core Solutions, are not only a successful fully remote team, we are also experts in an organization’s “Human Capital” and have been solving workplace challenges since 2003. Our services include everything under the HR umbrella and more!
Stephanie Quinn-Schulman, SHRM-CP