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Keeping remote workers energized and engaged should be a priority for Australian companies looking to maintain productivity and profitability over the long term, writes Matt Seadon, managing director for Asia Pacific at Achievers, an international employee engagement consultancy and software supplier.
While some Australian businesses, particularly those that have yet to embrace cloud computing and digital transformation, have struggled with the transition to remote working, many others have found that a home team is no barrier to the exit. So much so that some of the biggest players in the country, including Atlassian and Twitter, have announced that they will allow their teams to work from home forever.
Riverbed’s 2020 Global Future of Work Survey suggests dozens more will follow. A whopping 95% of respondents said they are now comfortable with employees working remotely. This is likely to lead to a 50% increase in the number of individuals doing so in the post-Covid-19 era, the report said.
Making remote work a permanent modus operandi will require significant spending on tools and technology, with 55% of survey respondents planning to invest in improving remote work performance in 2021.
Get involved differently
It will also require a commitment to connect with employees in new ways if they are to remain energized and engaged once the remote honeymoon period ends and they settle into permanent home office life.
That means striving to make the daily virtual stand-up meeting on Zoom as inclusive and engaging as its real-life equivalent, conducting check-ins and taking pulses to see how employees are traveling when it’s no longer possible to ask a question in person, and finding acceptable substitutes for morning tea in the staff room or after work drinks if there is an occasion to celebrate.
Remote recognition and reward
It also means finding effective ways to recognize and reward team members for their efforts when you can’t personally pat them on the back, and drive productivity, profitability and shareholder value.
Employee recognition doesn’t change just because employees no longer reside in a central location. In fact, recognizing their efforts in an authentic and meaningful way is more important than ever when they are largely left to fend for themselves at home. If you don’t give them the validation and support they’re looking for, you risk becoming disengaged and demotivated over time.
More worryingly, you may not realize they’ve lost their mojo until you get an email in your inbox notifying them of their resignation and it’s too late to do anything about it. Then you’re faced with the challenge of finding and training a replacement—and crossing your fingers and hoping history doesn’t repeat itself.
Investment in engagement
A willing workforce will always be your greatest asset. Fostering a company culture that recognizes and rewards hard-working contributors, whether they work from home or at headquarters, is key to creating a positive and engaged team—one that’s more likely to soldier on and stick around.
In these uncertain times, it is an investment in individuals and the future of your organization that you cannot afford not to make.
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