To keep employees motivated, organizations require more than just a toolset for collaboration.Motivating employees is essential to the success of any organization, even more so if it is a 100% remote company. As there is no frequent face-to-face, other aspects must be prioritized, such as transparent and fluid communication, clarity in directions, an effective internal organization, and spaces of trust.
Developing motivation strategies helps employees increase their commitment to the work they do, generating a culture of stability, trust, cohesion, and belonging that will affect their performance and relationship with the company.
To keep employees motivated, organizations require more than having (or adopting) technological tools adapted to the work of each sector; they need a culture that is committed to their collaborators and their needs... Of course, technology will always be an indispensable factor.
So how do you engage employees in a 100% remote environment?
1. Technological tools and equipment
Remote employees require tools that allow them to deliver their work on time. Proper equipment will sharpen communications and allow for a consistent, uninterrupted workflow.
In this sense, it is important to highlight the communication tools, the programs for project management and delivery measurement, etc. Also, having spaces in the cloud to share and download files can make processes much more agile and collaborative.
These two ingredients (collaboration and communication), accompanied by adequate tools, end up radically raising the motivation and success of the projects developed.
2. Communication, communication, communication
As if repeating it three times wasn't enough, communication is one of the main challenges (and opportunities) that remote organizations must address. Why? Because it is vital to start any task, from the simplest to the most complex.
There is nothing that is not crossed by communication, therefore, no matter how much technology we have at our disposal, if we do not use part of these tools to sharpen communications, motivation, and performance of remote collaborators (individual and cooperative) it could come crashing down.
3. Promote a growth mindset
Just as organizations want to grow, employees also want (and need) opportunities and room to scale.
Instilling a philosophy of growth, through the generation of training programs, gives the remote workforce the possibility of opening up to new experiences, both personally and professionally.
This aspect is key for motivation since remote teams often base their work on meeting performance goals. If we efficiently manage this aspect and offer the opportunity to grow, both the commitment to the organization and the company culture will be strengthened.
4. Trust and recognition are essential
Trust is essential to motivating remote collaborators, as it shows them that their abilities to complete tasks efficiently and on time are counted.
Having faith in your collaborators increases their commitment and shows them that you have their abilities.
Implementing recognition programs will also help all team members feel important and understand their role in the organizational big picture.
Managed correctly, recognition will allow them to see that they are not just part of a larger structure, but that their contribution matters to everyone.
5. Measure motivation
Surveys and performance metrics help you understand which strategies are working as a whole and which others need to (or could) change to achieve the required performance indicators. This measurement also generates trust and encourages employees to participate in company decisions.
Conducting motivational surveys accomplishes two primary goals in motivating the remote workforce: 1) it signals that the organization cares about them and their well-being; and 2) it makes them feel that their proposals are taken into account.
6. Learning by doing
It is important to make the team feel that they are on a path of professional growth through their work. Doing too many courses and workshops can become overwhelming and counterproductive for motivation; A good strategy, on the other hand, would be to have mentors in everyday life to help and guide them in acquiring new skills on a day-to-day basis, so that they learn and gain confidence by doing.
7. Open spaces for feedback
Nothing helps a remote collaborator feel more involved with their tasks than receiving constructive feedback on their performance.
Feedback (or feedback) is a fundamental resource that, when used well, serves to motivate and commit relocated teams, since it allows expectations and objectives to be aligned with the performance of each collaborator individually and demonstrates that the organization (or its leaders) care about their work and that it improves.
Developing a culture of frequent feedback helps not only to correctly channel expectations but also to detect inconveniences or problems in time. Applied correctly, feedback allows attitudes and procedures to be corrected at the right times, without the need to generate complications of greater magnitude among employees or in the organization.
Bottom line:
Remote work is the future (and present) of modern work. The sooner organizations adapt to their development, the better they will be. Workforce motivation has always been key during transitions and will continue to be essential to optimizing productivity for years to come.
Motivating relocated work teams is not something that is achieved immediately; First, a thorough analysis of the aspects to be improved and a strategic and consistent investment by the organizations, leaders, and collaborators are required.
