6 Ways To Maintain Great Relations With Your Remote Workforce

Introduction

Remote working has been the saving grace for many organizations, especially in the last 2 years. It has ensured that their operations continue and opened the doors to new modes of work, such as a hybrid workplace.

Employees are able to contribute to the organization, and its positive impact has been noted in aspects like work-life balance and employees’ mental health.

While there are many advantages to working remotely, like reduced travel expenses and improved work-life balance, there are also some drawbacks. Remote workers frequently feel less engaged and connected to their firm because they are not present in the office with the rest of the team, which can lower output and performance. It is important to engage remote employees effectively. Here are a few tips to maintain a healthy relationship with your coworkers who work from their homes -

Ways to Foster a Productive Relationship with Remote Workers

Build a Community

Create an environment in the workplace where no matter where your employees stay, they always feel involved and welcomed. It is noted that though remote employees work from the comfort of their homes, they do not feel engaged enough, especially in a hybrid work environment. Building a community builds relations beyond the work hours, which creates a whole new level of employee engagement irrespective of where they are working from

It is important to build community in a professional setting so that all internal stakeholders can work together effectively and feel secure in their individual roles. Interactive features like Vega Social are a great asset to facilitate these objectives.

Establish Strong Communication

Effective communication is a hallmark feature of any productive workplace. By ensuring a firm communication network, information gets dispersed equally amongst everyone, resulting in lesser mishaps and errors. Better communication also fosters trust and confidence in the workplace and has a huge impact in setting a positive tone in the workplace, along with the organization’s plan of action.

You can establish a strong relationship with remote workers by staying in touch. Sending them emails, instant messages, or video calls can be done regularly. Regular check-ins and personalized messages are good for these purposes. In fact, even an effective rewards and recognition program can be a good connecting factor for employees, no matter where they are working from.

Create an Effective Feedback Mechanism

A productive workplace thrives on consistent and prompt feedback. Working from a remote setting means the channels of communication differ, so it is important to ensure that the feedback mechanism remains consistent and is able to adapt to the new channels of communication. It is important to give feedback to employees. It shows you're invested in people's development when you give feedback. Ensure that the feedback that you give is clear, concise, and specific

The key is to emulate the level and type of communication that used to work in the office and to ensure that the structure created ensures that everyone gets all the information that they need. Ensure that you are accessible anytime required.

Feedback makes expectations clear, aids in error learning, and boosts self-assurance. Vega Pulse is the perfect tool to help you get insights about your employees’ opinions and take action to prevent any disarray at the workplace. Feedback must be both spontaneous and consistent. One of the best things managers can provide their staff is constructive criticism. When administered correctly, it may promote great behavior, correct any poor performance, and guarantee that your team maintains a healthy culture. In order to promote a positive work culture, mental health plays a crucial role. Vega Mood Index helps us get in touch with what our employees are feeling and be in a position of help by creating a safe space for communication, or any other measure that can help them.

Establish a Culture of Appreciation

A remote setting is beneficial in a lot of ways but has a few drawbacks as well. Employees might lose their sense of motivation due to the lack of incentives and monotony, which leads to employee dissatisfaction and higher turnover rates. So it is important to acknowledge and appreciate good performances consistently, as it creates a culture of positive reinforcement.

It is important to reduce the sense of monotony and that the employees are challenged to perform to their full potential. Establishing an effective rewards and recognition program is a great way to incentivize employees for good performance, and keeps them on their toes as well. It also creates healthy competition at the workplace.

Success for your workers is a testament to your leadership. Therefore, make it a point to support their achievements and give them credit when it is due. This will demonstrate your pride in their achievements and your desire for them to keep producing their best work.

Encouragement

Employee burnout is a loss not only for the employee but for the team and the organization as well. A recent study showed that 36% of employees admit their organizations are doing nothing to prevent burnout. Ensuring that your team is mentally healthy is crucial in achieving top productivity and maintaining good relations. The point here is, it is easier for negative attitudes to spread and that leads to chaos and dissatisfaction. So it is important to create a culture of encouragement where we make it a point to be there for our teammates at their time of need and create a relationship where your workplace becomes your second home.

With this culture, we would be able to create a safe space for our employees to tell how they feel, and how we can be of help. Effective communication and strong interpersonal relations are key to developing such bonds with both in-office and remote workers.

Additionally, you might provide them chances to take on greater responsibility or project leadership roles. They will feel more respected and appreciated as a result, and your relationship with them will also improve.

Be a Mentor

Everyone charts their own path in their career. Be a mentor to your colleagues and help them in any way possible, because experience is a great way to gain knowledge and gives us a chance to guide others in their quest for success. For most of us, the remote setting is due to unforeseen circumstances that have put the world in disarray. This is the right time to help them get better mentally and ensure that they are not off their career path.

You get to impart knowledge that you acquired and where your expertise is, and have the satisfaction of giving something back to the division. Through giving to others, you get to learn more about yourself and keep or develop a new point of view. Your teammates can benefit from coaching, encouragement, clear information, and frank criticism. It is a great way to involve remote workers and ensure that they are as engaged as any other member of the team.

Conclusion

Remote working has become part of the norm, but comes with its own set of challenges like maintaining the same level of communication, ensuring the same level of productivity and activity, and maintaining consistency to avoid anything close to Proximity Bias. Vega HR offers multiple solutions to help you stay connected with your remote workers the best way possible, like how Vega Social facilitates an internal network where all your employees stay connected, no matter where they are working from. Aspects like Vega Pulse, and Mood Index help you understand your employees’ opinions better, which leads to better decision-making. Along with this, it helps you tackle issues that leaders face, such as employee burnout, engagement, and retention with our exclusive features. The objective is to provide you with an experience that is beneficial for leaders and employees alike and is a great tool in promoting a healthy workplace.