Companies all across the world are learning to accept the paradigm shift in the workplace known as hybrid work.
Businesses are implementing flexible work schedules and arrangements more frequently into the lives of their employees, with hybrid work providing the most advantages and flexibility for both employers and employees. The benefits of hybrid employment might include lower expenses, higher morale, and increased sustainability for businesses. However, how are businesses and workers genuinely adjusting to a more flexible work environment?
The sudden shift to a workforce that works primarily from remote locations demonstrated many advantages for businesses to provide workplace flexibility outside of their own office boundaries.
The hybrid work paradigm has grown more appealing to the modern workforce as the world begins to open up again and more workers are anticipated to return to the workplace. The hybrid approach would combine in-person and remote flexibility, enabling staff to customize their work environment to best suit them, whether at home or in the office.
The majority of businesses still need to sort out the specifics of how to support a permanently flexible workforce that isn’t primarily on-site, despite the expectation that the hybrid work model is becoming more of the norm for employees.
Understanding Remote Work and Employee Engagement
Working remotely is here to stay. Nevertheless, several issues arise in the advent of hybrid work. How will employee involvement work out in the long run, even though the majority of organizations have made such agreements work in the near term? How will team cohesion be maintained when some employees go back to work while others remain working from home? What about businesses that opt to switch to a mostly remote model?
The epidemic merely served to speed up prevailing tendencies toward more flexible work arrangements that incorporate at least some remote work, to a certain extent. Particularly among millennials, the opportunity to balance work and personal obligations is important. Long commutes cost money and time that can be saved by working remotely. Additionally, it may present chances for those who would otherwise struggle to balance work and life.
Employee engagement is a crucial differentiator for businesses today as globally dispersed workforces adjust to hybrid working methods, making it a key component of corporate success. When done correctly, engagement increases commitment to organizational objectives and draws and keeps talent.
Advantages of Engaging Remote Workers
Productivity: According to studies, motivated employees are 21% more productive than disgruntled workers.
Retention: Employees that are engaged at work are less likely to leave. The cost of turnover can be as high as 33% of an employee’s income, therefore it’s critical to keep your team together.
Culture: Since engaged workers are happier at work, it makes sense that they are more enjoyable to be around. Up to 400% more revenue can be generated by improving corporate culture.
Current Employee Engagement Issues
Disengagement causes a variety of issues for a firm, and these issues’ downstream effects can be both potent and costly.
Employees who are actively disengaged cost a nation’s economy between billions annually in lost productivity. This may lead you to believe that there is a severe problem that should be addressed because it affects not only the HR team but also your company as a whole.
What steps can you take to boost employee engagement? We’ll go over FIVE employee engagement tactics in this post and explain how to involve your team despite the distance.
- Put communication first
Every firm needs a solid communication plan, regardless of whether its employees work from a corporate office or from the convenience of their kitchen tables.
But for remote teams, it is very necessary. After all, if you don’t understand a colleague’s most recent email or Slack message, you can’t walk down the hall and speak to them in person.
Since non-verbal communication accounts for more than half of all human communication, face-to-face interactions are the most effective. Take advantage of free video conferencing softwares such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
It could be challenging to plan video conferences that everyone can join if your remote staff are spread across multiple time zones. Instead, record both your screen and yourself using a screen recorder app.
This will increase engagement because your employees can still see your face while interacting asynchronously. - Provide the necessary tools for remote work
The appropriate technologies can help both businesses and people by giving them more clarity over their tasks. The crew is able to readily understand the tasks by utilizing a variety of IT technologies.
The team members’ roles and projects can be readily delegated by the project managers. This aids the workers in understanding their obligations and tasks within the given task or project. Project managers will also be able to monitor the duties that each employee is assigned.
Work becomes aligned and simple when duties and responsibilities are clear. This will clear up any misunderstandings and boost output.
The ultimate consequence of using the proper tools to manage a project is a more organized team with tasks that are more clearly defined, as well as less time and effort spent. Every member of the team is in agreement with the duties related to their positions. - Request Employee Feedback
Ask your staff for their opinions and pay attention to their responses to engage them.
It’s unfortunate that such a straightforward tactic is never implemented. Employee engagement levels are only one of the many advantages of employee feedback.
However, you’ll also have the chance to learn from those who work on-site every day about client preferences, the success of team building exercises, and much more.
Getting employee input is simple. At your next virtual meeting, for instance, you may just ask your team what they think about a particular subject. Alternately, you might start a Slack feedback thread. Alternately, you might occasionally send a brief pulse survey. - Create extra-curricular activities
The internet has made it possible for us to conduct business more successfully over vast distances, but it has also enabled social connections for billions of people worldwide. Employers are in charge of a business community, but they also have the power to transform it.
You can encourage social connections among your employees that will boost engagement during the workweek, whether it’s a book club, fantasy football league, multiplayer online gaming tournament, or just an internal social network for people to share experiences or connect outside of the office hour grind. - Encourage a Good Work-Life Balance at Work
It takes more than just talking the talk to promote a good work-life balance; leaders must also live the walk. It’s likely that your supervisors’ staff members don’t have clear separations between work and home if they don’t. To lead by example, managers must show that they can successfully balance their personal and professional life.
Your managers’ behavior, such as disconnecting at the end of the day, will be observed by the staff. Managers can more immediately set an example for their staff. For instance, managers should urge staff to take a break before starting work again after a lengthy meeting. Employees will understand that their well-being is just as vital as productivity if you suggest they take some time for themselves. Employees can reenergize during breaks and come back to work more motivated.
At KMC, we have the freedom to work at our own pace, managers have an open door policy, and growth and information transfer between the teams is also quite simple. One’s character and professional development will be guaranteed by the highly collaborative work environment. The offices themselves also have that contemporary, upscale atmosphere, which benefits my performance.