You’ve told your employees how to add virtual background in Teams and use the project management app. What else can you do to foster engagement when everyone is separated? The key is creating opportunities for your team to unite.
Establish a Motive
What fuels your team? If you don’t know, you need to find out.
Talk to your team as a group about what drives them individually and as a unit. Together, decide on a single motive that everyone can reference when they need motivation. Having a common goal strengthens bonds and ensures everyone knows their role.
Keep Your Team Connected
Connection is essential on any team, but it’s especially important when collaborating. One of the best things you can do is create a group chat where anyone can drop in. Encourage employees to ask questions, request help or check to see how everyone is doing.
Offer Flexibility
One of the most significant benefits of remote work is flexibility. Sometimes life gets in the way, and being able to set your own hours can help you cope. As a supervisor, you can help employees flourish by embracing flexibility. Make it clear that you expect everyone to complete their work on time, but don’t be afraid to move shifts around if your team keeps their productivity high.
Employees who work in ways that best suit their needs are happier and more efficient. Their positivity makes for better engagement and metrics.
Arrange Opportunities for Social Interaction
When people work together in person, they can go out for drinks after hours or take lunch together. However, these outings aren’t possible when coworkers live all over the country. Or are they? With companies popping up like Escapely, a company that offers virtual team-building activities, this is being made possible.
You can create a social atmosphere by arranging virtual happy hour or brunch. A Zoom Immersive View backgrounds download enhances the experience by providing a fun background where attendees can envision themselves together.
Recognize Individual Accomplishments
Your employees work hard, so it’s important to recognize their accomplishments. Everyone needs validation and publically celebrating achievements is a great way to provide that. You can congratulate individuals in your group chat, send an email or mention them during a team meeting.
Create Avenues for Feedback
There’s always room for improvement, even if the criticism is hard to hear. However, acknowledging places where you can do better is critical for team success. Create an avenue for employees to submit anonymous feedback to share their concerns.
Prioritize Employee Health
Everyone will have a health issue at some point, so it’s essential to create protocol around well-being early on. If someone on your team feels overwhelmed, make accommodations to support that person’s mental health. Also, don’t discuss team members’ concerns unless you have express permission to do so. If you show with your actions how much you value your team’s health, they’ll be more open with you and each other.
Mandating a custom Zoom background with logo isn’t enough to motivate employees — you need to connect with them and find ways they can engage with each other. Fortunately, technology makes this easier than ever, even if you’re not in the same city. With the right approach, you can create a team built on trust and genuine friendship.
