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As more and more businesses turn to permanent remote working, as result of COVID-19 its more important than ever that teams feel empowered and engaged. So here are 8 tips we have tried, tested and believe can help you engage our teams.

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Share Your Vision & Mission

A survey published in 2017 found that 60% of the employees they surveyed were unaware of their companies’ vision. Even more, shocking 27% of employees who were aware of their company’s vision said they don’t believe the vision reflects the reality of the company.   

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It’s important to share your companies’ vision and mission with employees, and ensure that they feel the company is on the right path to achieving them. If they don’t then find out and evaluate why, as there may be some misalignment, miscommunication, or areas of improvement within your business.  

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Suggestion : 

• Hold an annual vision meeting with each team, so that you can remind them of your vision, talk about what the business is doing to achieve it and the role that they will play in doing so. 

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Hire with the end in mind

One of the best methods of making sure that your employees are engaged, is to focus on employee engagement from the get-go.  

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During the interview stages of your recruitment process don’t just look at the candidate’s CV & experience, understand their values, mission and motivation, then ensure they’re aligned with your business.  

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Once you have hired someone it’s important that you introduce them to the company, mission, values and even business growth plan.  

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Suggestion :  

• Assign each new employee with an experienced mentor how is highly engaged and understands the business. 

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Recognize & Reward

Do you know that 70% of employees said they would work harder if they were recognized for their work more often? It’s important to ensure that your employees feel like their work matters, and that they are not just another ID number on a list. This can be as simple as developing a team recognition board that showcases the month’s top performers, or giving employees who are working harder more responsibility within the business.  

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Suggestions :   

• If a member of your team has gone above/beyond what is expected of them you could showcase them and offer some sort of award, such as finishing an hour early on Friday. 

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• Hold an annual awards ceremony, or team showcase event. During which you will have the opportunity to praise and reward several high performing team members. 

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Develop Individual Growth & Development Plans

Creating a culture that fosters and encourages growth can significantly improve the productivity of team members. When businesses invest in the growth of their employees it enables the employees to not only see their potential growth plan, but also shows that said organization truly cares about them, and their growth. All of which will enable employees to feel more dedicated, valued and empowered within a company. Develop an individual growth plan for each of your employees that outlines the steps and plan that they need to follow in order to reach the next stage of the career.  

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Suggestions :   

• Don’t just develop a growth/development plan and give it to your employees. Sit down each team member, understand their aspirations and that use that information to collaborate with the team member and develop a growth plan together. 

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• Have a quarterly meeting with each of your team members to discuss and potentially adapt their growth plan. 

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Focus on Your Employees Relationships

In the past year alone 50% of employees who left their jobs acquainted it to poor relationships with their managers. The 4 drivers of motivation model highlight the “drive to bond” as one of the key aspirations amongst highly engaged and performing employees.  

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Creating an environment that encourages employees to communicate and collaborate with each other is the key. It’s important that strong bonds are not always formed overnight, but in reality, it can often take time and processes for employees to develop strong relationships.  

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 Suggestions :   

• Have an open and honest line of communication with every team member. You could develop an annual feedback system, meeting or survey where each team member can express their true thoughts and feeling. 

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• Include every team member in the decision-making process, to highlight that their views, opinions and knowledge matters, which can also build trust amongst a team. 

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Invest in Mental Health & Wellbeing

Mental health and wellbeing can often be seen as a taboo subject, that is silenced in the workplace. In the UK mental health is the leading cause of sickness/absence to work, so not talking about mental health can be more harmful than good.  

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It’s important to remember that business has a duty of care to their employees, so ensuring that a workplace is a safe space for your team, should be a priority. 

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Suggestions :    

• Talk about your feeling with your team, and create a safe space where every employee feels they are able to talk about their feelings and not be judged. 

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• It is key to note that although you could have the most supportive work environment in the world, your employees may still struggle with mental health in the workplace. Therefore, leadership teams need to have the necessary training so that they can spot the signs and intervene early.  

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Ensure Your Team’s Have the Tools they Need

An employee’s engagement is often impacted by their ability to complete their work tasks, which is why it’s key that your team members have the tools they need to complete their work. You would not expect a shop assistant to be able to check out customers without their tills. So, you should not expect cooperate employees, to be able to their work without the tools they need.  

Every employee should be able to use the tools they need, to enhance their levels of productivity.  

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Have Some Fun 

Working can be stressful and time consuming for your team, which is why it’s important that you & your team has downtime to relax and have fun. Holding regular fun activities can significantly improve your teams’ bond and satisfaction at work, thus increasing their engagement.  

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Suggestions:  

• It’s finally summer in the UK so why not make the most of the sun and hold an outdoor scavenger hunt with your team. You could even turn it onto a community service day, instead of giving your team members prizes you can list challenges/act that they have to conduct within the community. 
• Organize a monthly quiz/team building event, where the theme differs each month. For example, if you’re conducting a virtual quiz.

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You can also read our remote working guide to find how collude can help you engage with your remote teams https://www.collude.cloud/guide-to-working-remotely-through-collude/