Over the past year or so, the Covid pandemic has changed the world drastically and continues to do so; it has more or less mandated that organisations allow their employees to work from remote locations instead of coming to the workplace. This has even led to corporate giants like Microsoft to enforce permanent work-from-home strategy and Google to opt for hybrid work culture.
However, with employees functioning from remote locations, it is imperative for the organisations to ensure that the morale of the employees is kept high so that their productivity levels can be maintained.
Encourage personal and professional growth – Employees, when cut from the outside world, tend to become passive; it is in this case that the team leader can inspire them to go for personal and professional growth.
Engage in both professional and personal conversations – Communication between colleagues is now restricted to online video conferencing sessions, and more often than not, it can lead to huge communication gaps. A simple solution to this problem would be for the companies to keep some time aside in between the work hours, for people to engage in informal conversations.
Develop empathy – In such a time as this when people are more exposed to emotional and economic turmoil than ever, it is essential to check in on the teams personally from time to time. It achieves two functions – inspires a sense of belonging and also, employees love to work for an organization that cares.
Appreciate work – Nothing boosts a person’s morale more than appreciation for their contribution; this needs to be practiced now more proactively than ever since the worker feels isolated.
Be flexible – While work is essential to keep people engaged, team leaders must resist the temptation to impose strict guidelines, rules and procedures; a certain limit of freedom is essential for optimum efficiency of the worker.
Give incentives – A virtual scoreboard where accomplishments of each and every person are noted can help spice up the dullness that might set in, create that bit of competitiveness and also act as a potent motivating factor. Incentives, both monetary and otherwise should be introduced to encourage the employees to perform better.
Provide feedback – Constructive criticism is always better than fake compliments; it drives an employee to become better. It can also create and build employee trust. After all, communication is the key. Allow de-stressing – Prolonged hours of work can cause fatigue to set in; this fact can be countered by adding elements of fun. This could be anything ranging from gaming tournaments to virtual social interactions.
Don’t micromanage – Respecting the private space of employees is of prime importance if they have to be kept motivated. Micromanaging every aspect of their life will not help in the long run; avoiding it will create a sense of security and belonging.
In times like these, when distance between the co-workers is more than ever, building trust is of prime importance. An environment built around respect and trust builds a workforce that gives the optimum output.
Created By