During unprecedented situations such as the coronavirus pandemic companies are shutting down and opting for their employees to work from home. So it is necessary to be able to effectively manage people’s performance. Still there are many employers who fear that their employees would be too distracted and therefore less productive if not under the constant supervision of HR or co-workers. The choice to work remotely was seen as a special arrangement to house workers on a case-by-case basis. However, times change. Remote work is the future further.
HR leaders can play a very important role in running the business more effortlessly. Here are some useful steps that you can take from an HR viewpoint to support your remote workers.
1
Communicate your expectations clearly
While leading remote teams you lose elements like nonverbal communication cues. You have to individualize your HR approach even more than normal why your employees are content with parenting from home caring for love to an internet issues and challenges of learning during a pandemic.
Always ensure that you are using simpler words
Mainly while chatting, use simple words to understand each other in a better way. Reduce your jargon and limit it to letters, emails and other more professional channels.
Monitor communications frequently
Today, false information has become more uncontrollable. Monitor your threads and the updates you send them to avoid misinformation but mind their privacy, too.
2
Be their booster
One of the dares of working remotely is sustaining the productivity of your team. They might get distracted by household chores, pets, kids and social media mainly while communicating with friends and updating social media feed is one click away. Increase your team’s productivity with these ways:
Keep up a standard check-in
Motivate them to check-in through an app like Trello or Slack when they begin their shift. This serves them to turn up their day and make them comfortable like working in an actual office.
Strengthen time management
Suggest methods such as the Pomodoro technique. Here employees work on a 25-minute to an hour interval with 10 to 15-minute breaks each.
Set up a workspace
Distribute ideas on how they can amp up their workspaces to build up their mood while working.
3
Make sure to use online tools properly
There are several online tools to help you work with your remote team. Rather than keeping a long list of email for each project, you can have several tools for communication, project management, and documentation. You have to choose the right tools that are:
Easy to use
This is essential mainly when it is your first time using an online platform to collaborate. Select a tool you and your staff can easily navigate with less to no tutorial needed.
Appropriate for your work
It is more appropriate to use Viber or Hangouts for communication to keep your communications professional as well. Using platforms like Facebook may distract your team.
Accessible to your team
One of the benefits of working remotely is that you can save on resources in working, especially with plenty of free tools in the market. A tool which is paid can give you more features, but until you have the money to pay for additional subscriptions. It is far better to explore these free resources.
4
Engage your employees
Making engagement frequently is an important activity where you can make a significant difference. Making activities and events that brings your team together and collaborate is a pleasurable and wellness-boosting experience.
- Making engagement frequently is an important activity where you can make a significant difference. Making activities and events that brings your team together and collaborate is a pleasurable and wellness-boosting experience.
- Discussions on Slack and knowing more about each other is a pleasant way to engage online. You can ask about anything to get interesting responses.
- Conduct virtual events to connect with each other. In the place of an annual retreat, this year we hosted a day-long virtual retreat with games, quizzes, and other online activities.
- Celebrating work anniversaries and birthdays in a low-key way will boost their morale and will have greater loyalty. Wishing people or greeting the time they spent in your company is the best way to build engagements. It results to the fact that you’re paying attention to people’s lives and care.
Statistics on employee engagement show that only 21% of employees feel valued and 79% cite lack of recognition which becomes the reasons for leaving.
5
Regularly check for reports
You cannot only depend on your online tools to follow their progress. You should examine the welfare and performance of your employees to notice what’s going on while they’re deployed.
Chat with them regularly
Fix a time for your employees to talk to them. It is better to talk to them for a least time of 30 minutes before they begin or end their shift.
Arrange weekly meetings
Bring your team to a Zoom meeting at least once a week. Have a small chat about their conditions and then let them prepare their weekly reports.
Let them contribute
As an HR leader, you should give importance to your employees’ feedback too. Allot them time to share their perceptions about a project and let them communicate through their meeting.
This huge transition to work from home is a major change for businesses and their employees. People have recognized that working from anywhere around the world is more comfortable than going to a specific office. Human resources can boost the occasion and support the complete health of the business by supporting employees’ wellbeing.
