A McKinsey & Company survey reveals that 58 percent of employees across different industries report having the option to work from home for all or part of the week. The worldwide adaptation of remote work has been trending for more than two years now and has received much praise.

 

However, managers are faced with the difficult task of motivating people who work from home. As we all know, employee motivation affects engagement and productivity. In this post, we share insightful tips on ways managers can motivate their remote teams.

 

What Are the Negative Motivators that Affect WFH Employees?

 

Generally, employees find working remotely to be less motivating due to several reasons such as…

 

• a lack of visibility into their impacts on coworkers and clients

 

• limited access to colleagues who can train and develop them

 

• the experience of problem-solving with coworkers, in person, is missing

 

• working in isolation can be demoralizing

 

• a lack of purpose, especially since no one is around to remind them

 

Motivating Remote Employees Can Be Challenging

 

Managers face a set of unique challenges when trying to increase motivation in work-from-home employees. These include:

 

• Limited face-to-face communication

 

• Lack of clarity about expectations

 

• Managers may feel a loss of control when managing remote employees due to fear that they may not produce high-quality results, leading to micromanagement.

 

10 Effective Ways to Boost Motivation in Remote Employees

 

Here are some tips managers can use to motivate their team members:

 

1. Provide the right tools

 

Working from home demands strong self-discipline. With all the distractions surrounding an individual, it’s easy to lose focus, and slacking off can be tempting. Managers can take advantage of time-tracking software to help keep their remote teams accountable.

 

A time tracker automatically logs clock-in and clock-out times, activity levels, and rate of performance. Such tools capture employees’ time usage, showing how and where they spend every minute.

 

If you discover too much time was spent on non-work-related websites or apps, you can hold a one-on-one session with the employee to address the issue. Time tracking helps you take back control of time and empowers team members to develop more effective work habits.

 

2. Regular check-ins

 

Virtual workspaces can feel disconnected, and the daily check-ins can help team members feel less lonely and isolated. Regular check-ins between the manager and employee create a sense of unity, cohesion, and care.

 

You simply need to find the right communication channel where you can interact freely with everyone on the team.

 

3. Promote online team-building events

 

Maintaining social ties is a crucial part of well-being and can be a powerful motivator. With remote work, teams get fewer opportunities to socialize with peers. An effective way to keep teams motivated is to organize online team-building activities. This gives team members a chance to spend time together and enjoy each other’s company.

 

In addition, building rapport with coworkers increases creativity, collaboration, and work enjoyment. There are countless online team-building activities that you could try. You just have to find the right one for your teams.

 

4. Streamline overall team communication

 

Is your communication strategy focusing on ensuring clarity in communication between managers and their teams? Leveraging communication is the key to keeping everyone on the same page, avoiding delays, and ensuring effective collaboration.

 

When managing distributed teams, it’s essential to identify gaps in your communication so you can facilitate connectedness and cohesion between team members.

 

5. Implement an employee recognition program

 

Another effective way to increase motivation in remote teams is to make employees feel like part of the team and that their contributions matter. Without this, employees won’t be as engaged.

 

Several studies have found evidence that recognized employees are happier and more productive. Consider devising a smart strategy to acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments.

 

6. Introduce workplace competitions

 

Friendly competition fosters creativity and hard work. It also helps to improve the relationship between coworkers, which can boost remote collaboration. Furthermore, organizing contests can help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, which are common in remote work environments.

 

Besides making it fun, incentivize the contests by rewarding winners and best performers. Prizes like digital gift cards or cash prizes can prompt more participation, even from introverted workers.

 

7. Give employees autonomy

 

If you want a team that’s passionate about their work, you must be ready to let them be in charge of how they work. You don’t need to be micromanaging workers when they can handle their work well.

 

Your remote teams will work better and deliver excellent results if you allow them more freedom in how and when they work.

 

8. Encourage a healthy work-life balance

 

Understandably, you want your remote employees to work harder and put in more effort. While riding them hard might boost productivity, it will only be temporary. Soon, your workers will experience burnout and fatigue, which will negatively impact their motivation, and consequently, performance.

 

By promoting a culture that supports a healthy work-life balance, your workers will be happier and more energetic. As a result, they will be more committed to hitting their targets, which means an increase in productivity.

 

Therefore, encourage your workers to take time off to re energize and watch for signs of overworking.

 

9. Promote a work environment that supports psychological safety

 

Workers will be frustrated and less motivated if they discover they can’t freely air their opinions, complaints, or suggestions. Establishing a work culture that permits employees to speak freely, openly, and plainly will increase their motivation and boost engagement.

 

Of course, you must clearly define the goals and objectives of the company as well as the expectations and duties of each worker. Doing so will ensure your authority isn’t undermined.

 

10. Take employee feedback seriously

 

Not only should you encourage employee feedback, but you should also actively listen to them and fulfill their demands (whenever possible). Your employees should feel like part of the team, and that involves listening to their concerns and acting on them.

 

In addition, they will feel more satisfied with their jobs if top management listens to what they have to say. Consider using the 360-degree feedback strategy, where your workforce is allowed to evaluate one another. 360-degree feedback reviews a person’s competence, behavior, skills, leadership effectiveness, and team spirit.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Motivating your remote team without physical presence can be tricky and challenging. Yet, great managers must devote themselves to employee motivation. Keep in mind that your team members won’t be inspired to perform well if they don’t feel motivated.

 

While there are many ways to motivate work-from-home employees, not everything will work. It’s up to you to find out what will work best for your teams and implement it.