With more people than ever before now working from home, the challenge of keeping remote workers at the top of their game is a hot subject. It is all very well allowing someone to work from home but you can’t then just cut them adrift from the team. The idea of maintaining a sense of unity is a remote team is something many managers approach in different ways.

By taking the best of these ideas we can begin to put together a method of working that makes a lot of sense.

Stay in Touch

The first big mistake that is often made here is to lose touch with remote team members without meaning to. People who are working alone at home can quickly feel isolated and forgotten about if the days pass by and no-one gets in touch from the office, leading to lower motivation levels.

This is why it is so important to make a special effort to stay in touch with all of your remote workers. This can mean organising team meetings on video conferencing or just taking the time to call each member of staff individually.

Obviously you need to make sure that everyone is up to date on business issues but these can also be opportunities to just chat a bit and see how they are getting on in general. You might prefer to mark these chats into your diary so that you don’t miss them on busy days, as they are more important than you might initially feel that they are.

Make Them Feel Part of the Team

It is far easier to feel part of a team when you sit next to your colleagues and bump elbows with them at the coffee machine. Some people find working at home a lonely experience and may worry that they are losing out by not being part of the team. The good news here is that modern team collaboration tools allow your remote workers to carry on playing a vital part in your success without even having to put their shoes and socks on. You can carry on taking their ideas into account and letting them do what they do best, just in a more convenient way.

Of course, part of the secret here is to make more of an effort to show that they are a valuable part of the team. Giving more feedback and being more enthusiastic about their contribution can go a long way towards reassuring your team members that they are as valuable to your team collaboration efforts as ever.

Recognise Their Contribution

Another issue that is far easier when you sit side by side is that of recognising worthwhile contributions. Sometimes, this can be done simply by giving a thumb up sign or a few kind words as you pass by their desk. When your team work at home then you need to make more of an effort to point out when they have done something well. This could simply mean giving them a call and pointing out how happy you are with something that they did well.

A little bit of recognition can make a big difference to someone’s day when they work at home. On this point, it is important to bear in mind that your messages need to be clear and unambiguous, as you can’t rely on the subtleties that can come from communicating with someone next to you.

Give Them Tailored Targets and Rewards

Some companies go a step further and set special targets and rewards for remote workers. For instance, you could arrange to get some sort of food or drink that they love delivered to their door during the day (pizza, anyone?).

This is a way of recognising that you have a member of staff who is a valuable part of the team but that has a different way of working. A thoughtful little touch like this can bring a smile to your employee’s face and help them to feel as though you appreciate them more.

This is an area that it is worth putting some thought into, as different ideas will be needed for each person in the team. It shouldn’t take up too much of your time, though, and can really strengthen the bonds that you want to build up.

Glasscubes is a user-friendly collaboration software for teams. Connect everyone that you work with in an online workspace that improves the way you share files, manage projects and communicate with each other.

For more information, contact us by calling +44 (0)20 3274 2310 or email us at enquiries@glasscubes.com

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