Online Teams – The world has changed quite substantially over the last two years. While remote working was becoming more and more popular over the years, it is now mostly standard practice for most companies globally. For most, this comes with several benefits. Work-life balance for employees, a reduced overhead cost for employers; it does seem like a win-win situation for all.
The fact is though, that many companies have reported that they have started struggling with keeping their remote employees engaged, productive and keeping morale up. In many cases, not being able to have physical interactions with employees and be able to monitor them in an office can be a setback.
So, we thought we would take a look at how businesses all over the world are overcoming this. How are they keeping their workers motivated, productive and loyal? Let’s dive straight in.
Host Virtual Team Activities
Team buildings and social team events are important factors for your team. Especially if you need your team together as a tight-knit unit. It is a tough thing to achieve in the physical realm, especially if you are working in a high-pressure environment, but it is even more difficult in the virtual world.
Team buildings and social events take your team members out of these environments and ensure that they interact with each other on a personal basis. This adds a personal touch to the person you are working with and opens up a whole new level of communication.
Luckily, with the technology out there, you can do this virtually, too. Consider organizing virtual team building activities with your team on a regular basis. You will notice that they will learn to communicate differently, understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and learn how to work together in a non-work environment. This will then be reflected in the working environment during office hours.
Make Use of Collaborative Tools
This is certainly more focussed on productivity and task management, but if you have a remote team, it’s a great idea to handle tasks. There are some great collaborative tools out there, such as monday.com and Trello, to effectively manage your team. If they know what projects and tasks they are assigned to and can effectively manage their time, you should see a more motivated and productive employee.
These tools allow you to create tasks and projects across the company. You are able to assign these to individuals, teams, or departments. You are also able to manage and monitor the progress of each task. Deadlines can be set, time tracked on each one and documents and files shared between team members.
They also have excellent integration capabilities. You can integrate real-time, instant communication platforms, such as Slack. It allows you to communicate directly with teams or individuals and get alerts from any changes being made to tasks within the media. This seamless and streamlined communication makes it that much easier for your employees to know what is needed from them and be able to tick off tasks and projects regularly.
Online Teams Allow for Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
It is currently one of the most important topics of discussion globally. Concepts like the four-day workweek and a work-life balance are becoming more and more popular, and hundreds of companies are trying to ascertain how effective they are.
The fact of the matter is that your employees want more flexibility, and they want to achieve their tasks at work, spend time with families, and work on their personal lives. And studies have shown that employees who can have this kind of balance are more productive when they do work because they are more satisfied in their lives.
So, it is advisable to create that environment for them. Create a place where they can achieve work goals with the company and personal goals. The most successful companies celebrate and embrace personal goals, and they are even integrating them into their own culture. Things like fitness, health, and eating programs are being introduced to companies globally and are working. A healthy, satisfied employee is a happy and productive employee.
Online Teams – The Bottom Line
It is certainly time for companies to start stepping into the new age of digital working and employee satisfaction. Companies that are falling behind in this are certainly seeing decreases in employee retainment. COVID-19 was certainly a catalyst for a massive shift to be made in the workplace, despite murmurs globally in the years prior to it. What companies need to do now, to maintain happy and productive employees is keep up with the trends, and provide safe, controlled working environments for their staff.