Remote Employees: Keep Them Connected and Engaged

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21 March 2018. In today’s interconnected world, more and more businesses are embracing flexible working and employing freelancers and contractors. However, one of the main challenges that this has presented is working out ways that you can keep them connected and engaged with the rest of your team. So, you need to take advantage of all the technology and communication tools which are available in the modern age in order to do this successfully.

Schedule regular team calls

Though this may seem entirely obvious, you should try to schedule regular calls which fit around everyone’s busy schedules. If it is not possible to speak to your team for an extended period of time, try keeping up with them more regularly but for briefer sessions. As well as making remote employees feel like they have not been forgotten about, you are also in a better position to identify which team members are in need of extra support from you.

Cloud phone and wearable tech

Why not try moving your communication system up into the cloud as a way of keeping your employees connected? Route these calls through your main office and you can even use a mobile app to stay in touch when you are on the go. Your employees may also benefit from wearable technology such as librestream augmented virtual reality if they are engaged in complicated tasks and need express guidance with them. It is always worth experimenting with the new systems which are always becoming available to see what may be useful.

Instant messaging and video chats

Instant messaging is an easy means of communication which is available to all sorts of business owners. This is the perfect tool for getting quick responses when it doesn’t feel necessary to compose an entire email. Another useful tool which is worth taking advantage of is video call software. This way, you can still have the face-to-face chats that you need while being in entirely different locations.

A company blog

Though it may not be a central means of communication, a company blog is a great platform for keeping everyone connected. You can post updates regarding things like office activities, product updates, and HR resources, and everyone knows exactly where they can find them. As well as this, blogs are easy to keep updated to suit the individual needs and requirements of your business.

Non-location based engagement activities

There are plenty of activities that you can use to engage the whole team regardless of their location. For example, you could have some voting activities about the next direction that your business will take or get employees to film some videos about what they have been doing over the past week.

The trend towards hiring employees on a remote basis is not one that looks to be going anywhere in the near future. Therefore, you need to keep coming up with ways to keep them engaged and connected in any way that you can.

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