For many employees, working from home is its own reward. It’s also rewarding for employers, as numerous studies show that employees who work from home can be more productive.
The challenge for employers lies in finding ways to recognize, reward and motivate their full and part-time remote employees to show them that, while they may be out of sight, they are not out of mind.
Here’s a look at 7 ways to recognize and reward remote employees.
Weekly “shout outs”
Recognizing the exemplary work of an employee or department of the week, via a congratulatory company-wide email or conference call, can be an effective means of showing appreciation and motivating employees.
When remote workers see what others are achieving, and that their efforts are being acknowledged and rewarded, they’ll be more likely to set and achieve higher productivity goals in anticipation of getting their own “shout out.”
Monthly in-person meetings
Virtual workers who live reasonably close to the office will appreciate the opportunity to meet face-to-face at least once a month with management and other members of their remote team.
These personal meetings are a great time to brainstorm, exchanges ideas and implement exercises and activities that will help team members to bond and build mutual trust.
For those employees who live a far distance from the office, web-conferencing with them individually and team building virtually can boost moral and help maintain a productive flow.
Virtual water-cooler sessions
Holding daily to twice weekly “water-cooler” sessions via Skype is a great way to keep the lines of communication flowing with remote employees.
These sessions should allow group members to check-in and chat in a friendly and trusting space, updating one another about both work and non-work related goings on.
Learn and respect the cultures of remote employees
With today’s technology, remote workers can telecommute from countries all across the globe. Getting to know the cultures and traditions of a multinational workforce, and interacting with all remote employees appropriately, is a great way to show respect and appreciation, which can be a very powerful motivator.
Recognize good efforts consistently
Employees need positive reinforcement fairly regularly to keep us engaged and motivated. And those who work with others in brick and mortar offices are more likely to receive spontaneous recognition of their efforts, due to the fact that they are physically interacting with other workers and management.
Remote workers, however, are isolated from others in the workforce and may not feel as readily appreciated for their efforts as workers in a physical office.
Therefore, it’s critical that remote employees be recognized and rewarded quickly and consistently via Skype, phone, email, tweets or other social media platforms, to help keep them engaged and motivated.
Failing to recognize a job well done in a timely manner may lead to lapses in productivity. You can also send a mass text to employees every once in a while to encourage them
Send thank-you notes via snail mail
In this day and age of email, social media posts and tweets, communicating through technology is convenient but not very personal.
Sending a remote worker a hand-written note of appreciation can go a long way to boost morale and productivity. And speaking of employee appreciation, don’t forget to send birthday cards for remote employees.
Stay connected
While remote workers have the ability to stay more focused without office distractions, the downside is that they can often feel disconnected. Wanting to connect may take them off of work onto social sites where they will spend unproductive time.
Taking the time to check-in and reconnect with remote employees by phone is a great way to show appreciation and maintain employee motivation.
Robert Cordray
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