How to Motivate Your Virtual Employees

Hiring remote-working employees has become the go-to practice for millennial companies and any other company who wants to compete in today’s business world. But one thing that stands true is virtual employees need just as much motivation as office-bound employees. This is because as much as we wish they were, employees are not as passionate about our brands as we are. Yes, they can be passionate about working for you, but there’s got to be something more than that for them to remain motivated. For this reason, today, we’re going to discuss five ways to motivate remote-working employees:

Communication is key.

The fast-paced world of virtual employment means that remote-working employees often only receive communication with tasks and feedback. There is hardly any space for forming bonds with colleagues.

Communicating regularly with your employees will help them fit in and feel more part of the team. Try implementing the following:

Weekly meetings
Praise them when they submit good work
Encourage colleague interaction
Create social media groups for staff members

Create growth opportunities.

Many virtual employees become worried about their career growth. In a normal office environment, they can visualise their career path, but in a remote-working environment, it’s more difficult for someone to see where their career is headed.

To create growth opportunities, stimulate conversations with employees to find out where they see themselves in the short-term and long-term. Spell out what a typical career path would be for someone in their position.

Implement an employee recognition program.

It’s human nature to want to be praised and recognised for our efforts. Failure to recognise employee efforts can result in bad consequences. According to a Gallup survey, 40% of employees who reported that they were ignored also reported that they were actively disengaged with their work. Of those who reported that their supervisor focused solely on their negative qualities, only 22% reported active disengagement. [Source: Furst Person]

It’s important to recognise your virtual employees for the little and big things they do for your company. A good way to do this is via an employee recognition program.

Define what actions warrant recognition and then recognise employees accordingly. Make sure that gifts are relevant. Don’t give a gym gift card to someone who is not a health fanatic for example

Establish systems and measure performance.

Did you know that only 36% of companies have a remote-working policy? Also, only 3% measure performance, engagement and productivity? [Source: CIPHR]

If performance and productivity are not measured there’s no way for you to understand where to improve things in your business. It’s important to develop policies and procedures to govern your remote-working employees. Also, use modern technology to measure productivity e.g. Apps, tools, time trackers, Chrome extensions