While remote work has brought benefits in many ways, it has also posed new problems, particularly in the area of employee engagement. Are remote workers really happier? Studies reveal that the effects are not all positive, some of the employees benefit from the flexibility while others experience social isolation, lack of identification with the team, and limited face-to-face interactions and ad hoc communications.
Engagement of employees is very important in any business organization. According to a Gallup poll, organizations with engaged workers have 21% higher profitability, 41% lower absenteeism, and better customer results. However, engagement is not guaranteed in a remote environment and needs constant effort from the management to be sustained. In this article, we will discuss seven actionable strategies to increase engagement in remote teams, starting with communication to creating an inclusive virtual environment.
Challenged sense of belonging in remote teams
There are many advantages of remote work, but it may erode the employees’ sense of community when they are not physically in the office. One of the major drawbacks of remote employees is that they do not get to interact with their colleagues in a casual way. This can lead to disengagement, as workers may feel that they are not part of a team and the company does not have a clear vision.
The main issue is that people working from home can experience loneliness, invisibility, or even job promotion concerns. This is why it’s important that leaders respond to these challenges because engaged employees are not only more efficient but also contribute to a better team and business growth. Now, let’s take a look at seven practical approaches to consider when trying to involve your remote teams.
7 practical ideas to engage remote employees
Crowdsource team-led initiatives
Let your team decide on how to create engagement initiatives that will be implemented. This could be as simple as setting up a book club to meet online to as complex as having different employees presenting their skills in different workshops. This way, when your team is creating the ideas, they are more likely to stay invested.
Impact: This transfers the ownership to the employees, which in turn leads to better engagement and increased buy-in.
Shorten meetings and make them asynchronous-friendly
Limit virtual meetings to 15-20 minutes and always record the meeting for those who prefer to participate at their own convenience. Use asynchronous formats for broader updates, so employees can catch up when it works best for them. This ensures that everyone has equal access, regardless of their time zone or personal schedule.
Impact: Less frequent and shorter meetings decrease fatigue and give employees more control over their time, which in turn improves productivity and job satisfaction.
Launch a wellness program with remote-friendly perks
Develop a wellness program that will address the needs of your employees in a manner that is unique to your company. Provide a variety of programs, including exercise, therapy, and cultural wellness programs that are diverse in terms of ethnicity and interests. Highlight wellness through an inclusive lens—acknowledging that different cultures may prioritize wellness differently.
Impact: When wellness programs cater to diverse preferences, employees feel seen and supported, leading to greater overall engagement and well-being.
Recognize employee accomplishments in meaningful ways
Recognizing remote employees for their achievements requires extra attention, especially when you can’t rely on in-person interactions. Intentional recognition boosts engagement and makes remote workers feel connected to the broader team. According to Deloitte, a well-executed employee recognition program can lead to a 14% improvement in engagement, productivity, and performance.
Here are practical ways to acknowledge your remote team:
- Give real-time shout-outs on shared platforms
- Celebrate personal milestones, acknowledge birthdays, work anniversaries, or personal accomplishments with digital cards, thoughtful messages, or even small gifts sent to their homes.
- Take a few moments during team calls to express appreciation for specific achievements.
- Handwritten notes or curated care packages from managers can go a long way in showing employees that their hard work isn’t going unnoticed, adding a personal touch in an otherwise digital world.
Impact: When employees witness their efforts being appreciated in a meaningful and systematic manner, it enhances their feeling of belongingness to the team and encourages them to perform even better.
Encourage flexibility and autonomy: trust your team!
One of the key advantages of remote work is flexibility. Allow your employees to decide when and how they want to work as long as they are delivering the results on time. It is always beneficial to trust your team to plan and manage their own schedules, as it gives them a greater sense of ownership over their work
Impact: When employees are trusted and allowed to make decisions on their own, they are likely to be more productive and take initiative.
Learn practical strategies participating in Diversio’s Workplace Flexibility Training
Celebrate diversity and make it a driving force for engagement
Ensure that your team is genuinly diverse and inclusive by promoting employees’ stories, backgrounds, and cultures. These stories can be shared during team meetings, in internal newsletters, or as part of a “spotlight” feature, as they go a long way toward making people feel that they are part of a community and that diversity is not just accepted, but celebrated. Emphasize how having different points of view is beneficial for making decisions, coming up with new ideas, and solving problems to ensure that the message is understood that diversity is not just a trend.
Impact: When employees realize that their background and ideas are appreciated, they feel more included, thereby fostering a deeper sense of belonging and trust.
Tools such as Diversio can assist you in determining how welcomed and supported diverse employees feel within your team. Pulse surveys can be conducted at least once a month to monitor the level of belongingness, perceived fairness, and respect, providing actionable insights on the effectiveness of your DEI initiatives.
Virtual coffees and ERGs for personal and group connections
Virtual networking events allow people from different teams to discuss ideas, while one-to-one meetings, such as virtual coffee breaks, encourage friendly relationships within the team. Interdepartmental projects also help to bring together employees from different departments who may not have any interaction with each other.
Supporting Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) is another way of offering more than just connection since it brings together employees with similar backgrounds or interests to support each other. These groups foster togetherness within the company even when the employees are working remotely. When employees have a formal and an informal way of interacting, they feel like they are part of something bigger.
Measure employee engagement
To ensure that these engagement efforts are effective, it is important that engagement be measured frequently. Use pulse surveys and real time feedback to better understand how employees feel about their workplace and fellow employees. This data will assist leaders to pinpoint some of the concerns and address them before they lead to a decline in performance.
Tools like Diversio’s employee engagement software provide powerful analytics, allowing leaders to track key metrics and make data-driven decisions to improve engagement. By reviewing real-time feedback and acting on trends—whether it’s a drop in team morale or an uptick in positive feedback—leaders can maintain a strong, engaged workforce, even in remote settings.
Conclusion: Engagement is an ongoing dialogue
What’s often overlooked in the conversation about remote work and employee engagement is that engagement isn’t a one-time fix—it’s a continuous dialogue. It’s not just about implementing a set of tactics and calling it a day. Engagement lives in the feedback loop between employees and leadership. Seeing engagement as a fluid conversation—one where colleagues are constantly learning from each other is what ultimately creates a resilient, motivated, and truly connected team.
To keep this conversation alive, Diversio offers real-time data and analytics that help leaders understand what’s working and where improvements are needed. Pulse surveys and DEI insights provide valuable, actionable feedback that highlights how included employees feel, where there are gaps in engagement, and how leadership can take meaningful steps forward.
Additionally, Diversio’s training programs equip teams with the tools they need to foster inclusivity, improving how they collaborate and communicate across the board.
