Working in the office can be a draining experience for some people. This is why many companies are looking at ways to improve employee engagement and satisfaction levels. Here are some tips on how to make your employees happy and more productive, and helps them work from anywhere (WFA)!
- Make sure there is enough natural light in the space
- Provide opportunities for personal development like courses or seminars
- Encourage breaks with games, music and other activities
Many companies are allowing their employees to work remotely. Some even require that their staff work off-site. While not always practical for every company, there are some steps you can take in order to make your off-site workers happy and productive. And even if you don’t allow remote working, these tips are sure to improve employee morale overall.
Regular feedback
Provide regular feedback so that workers know how they’re doing. This will help motivate them to meet goals and show the company that they care about its success.
Work with each employee individually to determine what kind of working environment they might prefer. Some people might feel more comfortable working at home than in an office, while others might prefer things the other way around.
Not every employee will be able to communicate easily over long distances and video conferencing should be a part of your WFA policy. Employees who cannot establish trust will not perform well.
Extra curricular activities
Employees are the backbone of every organisation. Extracurricular activities like sports and summer boot camp keep employees motivated, entertained and interested, which in turn help them to work better and stay longer.
Encourage employees to participate in sporting activities of their choice or organise sports competitions within the company. This will not only keep them physically fit but will also boost their morale and help them stay mentally alert. It would further encourage team spirit and bonding between colleagues, which is essential for a happy and productive workforce.
Personal interaction
Employees who work in the office usually have the advantage of frequent personal interactions with their colleagues, while remote workers miss out on the camaraderie that comes from seeing other people every day. Companies should ensure that off-site employees still feel like part of the team by inviting them to company functions and making sure they are included in important meetings and decisions.
Give employees the chance to work with other remote workers if they choose to, so that they don’t feel as isolated or lonely. It’s important that all employees feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves.
Off-site employees
Off-site employees will feel more determined when you have an office where they can visit as needed for training sessions and other important meetings.
Off-site employees may feel like second-class citizens when you promote on-site workers more frequently. Make an effort to ensure that remote staff feel valued as much as their counterparts do.
It can be hard for some people to work from home, especially if they have distractions or trouble concentrating. Off-site employees need all or most of the same resources that on-site employees do in order to perform well. Companies should proactively try to understand individual staff requirements to help them make reasonable adjustments and provide them all of the tools and resources they need to be able to work productively in their remote work environment.
Loyalty and dedication
If a company allows you to work from home, it deserves your loyalty and dedication. Make sure that the time you spend working for the company is your top priority so that you can reap the financial and professional rewards that come with being dedicated to your job. While you may have to adjust to working from home, it can also be a very rewarding experience.
If you find that your off-site employees are not producing as well or as quickly as they should be, it’s important that you identify what the problem is and help fix it pronto. Some problems will be easy to solve while others may require more time and effort. If you don’t fix the problem, off-site employees may feel unmotivated or resentful towards their company. Managers should make sure that their remote workers are as happy and productive as on-site workers if they want to prevent this from happening.
Working policy
If you run a WFA policy, you not only get the benefit of higher productivity, but also reduced expenses such as gas and electricity, costs for travel, and food expenses. Companies may save more by allowing their employees to work from home.
An effective WFA policy should provide your off-site workers with everything that they need in order to feel comfortable and inspired every single day. It’s important to determine what makes each employee tick so that you can keep them productive, efficient, and more content than ever.
At the end of the day, employees are most productive when they feel like they have been allowed to make a difference in their company. Make sure your off-site workers know that their contribution matters by keeping them appraised on everything happening at work and checking in with them multiple times per week.
A WFA policy can be as effective as an office-based one if you make it that way. Create a policy that not only works for your company in terms of productivity but also inspires off-site workers to give it their all and work with more and better dedication.
Productivity is key when it comes to implementing an effective WFA policy. Make sure that your off-site employees are happy and productive, motivated by their work so that their productivity rises along with the company’s.
Conclusion
With more employees working from anywhere, it’s important to know how to best engage them. Some of the strategies that will help include frequent communication by email or phone, regular check-ins with team members who are remote workers, a company culture which promotes trust and open dialogue between all types of staff no matter where they’re working from.
Author: Sadia Alam
Photo credit: Rūta Celma on Unsplash
