Hello! My name is Katie Stewart and welcome to Ask An HR Expert where we answer any of your HR questions. Today’s question is: How can I engage remote employees?

3 Tips to Engage Remote Employees

Tip #1

Make sure you are intentional in your program design. Your program design should have remote workers in mind. What works for co-located teams may not work for a remote workforce. When I was doing research regarding this topic, I came across a study that was conducted in 2011 by On Point Consulting. They looked at a large number of successful remote teams to find commonalities. What they found were 5 areas, and they represent them with the acronym – RAMPP.

• Relationships – It’s very important to keep a remote workforce engaged. Consider how you are growing and maintaining relationships with these employees.
• Accountability – It can be challenging to keep someone accountable that you do not see on a regular basis. What processes and programs do you have in place to showcase their efforts and hold them accountable?
• Motivation – When you are not located in the same physical location as an employee, how do you know when they are motivated on a regular basis? Look for different ways that you can keep people connected. This will help you in this area.
• Purpose – Create a sense of purpose for remote workers, so they feel tied to the overall mission of the organization and to other teams.
• Process – Have great processes in place for your remote teams. Educate people about them and follow them on a regular basis.

Tip #2

Pay attention to your recruiting processes for remote workers. What makes a person successful in working remote is not going to be a ‘lone wolf’ personality. It’s going to be someone who thrives in team environments and looks for collaboration. They’re going to seek out those opportunities even when they are remote.

Tip #3

Make sure you have the right manager in place. The manager should be comfortable communicating with all forms of technology and have experience managing remote employees.

Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to talking to you soon!

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