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Engaged employees are highly sought after by HR teams, as they tend to be more productive, innovative, vocal, and less likely to leave their jobs. With the shift to remote and hybrid work, HR leaders have had to revamp their engagement strategies.
Fortunately, studies show that remote workers are already more engaged due to greater flexibility and work-life balance. However, since 73% of teams are predicted to have remote staff by 2028, HR teams must continue to invest in engagement strategies. Here are some key areas for HR teams to focus on going forward.
High employee engagement is the panacea which HR teams in all organisations have been chasing for decades.
Engaged workers are more productive, they contribute creative ideas, speak up when they spot an issue and are less likely to be looking for a new job too.
Most employee engagement schemes have focused on in-office strategies, but the switch to remote and hybrid working at the start of this decade has meant people leaders needed to switch up the strategies at play to help maintain and boost engagement for the longer-term.
There is some good news here for HR. Studies show that remote workers are more engaged anyway thanks to increasingly flexible schedules, zero commutes and more time to spend with family and pursue hobbies.
But with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggesting that 73% of all teams will have remote staff by 2028, it’s vital that HR teams continue to investigate - and invest - in the strategies that will help to keep out-of-office employees engaged.
Here’s a look at just some of the key areas that all HR teams should be focusing on in 2023 and beyond.
Promote your core values and company mission
When workers are physically disconnected from one another, it becomes even more critical to ensure that everyone is still pulling in the same direction.
Two underutilised tools in the HR professional’s arsenal to help accomplish this are core values and mission statements.
Core values set out what the organisation believes in and the behaviours it wants its people to display, whilst mission statements help to keep everyone driving in the same direction - for the same purpose.
Reminding staff regularly what the company goals and objectives are, and the values with which you want to achieve them, will maintain a sense of connection to the company - wherever staff are based.
Ditch the micromanagement
On the flip side of increasing engagement, there’s also a conversation to be had around nullifying the behaviours that actively decrease engagement too.
The switch to remote and hybrid working has challenged managers who are used to being able to see (or monitor) their teams in person. The temptation can be to micromanage, but research (and first-hand experience for most of us!) clearly shows how this form of management is one of the fastest ways to disengage even the most high-performing and experienced team members.
The biggest shock for some people leaders and business owners over the pandemic was that they could, in fact, trust their staff to get on with their work - whether in the office or not. Three years on, you can continue to trust them too.
Maintain the connection
Some of the biggest potential drawbacks of remote work in particular, is that it can be easy for some employees to start to feel cut-off from the company or siloed within their own teams.
Communication is key to maintaining the connection between peers, teams and departments, and the right tech is a vital cog in the comms machine.
Tailoring benefits packages for a diverse workforce
Uptake of centralised messaging platforms like Slack and Teams took off throughout the pandemic and isa fantastic way of getting employees out of emails and actually conversing.
But a word of warning - bosses pinging messages ‘for tomorrow’ outside of office hours can lead to employees feeling like they’re always in work mode and lead to eventual burnout. Set boundaries for when and how these systems can be used if needed.
Recognise and reward ongoing contributions
The opportunity for an impromptu ‘well done’ and ‘thank you’ are limited when teams are working away from the office for a lot of the time. These positive micro-interactions are critical for ensuring employees feel seen, appreciated and valued.
With hybrid and remote working models, HR needs to formalise a reward and recognition plan - usually in the form of a transparent recognition platform where all stakeholders can thank one another and see their peers getting congratulated too.
When workers feel valued, they’re more engaged in their work. And by shifting from manager-owed recognition to a peer-driven online model, employees can own the recognition conversation in a self-fulfilling cycle of giving and receiving appreciation.
Make well-being a priority
The health, happiness and well-being of your people is still your responsibility, even if they’re not sitting in the office every day!
A happy employee is an engaged and productive one, and whilst remote working has delivered some fantastic health benefits related with decreased stress and more time for exercise and hobbies, full-time remote work in particular, can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Download now: A guide to improving staff well-being & retention through your HR team
Since the pandemic, many organisations have really focused on employee health (as you would expect!), and that focus has continued in the post-pandemic world. Combined with perks and benefits offerings such as 24/7 access to mental health support, people leaders have recognised the engagement-boosting benefits of promoting their people's both physical and mental well-being.
Give employees the tech they need to succeed
Slow computers, broken centralised login systems, buggy technology… give your best and most engaged employee tech and systems that don’t work, and watch them quickly lose all productivity, motivation and drive.
Research released last year shone a light on how one in three employees are finding that substandard technology is contributing to their lack of motivation and engagement. Whether working remotely full time or just some of the time, staff need to experience the same level of tech as they would if they sat at their desk in the office.
Some companies have been great at recognising how critical this area of remote and hybrid working is and offered stipends for all employees to upgrade their home working set-up.
Others recognised that the systems they formerly relied on every day were no longer up to scratch for a hybrid working world. As a result, remote access, enhanced online security, single sign-ons and a raft of other issues become front of mind - especially for business-critical applications surrounding HR, finance and payroll.
Forming a business case for new tech investment, as a result, has likely never been so wide-ranging and important.
If your HR team is looking to improve the HR, payroll or finance platforms available to it, then get this free guide on building a business case for HR technology investment here.
