3 Employee Engagement Activities for Remote Teams
Has it been tough adjusting to the changes that COVID-19 has caused? Especially adjusting to the major change of having your team work remotely. This has been an area that many managers are struggling with. Mainly because keeping remote teams engaged is fairly different from how you’d approach engaging with employees who are in the office with you.
Yes, employee engagement is important for all employees, but it’s even more important for those who work from home.
Why? Because you want remote employees connected to their work even if they’re in an environment that can easily cause them to check out!
So, the goal of this post is simply to help you stay engaged with your remote team. Use these 3 activities this week… then rinse & repeat them onward so you don’t miss out on chances to boost engagement with your team, even when they’re at home!
– Engagement Activity #1 –
Virtual Coffee Chat
When you’re working in the same office as your team, how common is it for you to run into one (or more) of your employees in the break room & start a random conversation?
It starts with a quick “hey, how’s it going“… and the next thing you know, you’re chatting about that episode of The Masked Singer that aired the night before… or even that crazy email you both read from a customer. This happens too many times to count in an office.
But guess what?
Opportunities to engage in casual conversations don’t happen when the team works from home… so you have to be intentional about making them happen!
A day or two in advance, reach out to a remote employee & ask them if they’re free to have a Virtual Coffee Chat with you. This is just 15 – 30 mins of one-on-one time for you two to just catch up & connect!
– Engagement Activity #2 –
Virtual Team Lunch
Similar to random break room chatter, you also miss the chance for impromptu lunch outings with your team when everyone is working from home.
So why not eat lunch together… remotely?
Reach out to your team, schedule a video con-call during lunch time, and have everyone join the call with their lunch of the day!
This is a simple way for everyone to unplug & connect as a team. And considering that we’re all social distancing right now, who knows the last time someone on your team has been able to chat with another adult outside their home!
– Engagement Activity #3 –
Noticeable Mentions
Although your team is working remote, it’s important for you not to overlook acknowledging something great they’ve done.
No matter how big or small it is, take the time to notice someone for something they’ve done in an email or group chat. But don’t stop there…
Encourage the team to send a virtual hi-five through a pic, GIF or quick video! They can even get creative with their hi-fives & have a “special guest“, such as a pet or kid, be a part of it.
Noticeable mentions show that you appreciate their efforts, keeps things fun on the team, and it also gets everyone interactive & supportive of each other!
Need more employee engagement ideas for your remote employees & direction on how to plan them in your workload?
Grab the Employee Engagement Planning Packet to help you take the guesswork out of doing so!
