For some people, working from home may be an exciting opportunity to do what they love and work in a more comfortable location. However, working from home can feel stigmatized and isolating for many others. To help address this issue and increase morale on the work-from-home team, managers should implement managerial strategies such as regular feedback sessions with employees and timely communication with company executives.
1. Give Regular Feedback to Your Work-from-Home Team
Managers who oversee work-from-home employees should be proactive and give daily feedback to their team members. A suitable method to accomplish this is via the weekly meeting. During the session, managers should spend about 10 minutes discussing that week’s objectives with their team members and then ask for evaluations of each member regarding their work and how they feel about working from home. This process allows those who desire a more team-oriented work environment to voice their opinions. If the weekly meeting yields negative feedback, managers should meet with each team member individually at their desk to discuss the issue.
2. Ensure Team Members are Informed About Fulfilling Company Objectives
Another way managers can keep all members of their work-from-home team up to date is by ensuring that they receive all progress updates from various company divisions. One way to accomplish this is that managers send out regular communication updates to their team members. During each employee’s weekly meeting, feedback and progress updates should be shared with each individual, ensuring they have the same understanding of objectives as those working in an office environment. Furthermore, suppose any of these communications contain essential company news. In that case, managers should ensure that the details are read by all the work-from-home team members and shared in their weekly meetings.
3. Maintain Regular Communication With Company Executives
A significant factor that influences morale is the ability of workers to maintain direct contact with company executives. As work-from-home managers, it is our responsibility of that manager to keep a line of open communication between the work-from-home team and those in upper positions. If a manager cannot do this, they risk creating a hostile environment for their team members.
Communication with company executives can be done through email or phone calls. Managers must let the executives know that they are working to enhance the work-from-home environment by rewarding those who work hard and offering constructive criticism to those who are not living up to expectations. This direct line of communication will help company leaders better understand how their employees feel and what they want to increase morale on the work-from-home team.
4. Create an Online Communication Network
To ensure that her team receives all company updates on time and can access those in upper positions of authority, managers should organize an online communication network. The team members can then email team members in other divisions with any updates or questions they may have about company progress. This allows for open communication between all company employees and can help build a stronger, more cohesive, and professional work-from-home team.
Not everything is ‘your’ work-from-home experience; you need to go the extra mile if you want your employees to be happy but not feel like they have to go above and beyond their regular duties. This article outlines a few of the many possible options to help you keep your employees happy and motivated. It’s essential to provide work-from-home employees with the same level of motivation that office workers receive. By staying dedicated to proactive management, a manager can help create a positive environment for their team members and ensure their morale doesn’t decline.
