Role Of HR In Employee Engagement For Remote Teams

The role of HR in Employee Engagement for remote teams is very crucial. It is pivotal that remote employees get the same quality of employee experience as the people in-office do.Thus, whether you are running an organization which has been remote-friendly for a long time or you have recently gone remote during the Covid-19 outbreak, your role in employee engagement is very crucial.It is the responsibility of HR to discover and implement the top drivers of engagement in the organization. Factors that can hamper engagement of your remote teams1Lack of physical interactionIn addition to the professional engagements in a company, informal relations are equally important. Lockdown and physical distancing have affected us and being an HR manager, it is necessary to keep in touch with employees. Lack of communication, in the long run, might affect the professional understanding and performance of the employees.2Psychological stressEvery individual is under immense distress and uncertainty at present. It is very essential to keep a tab on an employee’s mental wellbeing as well. Speaking to HR magazine in 2014, taskforce member Wendy Cartwright said: “where there is high engagement but low wellbeing, there is a risk of burnout over time, and where there is high wellbeing but low engagement, employees may be feeling generally satisfied and well but are unconnected to the organisational purpose”.3MisinterpretationIn remote work, there is a lack of physical contact and daily interactions. This, in turn, gives rise to misunderstandings, chaos and in the worst cases, long term loss. It is, thus, necessary to create a positive influence on employees.4Technology fatigueSitting through ten or more online meetings every day is tedious. Screens and networks are already a hassle and staying stationary for hours, adds to it. Technological aspects are also critical for some employees. Instead of boosting business, the results can be negative sometimes. With fatigue, employees lose interest and focus. This may lead to unwanted errors and problems in remote teams. 5Other challengesAlong with the technical and emotional aspects, the major problem that remains constant nowadays is the global crisis. Financial, personal and medical strains are the major challenges in the pandemic. Isolation, fear and pressure are trapping people. Stabilizing personal and professional life seems hard. Does it sound like the engagement issues faced by your remote teams? Role of HR in employee engagement for remote teamsAs the HR you should incorporate and practice employee engagement activities right from day one. Here are a few steps you can take to uplift the remote employee engagement system of your organization:1Build an engaged workforce with proper communicationEffective communication with employees is the most important aspect for better operations in any organization. Keep your employees in the loop by communicating more frequently. Good communication among peers and between employer and employee helps in building trust. "Communicate in a respectful manner – don’t just tell your team members what you want, but explain to them why.So, how can you as an HR keep the employees connected while they work remotely— let us find out?1Be at their fingertipsQuick response time will give your remote employees the sense of a virtual workplace. It will make your distributed employees feel less isolated.2Create informal communication sessionsIt will provide your remote team a wider sense of community where they can carry on their chit-chats outside their usual work roles and make personal connections.HR should ensure proper remote team building activities to attain strong bonds among your employees. 3Use essential toolsAnother interesting advancement of technology that the organizations have recently picked up is the vast tools for management. Make full use of the company intranet and other digital tools to keep them abreast.2Create job AutonomyAs an HR it is easy to fall in the category of micromanagers. This can be a great hindrance in your remote employees’ freedom to make choices and consequently, employee engagement. Autonomy is a contributing factor to employees’ sense of engagement with their work and organisation. The freedom to meet their responsibilities as they chose to do can encourage employees to be more productive and committed to their organization. 3Make your organization’s goals and purposes loud and clearSetting specific goals and making your employees clear about their roles is one the key to facilitating remote employee engagement.“The more clear you are about what you want the more likely you are to achieve it”Clear and suitable benchmarks will also help you track the performance of all employees throughout the organization so that no positive result goes unnoticed.As the HR you should be transparent about the purpose of your organization and how projects and actions are aligned to its overall goals. It is your duty to communicate all the system operations, technical requirements and work hours well to your remote employees.4Pulse SurveysAs the HR, it is your task to let your remote employees feel heard and valued. Giving your employees a chance to voice their feedback- positive and negative, is an important step towards employee engagement.“HR leaders and managers have to be willing to listen and be open to change in order for teams to remain productive while working from home,” Dania Shaheen, VP of strategy & people operations at Kazoo.One of the ways you can do this is by initiating pulse surveys. It will help you to measure and take action against anything that may lower down the organisation's level of engagement and improve it over time.5Built a recognition programme that is most effectiveWho doesn't like to be appreciated? In fact, recognition is excellent for boosting employee engagement and motivation. To make your recognition programme effective exercise on-spot recognition. Whenever you spot anything worthy of recognition, step on it and reward them instantly.While recognizing your remote teams choose a public forum. Take to social media to reinforce the contributions of a remote workforce.Diversify your rewards scheme and make recognition a daily affair. 6Encourage your employee to bloomOne of the long term benefits of supporting your employees in their career and personal growth can be seen in the form of employee retention.“Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.”And what can you do to achieve this? You can start by offering free or discounted courses to help your remote employees upskill themselves.Remote employee engagement tips for HR in COVID -19 crisis1Make communication personalisedEmployees who have newly shifted to remote work due to the pandemic may face different challenges than employees who have been working remotely for a long time.For example, new remote workers may feel the lack of a proper workspace or technological access.As the HR you need to communicate personally to check in with how employees are dealing with the new situation.2Extend the Helping HandAsk your employees if they need any kind of support from you to deal with the situation. For example, you can ask them if they have access to the essential products in their locality. This extra mile from your side will increase your remote teams’ trust on you and your organization – one of the key constituents of employee engagement.3Don’t forget to incorporate a wellness programEngage For Success (E4S), which has been at the forefront of UK research into employee engagement, has argued that engagement and wellbeing are closely linked.As per JustWorks, 26% of surveyed employees cited work perks such as gym memberships and flexible work schedules as important when considering a job offer. But as it turns out, only 15% of employers offer perks for physical and mental health in their benefits package.It is furthermore significant in these trying times when mental health has become a major issue.“The groundwork of all happiness is health.”As the HR you can start off your wellness program by creating health awareness and promoting health education.How can employee engagement software help? You don’t go into a battle without armour. An employee engagement software can work as your armour to protect your organization from having a disengaged remote team. It will help you keep track of all the necessary data that can govern your remote teams’ engagement digitally.Moreover, employee engagement is not a one-time initiative, but an on-going process. Thus using such digital tools will help you be constant in your initiatives.Peoplebox can be your all-in-one solution in this regard. It is an AI-based Employee engagement software that will help you build engaged and high achieving teams.Conclusion:HR has a pivotal role to play in employee engagement due to his role as a mediator between workers, managers, and executive leadership. He is the one who leads the way to design, measure and evaluate the employee engagement and work culture of an organization.Being the HR, it is thus essential for you to identify the challenges and know plans and goals to overcome those challenges. Commitment on your part is a must in this regard to keep up with an environment of constant change in employee engagement behaviour.Don’t wait any longer. And using the measures mentioned above keep tracking and updating the strategies— with repeated attempts to ensure that employee engagement is successfully enhanced.