Building Interdependence and Trust. LumApps > Assets > Webinars > 10 Tips to Boost Employee Engagement while Working From Home, LumApps recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Intranet Platforms, Q2 2020 Report. What’s more, they rated the same leaders higher – as stronger communicators, better strategically, and even more inspiring — than team members who were sitting in offices just down the hall from those leaders. However, if you need them to work from home, as is the case with the coronavirus outbreak, then maintaining that engagement can be trickier. I help leaders drive revenue growth. Set boundaries and manage expectations of anyone who demands your time. Some 24% of workers report they are equally productive working from home and in an office. The virtual happy hour has gained some popularity in recent months (though I’d opt for a “happy half-hour”), and you can use it as more than just a perfunctory gathering. Effective communication is an essential factor while working from home, HR, as well as the employees, must make sure to communicate daily, as it will keep everyone in the loop about the current state of the company. In the previous article How to increase community engagement, we focused on in-person communities. I've authored or co-authored dozens of other articles, and am a frequent contributor for Forbes and the Harvard Business Review. But in general, email is highly inefficient and ineffective. This is because quality work relationships help build a … Consider writing down key ideas in order to refine your message, communicate efficiently, and increase the likelihood that you will be understood. Take advantage of different mediums and technology for different messages. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Increasing employee engagement at work has been shown to directly relate to organisational success – profitability, productivity, customer loyalty and reduced levels of absenteeism and turnover. The first days of a new employee leaves an indelible mark on them and sets the stage for their overall engagement with the organization. Try to keep the boundaries friendly and playful, but make sure you stick to them. Be intentional and precise in your communication. If you need to share a file, ask a quick question or answer one, email is fine. However, these 15 working from home productivity statistics all seem to suggest there’s significant value in allowing employees to work from home, or in working from home yourself: 1. Even as companies have some employees returning to the office, nothing about our current circumstances is optimal. In another research study out of Stanford, Does Working from Home Work?, the authors found that working from home led to a 13% performance increase. Working from home is a convenient trend that's gaining traction. In my HBR article about leveraging the power of videoconferences, I emphasize the productivity gained in convening 20-minute, highly focused videoconferences. 1. Morale is the driver for productivity and engagement. Download the report, 10 Tips to Boost Employee Engagement while Working From Home. Whether you have just started working from home with a new remote job or you’ve been working remotely for years, it’s true that there can be psychological effects of working from home. Increasing your employee engagement in the workplace can be a tricky situation. Leaders who communicate effectively and efficiently, and who are compassionate and concerned about their employees’ well-being are going to get much better performance out of people working from home. Editor’s Note: This article was updated on July 19, 2017 with updated statistics and research. This should free up some personal time to work on personal goals, like taking an online course or learning a new language. On-Demand – 60 min Working from home is becoming a necessity in today’s modern workplace. Employees will thank you for respecting their time and helping them work more efficiently. As an employer, you need to ensure that your employees are passionate about their jobs, and that they come to the office everyday eager and enthusiastic to start their work. Work from home goals Working from home means less time commuting to the office and less time getting ready to go to work. I share this, not as a theory or some Pollyanna plea to make lemonade from lemons. Working from home is still a somewhat new concept for many employers, so data on remote work is still quite limited. Remote working can be difficult when you’re used to being surrounded by your teammates every day and have the buzz of the office to keep you going. Do your employees know exactly what is expected of them while they work from home? The Manifest surveyed 365 American workers on how they stay productive while working from home. There are many ways to keep your remote employees engaged, such as encouraging wellness and … You can also improve engagement by increasing the option of working from home. In the real world, employees have to put effort into working effectively from home and creating an appropriate “WFH environment”. Promote transparency and collaboration The modern workplace is evolving quickly as office locations expand and work-from-home becomes more normal. This also means setting boundaries for kids, pets, family members, or roommates. Several years ago, I worked with an investment firm and measured the levels of engagement and work satisfaction of employees in the office versus those who worked from home. Remote work has experienced more than 159% growth over the past 15 years, but many Americans are working from home exclusively for the first time due to COVID-19. Setting clear expectations is the first thing you need to do if you want to ensure high engagement among your employees who are working from home. Improve your onboarding process with Engagedly set of tool to make employee onboarding a delightful experience. Of course, none of this research was conducted within the context of a Global Pandemic forcing people to work remotely, but in speaking with the employees  who worked from home in my client survey, I gleaned several insights into what drove their higher levels of engagement and satisfaction, and why they thought more highly of their leaders. Understanding how to manage and engage employees can yield the same, if not better, results than when employees are in the office. People often spend 45 minutes or more composing an email that takes 2-3 minutes to read. Make an extra effort to connect on a personal level. So how can you … Try to encourage them to leave you alone while you are working so you can stay focused. Begin with a clear headline topic and 2-4 key points, each of which can be expressed in a single sentence. Give employees the freedom to work from a more comfortable environment, help save travel and traffic time, and improve accountability as well. Whether you are among this group, or if you’re an experienced telecommuter but you’re not well-versed at working from home during a pandemic (spoiler: none of us are), you may have begun to experience some serious cabin fever. When delegating a task or asking a group to take on a project, define the work to be done in detail. 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