Keeping Employees Invested and Engaged when Working from Home

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For many, the opportunity to work from home is new and exciting, but are employees prepared to stay motivated outside of the office environment? While this seems to be the way of working for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19 closing offices and shared spaces, we’ve compiled some recommendations to keep your employees invested while working from home.

Keep consistent communications

Don’t disappear on your employees, check in with your team each morning to let them know you’re at your desk and available. Keep them updated on their daily responsibilities and goals, but don’t be overbearing. Show them they have your trust to complete tasks even though they’re not being watched over. We recommend a standardized communication schedule that keeps everyone accountable and prevents anyone from feeling singled out. If you are not using an online platform for project management or workflow optimization, this can be as simple as everyone on the team sending emails at the beginning of the day with their priorities and at the end of the day with what they finished.

Utilize video sharing platforms

Video sharing platforms are a great tool for building team morale. They can be utilized for team meetings and brainstorm sessions, making it feel as if you’re all together and collaborating. Many teams have turned to these platforms for virtual happy hours after work in place of their usual outings. Seeing co-workers and speaking to them rather than through an email will help remind employees they’re a member of a team, rather than on their own.

Loosen their schedule

If your industry allows flexibility, and with the exception of any hard timelines, allow your employees to work outside their strict nine to five workday. Remember while they’re home, so are the rest of their family. Your employees may have a hard time separating work from family obligations during the day, such as homeschooling their children. Let them know that as long as they can hold themselves accountable and complete their tasks, they’re welcome to log on early, or take a longer lunch, as long as they’re making up their work time elsewhere in the day. Tell them to keep teammates looped in with updates when they are stepping away or will be getting to something outside of 9 – 5 pm hours.

Positive Reinforcement

Don’t forget to recognize achievements and hard work, especially in front of the larger team. Give a platform for employees to fill in others on what they have been succeeding at and offer ideas on how tools and tactics can be applied across the entire company. Sharing in joy is just as critical as commiserating when times are tough to keep employees feeling like their contributions are both meaningful and necessary. Consider a mini awards program or other gamification tactics for further engagement.

Written by

Lori Ruggiero

"> Lori Ruggiero serves as Managing Partner & EVP, Corporate & Technology Practice and lead media and messaging strategist for 5WPR's Technology and Corporate divisions. She works on campaigns across numerous verticals and fields including, enterprise technology, B2B, ecommerce, fintech, cyber security, AI, CX, and more. She also heads 5W's Media Training Program which she launched in 2019. Lori works with clients of varying ability to learn or improve public speaking, on camera presence, deep messaging, podcast hosting, and to understand how to navigate complexities within the media. She also has extensive experience creating and executing crisis communications strategies for both individuals and larger organizations. A former journalist and television news producer for 16 plus years, Lori previously held positions at several global media entities including: NBC, CNN, Fox Business, ESPN and Al Jazeera America. She was a 2008 East-West Center Hong Kong Journalism Fellow and has won several accolades, including two Peabody Awards for her coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 presidential election. Since joining agency life more than four years ago, Lori draws from her deep industry knowledge to offer clients advanced strategic council for creating company messaging and narratives that will best resonate with targeted audiences. She has personally guided c-suite executives through pivotal announcements such as IPO's and acquisitions, and sensitive topics such as layoffs and legal issues. Lori graduated from Boston University's College of Communication with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and a minor in Psychology.

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