Capturing the Employee Experience Remotely
Employee experience refers to an employee’s literal experience at work, and while HR departments focus on moments of impact, impactful face-to-face interactions have been lost.
Moments of impact are noteworthy touchpoints in an employee’s journey at a company, such as onboarding, work anniversaries, etc. Because these moments are important milestones for people, organizations create processes to ensure they are positive and memorable.
These key moments of impact are important but much of the employee experience is dependent on day-to-day interactions with peers. Remote work takes away a lot of the color that these daily interactions bring to one’s experience at work.
Here are some ways remote leaders can create a positive employee experience and employee engagement strategy.
Regularly tie your team to their purpose
When we do something repetitively we can unintentionally go on autopilot. As a leader, it is important that you regularly connect your team to their purpose to keep them engaged with their work. This is not just beneficial for performance but their employee engagement and fulfillment. Connect your individual contributors to the why behind their actions and the impact of their role in the organization.
Start meetings by reminding people of your organization’s mission
Remind your team of what their contributions achieve
Be detailed and use visuals
Purpose drives high engagement
Influences customer experience
Create opportunities to connect and socialize
It’s important to connect with one another and without the shared space of an office, we lose the casual yet integral connection between co-workers. This doesn’t mean connecting on a personal level it means reminding one another of the people who exist behind the screen.
Set time aside in meetings for casual conversation and catching up
Set realistic time limits
Give each person time to speak
Engage in team-building games
Scheduled check-ins
The keyword is scheduled. Having time set aside creates a comfortable space where people can ask questions and communicate openly. Effective team communication creates strong relationships and efficient performance management.
Protect this time and make it known to the other party
Stay consistent
Be intentional and present
Clear communication
Without having the added context of your other small interactions, verbal communication carries more weight, whether on the phone or by email. Go the extra mile to communicate clearly. When you improve team communication you save time and prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.
Read before sending, check for grammar and clarity
Provide all the necessary context
Add TLDR (Too long didn’t read) to your e-mails
Less is more
Ask for feedback
We’re all learning how to work differently, make sure to ask for feedback on how things are going to make improvements when necessary. Whether it’s about a workflow, 1:1 cadence, or communication style stay aligned to the evolving needs of your team.
Be adaptable, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for different members of your team
Maintain open lines of communication
Ask open-ended questions
Celebrate together
Bring your team together not just for updates but to celebrate. Whether it’s a holiday or a win, share gratitude and facilitate opportunities to engage positively with one another.
Set time aside in meetings to celebrate
Give your team members the opportunity to share their wins
Remote work brings nice flexibility but without a strong employee experience, it can lead to an inconsistent connection between individual contributors and their work. The ties that keep them connected have weakened without the social interaction found in the office. This means companies that are going remote-first must equip leaders with the tools to create an engaging and fulfilling employee experience.