How to Keep Your Team Motivated Remotely (10 Strategies)

Getting your word across can be more difficult when you’re not in the same room and you’re not able to walk over to your employees’ desks and tell them what you have envisioned.

The first strategy would be to work on setting clear goals for your remote team. After all, 65% of employees want to have more clearly defined goals and responsibilities. Being explicit about what you need to get done will help you avoid mixed signals and failed assignments.

Whether it’s a 20-minute brainstorming session or a 7-day project they’re working on, as a team leader, you’re expected to provide constructive feedback to your team. Remember that 80% of employees prefer to receive ongoing feedback rather than have their performance evaluated yearly.

Be it good or not so good; it’s important that your remote workforce receives information on how they did and could be improved. One-on-one meetings help employees get the same amount of feedback as in-office workers.

It goes without saying that hearing back that your project did great will surely raise serotonin levels and boost motivation.

Simply put, taking time and project management seriously is a shortcut to a successful business. Only 20% of workers feel like they have a good handle on their work schedule!

If you haven’t by now—it’s time to introduce yourself to project and time management tools. Their one and true aim is to give you a hand in managing your work-related obligations, avoiding breaking deadlines and doing your best work on a day-to-day basis. They also help you avoid micromanagement practices such as constantly asking an employee what they’re doing and when they will complete their task.

We sometimes don’t want to admit it, but it’s true—technology apps and tools such as a VPN server are of tremendous help, especially to larger companies that do lots of day-to-day business.

Once in a while, you’ll have to sit down with your team and have a meeting. Only this time, though, it won’t be your usual office meeting, but scheduled video calls on Google Meet or  Zoom.

Either way, it’s essential that you have regular remote or hybrid meetings, gather your employees, and reflect on work-related issues that need to be discussed.

Encourage communication, peer feedback, expressing ideas and thoughts, and, most importantly, keeping your camera turned on. Considering that 20% of remote workers have trouble communicating with their teammates, and that 35% of them sometimes feel lonely and isolated, managers should focus on effective communication efforts.

Being present, even virtually, will make your team feel like they are an integral part of your company culture. If you have digital nomads in your team, integrating travel technology services will provide them additional support and flexibility, fostering a more connected and efficient work environment.

Relying strictly on business won’t get you far, especially in this day and age. That’s why many companies turn to team-building activities to elevate their employees’ motivation.

There are two ways to do this.

If you are nearby and gathering is possible, you could organize a game night (completing jigsaw puzzles, solving sudoku games, playing monopoly, etc.) or you can plan a small team travel.

On the other hand, if you’re far from each other, you can turn to virtual activities such as video charades, trivia, photo challenges, and many more.

Having remote workers implies that you are in tune with global trends on the topic. This is your sign to spend some extra time online and learn more about remote work trends that can make work easier for your employees and elevate their motivation.

For instance, mental health programs are even more crucial for work from home employees, who often deal with feelings of loneliness and lack the proper resources to improve their global wellness.

There’s no better way to boost your team’s motivation than to offer them health benefits. 91% of employees have clear goals regarding their well-being, showing that this issue is at the forefront of their concerns.

Offering health insurance and promoting mental health and well-being initiatives, especially for remote workers, will help you improve retention, raise motivation levels and increase productivity in the workplace, even though it’s a home office. Your remote team members will feel better knowing that their visits to the doctor and some essential health checks are covered.

You’ve got to remember that working from home brings not only benefits, but challenges your employees’ abilities.

Now that they’re virtual, some projects might take longer than expected, but that’s not a sign to raise red flags. On the contrary, encourage teamwork where you think it’s the best idea.

If some of your employees are genuine team players, don’t hesitate to put them together on a project. After all, teamwork makes the dream work; isn’t that how the saying goes?

Just because your team works remotely doesn’t mean you should turn a blind eye to their job performance. In addition to regular feedback, your remote team deserves to be seen and rewarded. 37% of employees say that recognition would encourage them to be more productive.

There are a lot of different ideas to choose from here.

You can offer your employees a gift card at Starbucks, a free day, a course, etc. Even though they’re small tokens of appreciation, they will surely raise workplace motivation.

Last but not least, you can’t expect your employees to be available 24/7. Working from home doesn’t mean that you can just call for your employees when it’s convenient for you.

Holidays, for starters, should be observed. Also, working on the weekends (if not in the plan) and overtime hours will not sit well with your remote workers. Similarly, give space to employees who might be going through annulment or divorce so they have enough time to heal and get back to work.

Forcing attendance when not planned will only decrease motivation and result in poor performance.

Do the opposite—stick to the schedule and respect your employees’ personal time.

All things considered, boosting employee engagement among your remote team is absolutely essential for your business.

Although it is a bit different when virtual, your employees will certainly benefit from a motivation boost from time to time. And as a devoted team leader, you can do that in more than one way.

You can set clear goals, provide feedback, organize team-building activities, offer health benefits, and so on. The key is acknowledging the hard work they do and rewarding their progress.

You can take small steps to help your business prosper.

Victoria Riddler is a writer who blogs about team motivation and engagement, and is also an avid player, designer, and proponent of all things about jigsaw puzzles!