How to Stop Remote Workers From Disengaging

The number of remote workers has shot up dramatically in the past 18 months around the globe.  The No. 1 reason that remote workers quit? They feel lonely and disengaged.  Many of you lead remote workers, so I sought out solutions to help them feel included:

• Rotate inviting each remote worker to lead your weekly staff meeting.
• Fly remote workers in once a year for an offsite meeting or social event.
• Use video conferencing for meetings, so remote workers get to see and hear everyone.
• Mind the time zone, so everyone can attend a meeting.
• Deploy tools and technologies that increase employee collaboration.
• Conduct Focus Groups and ask people to chime in about a major decision before it is made. Make it easy for people to have a voice and then listen.
• If you celebrate a team accomplishment by going out to lunch live, send the remote worker a thank you note and gift card, so they can go out to lunch in their hometown.
• When company-branded ‘swag’ is given away in your office, box some up and ship it to your remote worker’s home.
• Conduct a weekly recognition huddle (for five or 10 minutes) where people recognize their team members.
• Schedule a weekly one-on-one with remote workers to increase their sense of connection and give them facetime.

WHAT CAN I DO? The future of work is a hybrid model, where some employees will be remote and some on-site. Execute on the simple ideas above and share these tips with the rest of your staff. These pointers will remind your office-bound employees to join you and go out of their way to help remote team members feel connected, appreciated, and engaged.