It’s safe to say that morale has been a mixed affair in 2020. With the pandemic raging, it has forced businesses to conduct their affairs exclusively on a remote basis. As remote work became popular in many areas, the COVID-19 pandemic forced everybody to batten down the hatches and stay at home. And while this has yielded many benefits in a personal sense, from the perspective of any business owner there can be struggles professionally, emotionally, and in terms of morale. This is where small things can be beneficial in helping your team out. Let’s show you some practical and professional tips.
Bring More People Into the Business
You might not think this has a direct correlation in terms of employment, but think about it from the perspective of an employee stuck at home by themselves. If you are actively investing in the business, either by outsourcing a marketing company to conduct extra work for the marketing campaign or you are taking on additional freelancers, this is going to send the right message to your employees. Be careful how you do it, for hiring more freelancers may set off alarm bells. But if your employees can see that you are investing in the business, but at the same time you are investing in their best interests, this will keep your employees motivated, working hard, and morale will stay up.
Improve Your Communication Components
Technology has become integral to remote teams in 2020. But that hasn’t stopped individuals from suffering as a result of bugs or technical issues. For individuals that use collaboration software like Google Docs and relied on Gmail found their productivity took a nosedive after Google was struck by a system outage across the planet. Improving your communication is not just about relying on one set of software or program, but it’s about covering your bases so your employees don’t feel like they are out on a limb by themselves.
Be a Leader
It is incredibly simple, but if you want to be in charge of a team that is focused and dedicated, you’ve got to put in the hours by learning how to lead effectively. Some teams expect to be led from the front, yet others require more collaboration. Being a leader that focuses on the big picture will ensure that you are able to take everybody’s considerations into account. It’s much harder when you are working remotely because you don’t get to gauge people’s reactions as you would if they were in front of you, but this is where improving your means of communication, but also your frequency of communication will ensure that you touch base with everybody.
Be Grateful
Show your employees that you appreciate what they’ve done. Remote teams can feel like they are on their own island. When we liaise with individuals on a one-to-one basis and show that we appreciate them, this will go a long way to build trust, especially if they feel like they are in the dark.
It’s not easy to keep morale high when your team is disparate in different locations. But this is the foundation that underpins it all.
