by Ryan Fyfe, COO of Workpuls
According to research, 74% of employees state that remote work makes them less likely to leave a job. Still, with an increasing number of remote opportunities, this desire alone can’t be relied on to retain your best remote employees
There are a number of factors that decide whether remote employees will stick around, or seek out new opportunities. These include things like not letting employees give feedback, lack of recognition and not providing adequate resources. Hence the need to understand how to manage remote employees.
If you want to work effectively with your remote team, you need to first understand their needs and wants. Then you can use the best remote monitoring and management software to deliver on them. Employee monitoring software supports retention by helping you understand what your remote team members relate to and the support they need.
This guide uncovers the must-know tips when managing a remote workforce (proven practices). Dive in for the top reasons that lead to remote turnover and how to combat it.
Embrace Flexibility
In 2017-2018, 57% of employees in the US had work flexibility. With such trends, you are likely to lose team members if they find another place that allows them more flexibility.
Work flexibility is a great asset that allows workers to tailor their work to better fit their life. A flexible working arrangement can improve performance, motivation, and employee engagement. These, in turn, lead to greater loyalty and a better chance of retaining an employee.
Flexibility can be in the times your employees work, the location they work or even the work they do.
Maintaining a work-life balance is still essential in managing remotely working teams. Give employees the freedom to pick their working hours based on their home schedule. This is significant leverage for your organization.
And rather than looking at the few minutes a member missed on a particular day, focus on their results.
The extent of remote-working flexibility depends on your company. After all, it’s no good being overly flexible if it negates your company’s results. So, when being flexible consider:
- The deadlines you have to meet
- The impact on other other employees
- Whether it necessitates extra costs or resources
- If the flexibility is in fact making your employees perform better
Reward Their Efforts
Money isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of work. But it’s still a big factor.
Research shows 54% of individuals change jobs for monetary bonuses. And this explains why a commission or pay rise is essential in employee retainment. And it’s no different when it comes to remote employees.
That said, rewarding employee efforts goes beyond monetary gains. You can consider raising their positions or lengthening their vacation period, too.
With an excellent productivity manager app, you can build the foundation of a formal recognition program by identifying each team member’s progress. Effective remote monitoring enables your team to keep track of the achievements of your remote workers.
Establishing these performance markers is the first step in identifying outstanding employees, who you can in turn reward. Besides promoting employee retention, rewarding also motivates your team to work harder. And this leads to faster realization of your organization’s goals.
Provide Competitive Salaries and Bonuses
It is critical to determine what competitors are paying remote workers. This isn’t to say you should match every salary a competitor offers. But it will help you adjust to ensure that you stay competitive and avoid giving your employees a reason to switch companies due to underpayment.
Employee income and job satisfaction relates to an extent. It is critical to ensure remote employees earn a competitive amount for their efforts.
There are minor changes when remote employees serve another company instead of yours. Providing them competitive salaries is amongst the most crucial requirements for retainment.
You should also factor in allowances into the employee salaries. Health insurance is a huge factor in retention rates, with 83% of employees saying it influences their decision to stay with an employer.
Properly Define Your Principles
The ability to plan for the future is crucial in determining how to handle remote employees best. Having a team that sticks by you begins with how you hire your team.
What skills are you after, and what makes you stand out? Clearly lay your principles. This way, prospective employees know what they are signing up for – and your team has a clear vision for the types of employees you will hire.
Employees should know that you expect high standards from them before hiring. This way, only those able and willing to meet your demands will show interest. Knowing your company’s style suits them reduces turnover chances because you will be less likely to hire “bad fit” candidates.
Incorporate Training Programs
For many individuals, job satisfaction does not only relate to their current undertakings. It also encompasses the knowledge that they are also working for a better future.
Mentorship programs within your company allow your team members to learn new skills. And this improves the chances of employees advancing their careers.
Some mentorship program benefits include team relations and leadership that impact job satisfaction. Cordial workmate ties are vital in measuring job satisfaction for 77% of employees according to research.
Ensure you provide all team members with equal opportunities to further their skills. This is especially important if you have a split workforce of remote and office-based employees
Provide all the necessary mentorship tools to your employees. Offer rewards to members that train their colleagues. And your employees will get motivated to stay and work harder to see your organization grow more.
Contribute To Their Working Expenses
In an office setting, you will typically provide your team with working assets. And this includes various things from power to internet connectivity and equipment.
When it comes to work-from-home staff, many have to pay for these things themselves. This may lead to increased utility costs and the need to purchase extra technology and equipment for a home office.
Remote employees are more content working with a company that provides them with extra support. Covering the cost for perfecting their remote working setup further improves their satisfaction. And this lowers the likelihood of them seeking out other companies.
Final Thoughts
Beyond the tips above, one of the most effective ways to boost remote employee retention is by asking your team members for feedback. What do they like about your working arrangement? What areas do they think you should improve?
By managing workplace monitoring and surveillance you will also be able to spot areas of low productivity or bottlenecks that could be early warning signs of disengaged employees.
By combining the tips above with the insights from technology, you’ll be best placed to give your remote workers every reason to stick around and strive to deliver their best.
Ryan Fyfe is founder and former CEO of Humanity.com, a global leader in employee scheduling software which he bootstrapped before raising $13m to scale the company to 150 staff globally and into 40,000 workplaces, including Nike, Lyft and CNN. The 10-year veteran of the workforce management sector is now COO of workforce analytics & productivity platform Workpuls.
