Whether your company is fully back in office, or still embracing the hybrid workplace, there is always a challenge to keep team members connected and working productively. When our teams are working from home, one of the top challenges I’m hearing from managers right now is: How can we get creative about keeping employees and remote teams motivated?

As fully remote teams carry on through many organizations’ mass return to in-person and hybrid work models, it can be difficult to maintain high morale outside of the office. As many of us know, remote work comes with its own unique challenges, and it’s ultimately up to workplace leaders to find ways to keep their employees connected while physically distanced.

In an effort to make remote work just as sustainable as a return to the office, we’re breaking down three “musts” for keeping teams motivated:

1. Name each meeting after its goal

   When employees know what to expect out of meetings, they’re more likely to attend and feel appreciative of organizers who are respectful of their time on the clock.
   

2. Add variety to every meeting

   Established teams are often set in their ways, but in the age of remote work, it’s important that managers are intentional about infusing variety when they can.

   One of our favorite examples is that of strategic advisor Priya Parker’s creation: “The Most Virgo of Them All”. This Zoom contest encouraged teams to show off their creative, perfectionist, and hyper-organized sides, which ultimately encourages them to celebrate the qualities of their people in a specific, funny, and not too saccharine way.
   

3. Invest in relationship-building

   When teams have social ties to their jobs, they’re bound to experience great psychological safety and enthusiasm about their work. Whenever you, as a manager, have the opportunity to encourage trust-building activities among your remote team, you have the power to ultimately strengthen important relationships and individuals’ motivation to excel in their roles.

It can be difficult to tackle issues of employee motivation in remote work settings, but the success of any effort ultimately depends on each leader’s ability to leverage their emotional intelligence skills. In our experience, when managers and, as a result, their teams are both communicating effectively, they have the ability to craft work environments that excite every single employee. Our premier professional development program is already helping countless workplace leaders do exactly that with purposeful conversations and toolkits for leadership.

Ready to reenergize your team’s approach to their work? Schedule a call with us to learn more about how Activate has boosted employee motivation across a number of thriving organizations.