8 ways you can motivate a remote team

As more teams work from home, keeping motivation and productivity high should be at the forefront of every manager’s to-do list

Picture of Jenni Morgan
by Jenni Morgan
Business growth expert for ActionCOACH Wakefield, and can be contacted at jennimorgan@actioncoach.com 
about 4 minutes read
8 ways you can motivate a remote team image

The outbreak of coronavirus and subsequent lockdown meant that the business world needed to swiftly adapt to working from home. It’s something that I have always allowed my team to do, though, because there are some real benefits that come along with the model. 

Mutually beneficial

Working from home demonstrates a mutual trust, which pays back in spades; teams often work harder and go the extra mile when given the opportunity to do so. It also allows a better work-life balance, because individuals can organise their work schedule around other commitments, such as parenting. 

Working from home can also be a very useful tool for focusing, because it removes other distractions and allows you to zone-in on the task at hand. Then there are also the environmental and financial benefits of not commuting to an office every day. 

Unforeseen challenges

That being said, there are certainly difficulties that can emerge if remote working isn’t handled correctly. Isolation can set in, and there’s a risk of teams becoming a group of individuals rather than a cohesive team.

It can also exacerbate problems that emerged within the office and are then left unchecked. If a manager doesn’t trust their team to work effectively from home, for example, then they’ll imagine scenarios where teams avoid checking-in and completing the tasks at hand.

Because of these challenges, it’s important to know what you can do as a manager to motivate your team and make the most of the situation. 

1) Watercooler talk 

In an office environment, it’s easy to check-in with your team and see how they’re doing each day. In fact, you can often tell this just from how they walk into the office, or the first few words they say in the morning. 

Working remotely doesn’t have a ready-made check-in, so you need to deliberately do it daily and make sure the tools are in place for your team to let you know how they’re feeling. This then highlights how crucial active listening is as a manager, because it’s your responsibility to ascertain if your team needs further support. 

2) The three O’s

Make sure to use the three O’s, which stand for outcomes, others, and ourselves. 

Focus on outcomes, so that for every meeting put in place, you and your team know what’s expected as a result. 

When it comes to others, look at everybody else and ask yourself how you can engage them. Make sure that everybody has a chance to input, and that everyone feels included in the current project. 

For the ‘ourselves’ section of the three O’s, it’s all about evaluating your previous beliefs and assumptions around working from home, and seeing how they will impact the current situation. If you feel you can’t trust your team to remain productive, look at why that might be, and make sure to address the problem as soon as possible... download the report to read the full article

 

ActionCOACH
Article extract taken from
Supercharge Your Business report
Download your FREE Copy
Article extract taken from
Supercharge Your Business report
Download your FREE copy

Two-minute Business Advice To Implement In Your Business Today!

Listen to these clips of Action Coaches providing essential tips to apply to your business

Download your FREE Report

Global Franchise magazine cover
POWERED BY

Signup Successful