Employee engagement has always been a priority for companies of any size. Creating a work culture that is engaging is rewarding both to the employee and employer. Engaged employees work more effectively and produce better results.
Likewise, an engaging work culture results in better mental health for employees. Pre-pandemic, companies were investing heavily on employee engagement through physical interactions like team building events, corporate dinners, vacations etc. With the acceleration in virtual workspaces during the pandemic employers have been striving to create more engaging work environments.
While constant interactions over zoom set the tone for remote work in the beginning, slowly employees and employers found it to be unengaging and counterproductive. Companies have slowly started switching to other modes of communication like slack, video messages, WhatsApp groups etc.
Other creative employers hosted virtual dinner parties. Nonetheless, engaging virtual work environments are still an investment of time, money and more importantly relationships.
Here are a few creative ways for employers to engage employees virtually and build long term relationships:
Fun and Social interactions
Make time for fun, social interactive team building events like virtual cooking sessions, virtual escape rooms, virtual chit chat sessions, magic shows etc. These activities let your employees know that you care for their mental wellbeing beyond KPI’s.
If possible, make room for employees to take part in some events along with their families. This will not only show your care towards them but also build lasting relationships.
Appreciate and Reward
In a remote work setting you do not get to interact with your employees often. So, try making every conversation noteworthy and memorable. Recognize and appreciate their work. When they know their work is important, they go above and beyond.
Virtual Learning and Education
Many employees started loving work from home owing to reduction in time spent commuting and doing other minuscule activities. You can encourage employees to use this time productively to either work on new products or upgrade their skills. Invest in upgrading their skills and your employees will have less time involving insignificant activities. They would rather appreciate you for investing on their career.