With the spread of Covid-19, most organizations had to move to work from home. With the ease of Covid-19 employers brought a concept called the “New Normal” which let the employees remain working from home. This happened with the organizations coming into the understanding that working from home, saves a lot of money for the organization. Working virtually gave the employees the freedom to do their jobs well anytime from anywhere and it allowed employees to know about other roles in the organization too (Lawler III, 2003). This helped the organizations to do their jobs effectively.
However, the organizations had to face the challenge of identifying and
rewarding the best talents even though they work virtually. They had to find
ways to move out of the box and think to develop a culture, which made the employees
engaged (Newman, 2020). Rewarding the employees well for their commitment
without waiting until the last moment will help the organizations to keep the
highly engaged employees satisfied and let them feel the organization cares for
them. Working virtually is not an easy task. Working hours and hours in front
of digital devices affect the employees physically and mentally. It is the
organization's utmost responsibility to not let the employees burn out (Todd, n.d.). Insperity (2020), talks about the Ten most common ways to reward virtual employees:
No.1. Be flexible.
The management should always think flexibly to get the work done by
the employees. Once this is practiced by the management, and once the employers
give a clear understanding of what needs to be done and when the task should be
completed. Employees will do their best to do the task efficiently and
effectively with a relaxed mind.
No.2. Know your employees.
Managers should always find ways to understand their employees. They can
use online surveys to understand the habits of the jobholders. With that, they
can understand what the employees need the most to be effective. For example, if a person can do the job well at night, allowing that employee to work at
night boosts his/her energy. This is considered a reward for the employees in
the 21st century, and it motivates them to do their best.
No.3. Offer learning opportunities.
Organizations should think about employees’ mental and physical
development because it is obvious that working remotely can affect the
employees so bad. Giving them the opportunity to learn new things free or for a
minimum cost, will help them to feel valued and have the feeling that the
organization wants them to grow. This reward can encourage employees to do more
than what is expected from them (Heaslip, 2020; Newman, 2020).
No.4. Give timely gifts.
If the organizations can give the employees some gifts from time to time
like, having virtual family gatherings, allowing them to participate in virtual
games, and giving them gift tokens to go for lunch, etc. will help the
employees to have a smile on their faces. Having time to recharge themselves
helps them to be more productive (Heaslip, 2020).
No.5. Don’t forget the company Swag.
This talks about sending a company-branded gift to the employees for a
job well done. With this, the employees can market themselves and let employees
know that the company appreciates their hard work.
No.6. Stay Connected.
Practicing continuously keeping in touch with each other’s in the
organization always helps the employees to be engaged. However, these activities
should be arranged in a way, which will not affect the employees after work
hours (Newman, 2020).
No.7. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition.
This will help organizations to improve the team spirit even though
they connect virtually. Knowing the colleagues and helping each other to grow
by recognizing the best talents themselves will help the organization to have
highly engaged remote employees.
No.8. Make it a team effort.
When rewarding the job well done, try to reward the entire team. This
will help each team member to feel valued and appreciated. Having virtual
capacity-building programs will encourage employees to achieve goals as a team (Heaslip,
2020; Todd, n.d.).
No.9.Provide a personal touch.
Creating a caring culture within the organization will help them to have
highly engaged employees. The organization can send appreciation notes to the
employees through mail to let them know that their sacrifices are appreciated (Heaslip,
2020; Todd, n.d.).
No.10.Embrace diversity.
Organizations should always keep in mind that each employee who
works remotely is not equal. The organizational culture should be developed to
embrace every culture so that employees will not feel left out. Management can
organize activities to get to know each other when creating a diversity
embracing culture for the organization.
There are so many other ways to reward remote employees and it is
the organization's responsibility to research the best methods to keep the
employees highly engaged. Organizations should act fast to reward the commitments
of the employees. If the organizations can do this, the employees will do their
best to motivate and train each other to grow as a team. This will help the
employers to grow fast with remote employees and new technologies.
References:
Heaslip, E. (2020). How to Reward
Remote Workers.
[online] https://www.uschamber.com/co. Available at:
https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/rewarding-remote-workers
[Accessed 25 April 2022].
Insperity. (2020). 10 ways to
reward remote employees.
[online] Available at: https://www.insperity.com/blog/reward-remote-employees/
[Accessed 24 April 2022].
Lawler III, E.E., 2003. Pay systems for virtual teams. Virtual teams that work: Creating conditions
for effective virtual teams,
pp.121-144.
Newman, S.A. (2020). Five
Steps to Leading Your Team in the Virtual COVID-19 Workplace. Organizational
Dynamics, 50(1), p.100802.
Todd, S. (n.d.). 6 Attractive Incentives
for Your Offsite Employees.
[online] Open Sourced Workplace. Available at:
https://opensourcedworkplace.com/news/6-attractive-incentives-for-your-offsite-employees
[Accessed 25 April 2022].
Technology has been reshaping work and learning for several decades, theorized in the field under virtual human resource development inquiry. More recently, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things have become disruptive drivers of change, though initially limited as the wave of technological innovation crests with new workplace skills needed to recover from disappearing jobs due to automation and economic disruption (Bennett, 2018); this groundswell requires reskilling is, to prepare employees for new jobs and career changes—and upskilling that is, to prepare employees for advancing within their current career tracks. The developing Gig economy thrives on freelance work and transient, often temporary assignments with multiple clients (Istrate & Harris, 2017), leading to questions about how to define employees and contractors, apply employment laws across multiple jurisdictions, and how balance career flexibility with corporate aims. Then along came a novel corona virus: Covid-19.
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ReplyDelete5 Effective and Affordable Ways to Reward Remote Workers
Rewards can keep your team motivated and engaged with their work, which is critical when everyone is working remotely.
By: Emily Heaslip, Contributor
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Acknowledging and rewarding your employees' hard work can go a long way. — Getty Images/fizkes
Rewarding your employees is one of the best ways to reduce turnover. Consistent recognition increases employee happiness, trust and satisfaction. Rewards not only attract top performers, but make sure they stay with your business long-term.
However, a recent study from BambooHR found that 82% of employees don't feel recognized for their hard work. With more employees working from home permanently, the casual office shoutout or in-person recognition becomes difficult. Rewards provide an easy way to make sure hard work gets noticed.
5 Effective and Affordable Ways to Reward Remote Workers
Rewards can keep your team motivated and engaged with their work, which is critical when everyone is working remotely.
Rewarding your employees is one of the best ways to reduce turnover. Consistent recognition increases employee happiness, trust and satisfaction. Rewards not only attract top performers, but make sure they stay with your business long-term.
( Emily Heaslip )
COVID-19 is changing the way we do business, from transforming our buying decisions to shifting where we work every day. Many companies are instituting mandatory work from home policies during the pandemic, and this abrupt change can be isolating and jarring for employees accustomed to coming into an office every day. An easy way to keep remote employees engaged is to continuously support them through recognition. Recognition is a meaningful way to demonstrate to employees that you care about their work and wellbeing, even when they aren’t in the office, working at their desks. Furthermore, not only does recognition improve employee engagement, it also strengthens manager-to-peer relationships, peer-to-peer relationships, and understanding of an organization’s core values.
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