Learn to Manage a Distributed Workforce with these 4 Valuable Ways

Being already overburdened, it is a new challenge for the HR team to express the company's culture to the widely distributed workforce. Here we discuss four ways to create an engaged and inclusive culture for the remote teams

Fremont, CA: Technology has bridged-up the distance between an employee and an employer. Remote working has become an essential process in today's work culture. A company headquartered in California can have its workforce distributed across the globe. A software engineer sitting in Japan could be developing software for the company while a writer sitting in India could be blogging for the company's website.

While[vendor_logo_first] there are a number of benefits of having a global team or remote team, one should not forget the challenges associated with it. The greatest challenge that HR managers face is to engage this geographically distributed workforce and manage the distributed teams. Being already overburdened, it is a new challenge for the HR team to express the company's culture to the widely distributed workforce. Here we discuss four ways to create an engaged and inclusive culture for the remote teams.

Establish Good Communication

Communication is the base on which the remote team works and collaborates. It is essential to prioritize communication and the channels of communication. Face-to-face communication is the best way to communicate. For remote teams, video callings through Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, WebEx, etc., keeps people connected visually. It prevents team members from doing multi-tasking while on the call, unlike in audio calls or emails. Hence, the message is clear, simple, and direct, leaving no chance of miscommunication.

Personalize the Experience

Employees working in the headquarter or on-site office gets a number of benefits and perks such as subsidized lunches, free gym, weekly meditation classes, etc., that remote teams are deprived of. It is now time to include these benefits to the perks of the remote teams. With the wide availability of online food delivery systems, HRs can now send a monthly snack box to their remote employees. The yoga or the meditation class can be streamed LIVE so that remote employees can take its benefits too. It makes the remote workers feel special and personalized.

Give Accountable Freedom

While dealing with a geographically distributed workforce, it is important to give the workers freedom, besides asking accountability for the work they do. Managers should set clear targets or expectations, monitor the progress closely, and regularly give feedback on their work. The feedback must be quick and constructive to keep them motivated. Also, managers should always be ready to guide them through any process, if required.

Allow for Gamification

Gamification is an effective way to motivate employees and engage a globally distributed workforce. Gamification introduces game-based elements into the everyday work activities of the team, which is widely hailed as 'Challenge Accepted.' From onboarding to training sessions, meeting peer groups to give reviews, anything can be gamified in an organization. A bit of healthy competition with positive reinforcement makes the gamification an engaged process, thus spreading the company culture among new joiners. 

See also: Top Employee Communication Solution Companies