As a manager, how do you encourage and motivate remote workers?

As a manager, are you now managing your home-based team remotely? Then the question has probably arisen in your mind as to how you fulfill your role as manager in this context and best keep in touch with your employees. How do you increase motivation, for example? How do you promote cooperation? And how do you deal with difficult situations?

Create safety and trust
You can start monitoring your employees, asking them about their work and having them dial in at mandatory times. But that doesn't exactly increase trust and motivation. Moreover, some people are in difficult circumstances, for example with young children or needy family.
Accept that the days will be different than usual and give your team freedom and confidence. Ask about what people are struggling with, listen carefully and think about solutions. Be transparent in what happens in the organization and how you experience it. People need clarity and something to hold on to.

Let people make comparisons within themselves
It is in our nature to compare ourselves with others. For example, we are strongly inclined to look at how long someone else took to do something or in what way. As a manager it is important not to go along with this but to make comparisons within the person in question.
For example, what is someone doing now that he or she didn't do months ago? What new things has someone done or learned since the outbreak of corona? Name what you see and express your appreciation for it.

Encourage employees to use their strengths
In what ways can employees develop even more at this time? Use their strengths as a starting point and have them fill out this test, for example. It is very natural at this time to feel attracted to tasks that motivate you strongly intrinsically. Conversely, tasks that we don't like as much or are less good at become even more difficult to perform because we have few welcome distractions and cannot recharge with colleagues.
Discuss in your team who is good at what and which tasks give people energy. Then investigate where opportunities lie to do more of this and stimulate creativity. Now is the time for that!

Deal with the full laundry basket and keep your attention on your team
As a manager you have to deal with a full laundry basket. There is always laundry waiting for you and it is not feasible to check off your entire to-do list every evening. In times of stress, you may be more bothered by that full laundry basket than usual. Prioritizing is the order of the day. With that said, remember that individual attention to your team members is incredibly important to their performance and cooperation. Don't let this be overshadowed by the issues of the day and keep in touch often.


Source
ICM