Retain Top Talent

What is company culture, why is it important, and how do I manage it? All questions we answer in this informative blog post!

These five tips can be a lifesaver for business leaders who want to boost sales team morale amid tough times.

While employees are looking for more flexible work situations, it has managers wondering, “what does flexible work really mean?”...

Peer coaching nurtures connections that make employees want to stay with the company.

Human Resources and Workforce Management News...

Tweet It’s no surprise that working from home is on the rise, and many companies are ditching the traditional in-person workspace in favour of hybrid or completely remote working structures. And who can blame them? No commute, more flexibility and the ability to work in sweatpants does sound pretty amazing. However, even with numerous benefits, there are new challenges that come with the increase in fully remote work. Some social connection between colleagues is lost when you can’t simply swivel your chair to talk to your coworker, tell jokes by the watercooler or tagalong to try that new café for lunch. Missing that employee engagement can negatively impact workplace culture, productivity, and heighten employee turnover. It is clear that companies need modern solutions to this modern working structure. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 7 tips for boosting engagement on your remote team! 1. Virtual Team-Building Your company is still as much of a team when in-person or remote, so it stands within reason that team building activities are just as valuable to your company regardless of your workplace structure. So do not overlook using team-building experiences made specifically for virtual settings as a way to bring your team together and foster strong connections. The virtual team-building industry boomed when the pandemic started, and there are a plethora of activities that utilize the virtual setting to its advantage. With virtual games, you are not pinned down by the practical restrictions of being in-person and after 2 years of the pandemic, there’s a multitude of options to choose from. Need some inspiration? Check out this blog post for 30+ Virtual Activity Ideas. Pro Tip: Try organizing a virtual team-building experience once a month. Not only is this a perfect way to engage your remote team on a consistent basis, but also gives them something new and exciting to look forward to each month. 2. Company Retreats Most fully remote teams host a company retreat at least once a year to bring everyone together in-person. By choosing an exciting destination and having everyone meet to participate in team-building activities, business related workshops, can completely change the company dynamic and reduce turn-over! Connecting, celebrating, and working together in a beautiful place was a rewarding and invaluable experience and truly strengthened our bond as a team. A company retreat should be a top priority for all companies, virtual or not. However, especially as a remote company, it’s the perfect way to use the money you’ve saved on having a physical space and reinvest it in your team. Take a look at some examples of company retreats that have been created for remote companies and see the amazing possibilities of your own company retreat to engage your remote team! 3. Friday Socials An amazing way to increase company engagement and connection is to involve your employees in the actual planning process. Once or twice a month on Fridays, place one person is in charge of running a fun Friday social for the rest of the team. Learning a new recipe, tarot card readings, get-to-know-you trivia, fitness classes, water colour painting and even drag Queen bingo are all examples of fun options for Friday socials. Provide each person with a small budget for the necessary provisions for their activity and leave it to them! Not only does it feel more personal, but also inspires much more creativity to think outside the box. Friday socials are a great way to let loose after a long week, reward your team and get everyone engaged. 4. Co-Working Days Co-working days are the perfect way to strike a balance between work from home and in-person connection. Once a month, book a co-working space (or a few depending on the cities your team resides in), and bring everyone together for an in-office work day! Almost reminiscent of pre-pandemic times, it’s a fun way to reignite that team mentality and enjoy working side by side with your colleagues once more. These mini-reunions are a truly special way to boost morale, but will also boost productivity or allow opportunities for important monthly meetings or even fun brainstorming workshops. Making these co-working days a monthly occurrence will give your team something to look forward to, and a perfect opportunity to catch-up with one another and even ditch the sweatpants and dress up for a day. Pro Tip: Show your employees you really care by ordering in a lunch or treats, or taking them out for happy hour after work. 5. Consistent Weekly Meetings No one wants more meetings that could have been an email but hear me out, structured meetings two to three times a week can have a huge effect on team engagement. Schedule meetings for thirty minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each day of the week has its own purpose. Mondays allows for the team to reconnect after the weekend, receive high level updates, and share goals for the week. Wednesdays can include a fun ice breaker question and the sharing of daily goals. Wednesdays also include an opportunity to “ask the boss anything” as questions do always come up during the week. Fridays are for debriefing, identifying tasks that need to be done before the end of the day, setting goals for next week and having a few laughs. Each meeting should also include sharing any blockers to our daily goals which allows the team to collaborate and help each other when needed. This fosters a sense of collaboration, strengthens our team’s connection and allows us to align on team goals. Even if it’s a twenty minute meeting to bring everyone together twice a week, this consistent routine and ability to see everyone face to face will without a doubt increase remote team engagement on a day to day basis. 6. Coffee Breaks Taking breaks to actually disconnect from work can actually be more challenging in a virtual setting. It’s easier to step away from the desk, clear your mind and re-energize when you can actually interact with your coworkers face-to-face. Colleagues can jet out for a coffee, stand by the watercooler or try out a new lunch spot together. This valuable social interaction and mental health break can be sorely missed in the virtual world. Well, Donut has a unique solution that not only brings that day-to-day coworker communication back, but also encourages small healthy breaks throughout the day. This app can be used via Slack, and will periodically ask fun and unique get to know you questions! What did you want to be when you grew up? What’s your biggest pet peeve? Which fruit is the best? These questions are specially designed to inspire further conversation, friendly debates and simply make people smile. There is also an added option called Donut Intros, which essentially mimics an in-person coffee break, lunch break or happy hour. Each month, the app will pair up two coworkers who will then be responsible for finding a time to get together via an online platform of choice and get to know each other a little more. This can bring together people from different departments, and create a more connected and engaged workplace, not to mention it will brighten everyone’s days and keep that valuable social connection alive and well. Pro Tip: Not a Slack user? That’s okay. Try Coffee Pals instead! 7. Always Ask For Feedback Don’t overlook how important engagement is in your remote workplace. It can make all the difference in creating a productive workplace and increasing job satisfaction. Every company dynamic is different, and will therefore thrive on a unique combination of the above ideas. The best way to stay in tune with your team is to get in the habit of asking for feedback and actually implementing changes to continue to improve. Consider sending out a quarterly “Pulse Check” survey where each employee can share their thoughts and feedback on a range of company aspects. This information is invaluable in continuing to facilitate a dynamic, engaging and positive workplace culture.

Stemming the Great Resignation...

We've listed 40+ questions leaders must ask their employees to improve workplace morale, from employee satisfaction to growth questions. Grab the list here!

Want to take employee engagement beyond the next level? Apply all 8 of our tactics and reap the benefits of having happy, engaged, and productive employees.

When companies discuss their values frequently enough, employee engagement is 88% higher.

Almost half (41%) of the sales professionals surveyed reported satisfaction in their role but are still searching for a new job, and 44% of satisfied high performers are actively on the hunt. SBI research surfaced a remarkably stark conclusion: compensation adjustments, work-life balance,...

7 measures leaders can employ to reduce employee paranoia over losing their jobs, a fear that can adversely impact productivity and growth.

Employees are a company’s most valued asset, and if they feel unappreciated, retention becomes a big problem for organizations.

Want to achieve maximum employee engagement? Pay attention to the six universal human needs in order to thrive at work.

Leaders account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement, yet only 30% of employees are engaged at work. Clearly there's a leadership crisis.

Employee engagement surveys are a key way to build an engaged and productive team. Ask these 25 engagement survey questions to assess and improve your company initiatives.

What worked for managing baby boomers won’t necessarily resonate with millennials and younger generations. Here are some outdated management techniques to retire, and what to do instead.

From talent shortages to disgruntled workers and ineffective hiring and performance processes, employers face a long road to fixing a thoroughly fractured workforce.

Are your corporate training programs not driving your desired level of engagement? Learn why and how you can fix it.

This article pinpoints the seven most common employee engagement sins that teams commit and how to avoid them in your organization.

To retain top talent, in addition to pay, you need to treat people with respect, show appreciation, gratitude and empathy and offer a career path forward within the organization.

A CEO notes that there is no training ground for the breadth of workforce, recruitment, and employee-engagement issues hitting the leaders of today. But what if the Great Resignation is an opportunity in disguise?

Work will never be what it was before. As leaders, we now have to find a rhythm that allows for flexibility and cultivates strong company culture.

Employee engagement and motivation is essential in managing a productive and efficient workplace.

With so many performance management tools, it is crucial to understand which one is right for you. If you are searching for a reliable survey tool, read...