How to motivate Your Remote Team During These Stressful Times

From a recent edition of Incentive Magazine comes these simple yet effective ways to acknowledge and value your team members now and after the pandemic.    

Meaningful recognition is more important than ever with more employees now working remotely and with the other restrictions and regulations in force.  The job market is sure to change and many good employees will fluctuate on where to spend their future.  You can keep them with some concerted recognition planning.

1.  Show more care and concern

Many people are dealing with serious personal and financial issues right now.  Show them that you care, drill down into physical and emotional well-being offering support where possible.  Sometimes just listening can make a difference.

2.  Connect with them

Some people have a hard time being alone right now, so reach out and connect with them as often as you can.  Loneliness is a fear that real. 

3.  Create an online employee community

Set up a social recognition program or an online bulletin board for employees to express what they're grateful for. Each person can share a "success of the week." For some people, coworkers are the only "community" they belong to.

4.  Share positive news

Share positive stories on the company and industry organization with your team to boost their spirits. Bad news can travel fast; make sure the good news travels ahead of it.  Some people are just not feeling very happy right now.

5.  Honor people along their work journey

People are pulling out all the stops with creativity, new ideas, and getting the work done. Take time to appreciate them for who they are and recognize what they do. Some people's work has drastically changed or diminished.

6.  Be mindful of the stages of grief

Staff may go through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance when their workplace implements changes and job cuts. Some people will experience survivor's grief if still working. Acknowledge their emotions.

7.  Offer support to worried staff

Many of your employees know someone with COVID-19 or have family dealing with serious health issues. Make sure your employee assistance program and/or counselors are available to staff.  

8.  Add cheer to your meetings 

Are your Zoom meetings feeling rote right now? Liven them up with  upbeat music, a chant or cheer at the beginning or end of the session.

9.  Make time for recognition

With many new and additional tasks on your plate, it's easy to neglect employee recognition. Make it a priority to schedule time each day to give thanks and praise to a member of your team, via an online recognition program, personal call or a handwritten note.

10. Hold virtual celebrations 

The show must go on and you should continue to mark achievements and milestones in these stressful times. With the pandemic preventing live events, get creative: organize online virtual celebrations, with special goodies and gifts delivered to people's homes, so everyone can participate.

Great opportunities surround us every day.  Don’t lose them; use them to make that proverbial glass of lemonade from the lemons we’ve all had to deal with.

Help Your Remote Employees from Becoming Disengaged

Since the onset of Covid-19, many employees had to begin to work remotely.  In addition, the prevalence for working from home has also increased in recent years.  This may be a novel concept for some, but it could become a the reality for many.

Whether you are new to having employees working remotely or have veteran telecommuters, employees often begin to feel disconnected from their colleagues and organization when they spend the majority of their working hours logging in from home. Research shows that even in the best of times, only 19% of employees consider themselves ‘very engaged,’ so the question for remote employees is how to keep them feeling content and being productive?

Stay connected through Culture Continuity

Maintaining a consistent organizational culture for remote employees plays an important role in keeping them engaged.  The old adage can easily run true…”out of sight, out of mind,” but it doesn’t have to.  Here are some things you can do to help.

Through video conferencing, extend in-office experiences such as yoga, mindful, and company-wide meetings. These shared experiences help colleagues to feel more connected despite their physical distance.

Strive to maintain your culture of recognition

Employee recognition is a primary driver of engagement. In a Harvard Business Review report that studied “The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance,” 72% of respondents agreed that recognition given for high performers had a significant impact on employee engagement. In addition, current industry research has shown that up 82% of employees would like more recognition at work.

In the month following the onset of the pandemic, one recognition company noted a 14% increase in the number of recognitions sent across its platform. This demonstrates that many organizations are getting it right during times of crisis by increasing the frequency of peer-to-peer and leader-led recognition.  Additionally you can look for new ways to recognize milestones outside of performance, such as birthdays or personal achievements.

The basics of a well implemented recognition program are vastly important during trying times. Make sure you use sincerity in recognizing your colleagues. Leaders must lead by example, recognizing employees for living the organization’s values, supporting their team members, hitting prescribed targets, etc. Propagate the recognition using executives on down throughout the organization.  It is especially important to allow for peer to peer recognition which can be the strongest of all. 

Measure activity

Whether your telecommuting continues to grow or your business goes back to normal, make sure you measure employee activity during the cycle.  You may see increased productivity within some departments and challenges within others. Watch for attendance at company-led virtual social events and examine their impact on overall engagement. Collect as much data as you can to understand what the ideal state of employee engagement looks like at your organization—whether it’s in-office or working from home. This data is invaluable to evaluate how heavily your culture is tied to being in the office and to understand how best to maintain continuity during organizational change and times of uncertainty.

How Incentives Promote Healthy Behaviors in Wellness Programs

Value-Based Care

For the last several years The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services have been outspoken regarding the need to address proactively keeping people healthy, instead of waiting until they get sick and require expensive services.  This represents a significant change to the US healthcare system, and is known as value-based care. 

In value-based care, providers are rewarded for the relative health of their patients, instead of getting paid to treat them when they are ill.  The management of chronic conditions is a key to lowering healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes. 

What’s the Cost?

60% of all Americans have at least one chronic condition, and 40% have two or more. Heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. They are also leading drivers of the nation’s $3.3 trillion in annual health care costs.  The CDC estimates that eliminating the three risk factors – poor diet, inactivity, and smoking – would prevent: 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of type 2 diabetes; and, 40% of cancer.

The Need for Incentives

The interesting twist is that when asked, US consumers state that they want more incentives for healthy behaviors from their health insurance companies.  In a survey of 2500 consumers conducted by survey firm Survata in 2018, the question was asked: What are the top three (3) services that would help to most improve your current level of satisfaction with your health plan? The results across the entire survey group were clear – the most popular response, with 49%, was “More incentives for healthy behaviors” which was a virtual tie with 49% stating “Tools and information to help me understand my benefits.”

Perhaps the most startling result came from Millennials, 53% of whom want more incentives for healthy behaviors from their health plan, and 44% stated that those incentives are missing and impacting their satisfaction with their health plan.  

How Employers Can Help

Employers can have a fundamental role in impacting health and well-being. In a recent study conducted by Aflac, 61% of employees agree that they have made healthier lifestyle choices because of their company’s wellness program. A comprehensive and holistic wellness program will help employees change their lifestyle and make better choices, resulting in higher productivity and job satisfaction.  In addition the same report finds that Millennials, more than any other group, factor in benefits like health and wellness programs in deciding whether to take or remain in a job.   

Interestingly, among those incentives and programs for healthy behaviors, it has been proven that cash rewards do not have a sustained impact on life habits. IValue-Based Care

For the last several years The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services have been outspoken regarding the need to address proactively keeping people healthy, instead of waiting until they get sick and require expensive services.  This represents a significant change to the US healthcare system, and is known as value-based care. 

In value-based care, providers are rewarded for the relative health of their patients, instead of getting paid to treat them when they are ill.  The management of chronic conditions is a key to lowering healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes. 

What’s the Cost?

60% of all Americans have at least one chronic condition, and 40% have two or more. Heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. They are also leading drivers of the nation’s $3.3 trillion in annual health care costs.  The CDC estimates that eliminating the three risk factors – poor diet, inactivity, and smoking – would prevent: 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of type 2 diabetes; and, 40% of cancer.

The Need for Incentives

The interesting twist is that when asked, US consumers state that they want more incentives for healthy behaviors from their health insurance companies.  In a survey of 2500 consumers conducted by survey firm Survata in 2018, the question was asked: What are the top three (3) services that would help to most improve your current level of satisfaction with your health plan? The results across the entire survey group were clear – the most popular response, with 49%, was “More incentives for healthy behaviors” which was a virtual tie with 49% stating “Tools and information to help me understand my benefits.”

Perhaps the most startling result came from Millennials, 53% of whom want more incentives for healthy behaviors from their health plan, and 44% stated that those incentives are missing and impacting their satisfaction with their health plan.  

How Employers Can Help

Employers can have a fundamental role in impacting health and well-being. In a recent study conducted by Aflac, 61% of employees agree that they have made healthier lifestyle choices because of their company’s wellness program. A comprehensive and holistic wellness program will help employees change their lifestyle and make better choices, resulting in higher productivity and job satisfaction.  In addition the same report finds that Millennials, more than any other group, factor in benefits like health and wellness programs in deciding whether to take or remain in a job.   

Interestingly, among those incentives and programs for healthy behaviors, it has been proven that cash rewards do not have a sustained impact on life habits. Incentives such as gift cards for healthy habits make a long-lasting difference, helping to contain costs of healthcare, improve overall health outcomes and boost employee engagement all at the. . 

Great Customer Service Needs Great Employees

We all come across great customer service people when we are shopping or talking to a business in person or on the phone.  They are a real treat to deal with, and breath of fresh air.  They actually make your experience a positive one that reinforces our decision to use that company in the first place.  Unfortunately the opposite is also true. And the result of poor customer service will often be that be we stop doing business with that company.  If you have no choice but to use that company, all you can do is try to be patient, and get through it as quickly as possible, and wait for the right opportunity to move to a different company.  

When you do get to experience that right type of customer service do you ever take the time to ask them if they ever receive some sort of on the spot recognition for their performance?  Because I’ve been in this field for decades, I’ve been asking that question for a long time and by far the answer is usually “no!”  While many say they do get some kind of annual service award or bonus, it is rare for anyone to say that they ever get a spontaneous on the spot recognition award.

Every business wants their customers to have a great experience every time they deal with their company. Large sums are spent on discovering and implementing the best customer experience possible.  Organizations invest millions in building their customer engagement strategies, but rarely invest in the simple day to day things that make those strategies work. If your employees aren’t engaged and happy in their work, they won’t be able to (or won’t want to) provide a fantastic experience for your customers

So here is the challenge to business leaders.  If you want to make significant improvements to customer service, you’ll first need to focus more on engaging your own workforce. It stands to reason that if there is any sort of disconnect between how a company treats employees and how employees are expected to treat customers, there is discontent that will not benefit anyone – company, employee or customer!

Starbucks is well known for its unique and generous employee perks, including health insurance for part-time staff and free tuition for the entire workforce. A customer study in 2014 showed that 87% of the company’s brand affinity is driven by the way they treat employees, so prioritizing the needs of its employees really helps Starbucks to build its brand and increase sales.

You invest millions on developing your customer strategy, hiring and training the right employees and constant communication on your company values. Don’t stop there.  Add committed short term recognition to ensure all of your investment makes your employees want to take care of your customers.