22 Tips for How to Keep Employees Engaged | Bucketlist

2020 has been a more complicated year than usual for HR professionals thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. It has changed the way businesses operate, particularly with higher volumes of staff working from home. In fact, 58% of American knowledge workers are now working remotely according to Forbes. Understanding how to keep employees engaged is critical to keeping your team happy and productive.

We have listed 22 tips to keep employees engaged during COVID-19, which will help you build a high performing remote team.

Communication Tips

Communication with staff is a huge challenge for businesses when the world is normal, yet, when the world is going through a pandemic and the increase in remote workers, it becomes even more important. 

1- Daily check ins with your team help drive purpose for the day. Similarly as to when you are in the office and say “Good Morning” to colleagues, it is important to continue the pleasantries when you are remote. Something we do here at Bucketlist is a 'daily scrum'. Find out more by watching the video below, or watch the full webinar here.

2- Implement weekly daily wins and challenges. This provides purpose for some team bonding as it gives staff the opportunity to brag about achievements which may otherwise go unnoticed, and talk about challenges they are facing to work out solutions. Just as you may brainstorm ideas with a colleague in the office, continue these types of conversations remotely. We love our 'weekly wins and goals' meeting at Bucketlist. Check out the video below for more information, or watch the full webinar here.

If you’d like to find out more about how the Bucketlist employee rewards and recognition app can help your business, contact us for a free demo. We’d love to help you improve your company’s engagement!

3- ‘Water Cooler’ conversations are a great way for staff to get to know each other and break up the work day. When people are remote they lose the fun ‘water cooler’ conversations and can start to feel disconnected from their colleagues. Some companies have implemented a recurring ‘making coffee’ meeting each day for staff to jump in at any point to have passing conversations. 

4- Utilize video. When remote and only seeing the faces of the people you live with (and those on your social media feed), it’s important to provide some face-to-face communication. You can also use screen recording programs such as Loom to send videos to staff instead of long-winded instructional emails.

5- Watch the tone of communications, in particular with your emails. People can misinterpret emails or any written communication, which is why it is recommended to use video when possible. Body language speaks very loudly!

6- Set clear goals with staff so they are aware of the tasks they are needing to accomplish and the purpose behind them.

People Management Tips

People management is always a top priority for HR departments, however, it becomes more crucial during a crisis. Throw in differing opinions from senior executives on how the pandemic should be managed, and people management becomes more complex.

7- Trust your employees. The concept of working from home can cause a lot of concern for executive teams. According to a report from CNBC, 60% of workers report being either as productive or even more productive than they were working from the office. To alleviate distrust, here are some simple options managers can implement:

8- End of day reports - have staff send a list of what they worked on for the day.

9- Implement weekly 1:1 meetings to set up goals for the week and review what was, and wasn’t, accomplished from the previous week. Find out how Advisor Websites conduct weekly 1:1 meetings between managers and their teams. For more information about GS&R, we recommend reading 'What the Heck is EOS' by Gino Wickman and Tom Bouwer or watch the full webinar with Advisor Websites.

10- Understand the work/life balancing act for families with children or staff who have never worked remotely before. This may include flexible working hours to help parents manage two jobs around home-school schedules. When you’re trying to juggle two parents who need quiet space for their Zoom meetings, plus children interrupting to ask questions for school, it can become very complicated! Showing flexibility and understanding is highly appreciated and goes a very long way.

11- Provide extra perks to help staff feel valued.

12- Allow staff to cut down to half days (at pro rate pay rates).

13- Provide extra leave days. Companies like Facebook are adopting this approach.

14- Flexible hours to help parents manage work and family life.

15- Show you care and that you’re taking COVID-19 seriously. You can simply do this by providing education around germ conscious behaviours and implement them into your business. This can include:

16- Put up signs around the office on how to wash hands to help stop the spread of germs.

17- Encourage staff to stay home if they show the smallest signs of being unwell.

18- Provide hand sanitising stations and cleaning products for kitchens, bathrooms and desks.

19- Lead by example. Make sure you’re acting upon the message you are preaching.

If you’d like to find out more about how the Bucketlist employee rewards and recognition app can help your business, contact us for a free demo. We’d love to help you improve your company’s engagement!

Staff Engagement Tips

According to Gallup’s annual State of the American Workplace, nearly 70% of workers are not engaged. When you don’t have engaged workers, the morale and overall productivity is lower. Furthermore, companies with the highest rates of engagement experience 21% higher profitability, 17% higher productivity and 31% lower turnover. 

So how can you keep your employees engaged, and how can you engage them remotely?

20- One of the main reasons top staff leave their jobs is due to lack of recognition. Using an employee recognition program such as Bucketlist can help encourage peer-to-peer recognition and overall engagement. “Working at a company that uses Bucketlist to recognize staff promotes a culture where everyone wants to help everyone. I have never worked at a place like that before where even the smallest achievements are rewarded.” Marketing Manager, Advisor Websites.

21- When staff are rewarded with gifts or goodwill gestures they feel more valued. It’s even better when staff can choose the reward they want. Imagine if a vegan received a gift voucher to a steak restaurant! The Bucketlist rewards app gives employees the ability to choose rewards they really want once they meet a certain criteria of recognition. 

22- If your company has a social club or does regular team activities, make sure it doesn’t stop throughout COVID-19. You can be creative with online gatherings, but you can also keep it simple with a virtual happy hour (even better if you send a bottle of wine beforehand). 

Understand How to Keep Employees Engaged and Your Team Will Thrive

Communication, people management and staff engagement don’t have to go on-hold when employees are remote. They actually become more important and now is is a better time than ever to improve these practices in the workplace and keep your employees engaged. 

If you’d like to find out more about how the Bucketlist employee rewards and recognition app can help your business, contact us for a free demo. We’d love to help you improve your company’s engagement!