In a remote working environment, it can be a challenging task to keep employees motivated. Shooting off emails without any face-to-face interactions can create a boring atmosphere. This can translate into lower enthusiasm and engagement levels that are detrimental to the company’s growth.
However, video-conferencing can help you take care of this mundane work lifestyle. Offering limitless connectivity opportunities and enhanced features, video conferencing can be used to create a virtual environment for employees to interact, learn, and grow together. This will directly contribute to higher productivity levels.
You can use platforms like Zoom, Google Meetings, Microsoft Teams, and others for video conferencing or you can also take the help of a WebRTC development company to create your own customized platforms with all the features your company needs. Once you have the setup ready, it comes down to organizing the meetings and laying down effective SOPs to improve employee productivity.
Here are 5 ways to boost employee engagement with the help of video conferencing.
Encourage employees to be more social
Using video-conferencing as a social tool can help to fill the gap in physical communication. Employees can be encouraged to share posts, pictures, and other content related to their lives. These activities help employees to understand each other and form strong bonds. This allows them to open informal channels of communication, just like in a physical office setup. It helps to fill their social needs and improve productivity.
Employees can even start their days with a virtual meetup to discuss their previous day’s work. A shoutout can be given to the best performing employee every day. This encourages healthy competition and pushes other employees to perform their best.
Create an advance meeting calendar
You should create an advanced video conferencing schedule with details of each individual meeting mentioned in it. Scheduling impromptu meetings can sometimes become difficult and stressful for employees as they may have not been prepared for it.
On the other hand, if the timings and details of upcoming meetings are communicated in advance, the employees will get a chance to organize their workflow and prepare in advance. Employees should also be encouraged to decide the agenda, roles, and speakers for the meetings. It will make them feel responsible and empowered.
Make use of collaboration tools
One of the easiest ways to boost employee engagement is to use a platform that offers collaboration tools. Basic features like screen-sharing, virtual whiteboards, file-transferring capabilities, and screen recording should be present in the platform. These features will help employees to communicate more effectively and also aid in solving their queries.
At the same time, all collaborations and advanced management controls can be useless if your employees are not accustomed to using the platform. Efforts should be made to educate them about the features and navigation controls. Sometimes platforms are even updated by developers to improve functionality which can result in a change in the user interface. Employees should be updated about these developments by conducting frequent orientation sessions to train the employees.
Involve Company Management
Video conferencing makes it easy for managers to reach out to more employees. They can join meetings from the comfort of their office or even homes. It also allows them to reach out to the employees placed lowest in the company hierarchy – employees who are actually driving the sales of the company. They can share their experience and insights into the industry with employees to give them a deeper understanding of the work.
Positioned at the top levels of the hierarchy, managers are key decision-makers in a company. Organizing monthly interactive sessions with managers can help boost employee morale. Hearing the company’s vision and objectives straight from the managers will keep the employees motivated and engaged.
Prioritize recreational activities
The endless hours spent working on the screen can increase stress levels, hampering the productivity of your workforce. To deal with this you can organize mindfulness and yoga workshops for employees. There are numerous health experts who facilitate online workshops for corporate employees.
Numerous studies show a positive correlation between mindfulness practices and reduction in stress at the workplace. Mindfulness also helps to improve sleeping patterns. It can also help companies save medical costs associated with employee healthcare. A study by Harvard Medical School found that those engaged in relaxation programs used 43% fewer medical services over those who were not.
Competitions like singing, dance, and art can also be organized can also help them to feel rejuvenated. Small steps like these make the employees feel that the organization cares for their well-being and motivate them to work harder.
Summing it Up
With the wider adoption of remote working culture across the world, it is important for companies to develop ways to help employees stay focused and engaged. Providing access to collaborative tools can help create the perfect virtual environment. At the same time, companies should also focus on organizing activities that help to stimulate mental and physical well-being.