Engaging Remote Workforce

Engaging Remote & Virtual Employees

I always blog about something companies and organizations can do to create an inclusive workplace. I rave about how employee resource groups are the catalyst for workplace culture. I often reference how mentoring is a great way for peer engagement. And of course, spurring authentic and courageous conversations to promote trust in the culture is the business imperative.

Here we are now faced with a pandemic that requires our employees to work remotely, and in many cases from home. The question is do we shut down and stop the human engagement we experience every day? You must be kidding. The answer is no. We are in the information and technology age that allows us to not only get work done but increase timely engagement of everyone we need to connect to. Even in my small business, we leverage 24 technologies in how we get work done. Think about what companies have in place today to leverage its tech tools to ensure not many beats are not missed and production stays on track.

As part of the DMBA Inclusive Leadership Index; we gather data on how companies leverage technology to engage remote employees.

Illustration: since the growth of the remote workforce in the past 5 years, companies are creative in how they leverage ways to engage employees. 83 percent of companies utilize virtual training and 72 percent of companies engage ERGs virtually. These are the top two platforms, but the chart illustrates several other ways work is getting done.

We also asked companies, how best do your employees learn? and what tools are most utilized?

Illustration: While live and experiential learning (83 percent of companies) continues to be very popular, e-learning (86 percent of companies) is becoming the norm for learning. However, with the use of webinars and mobile applications on the rise, employees are leveraging these tools that allow them to share and engage virtually.

What is the takeaway from all of this? Now is a great time to dust off platforms and dive in for meetings, touch base and learning. The top tech tools include: Zoom, Microsoft teams, internal social platforms, face time and web ex. Face time is a substitute for human contact, so I say get to it.

Another resource is Create a Wow Factor Workplace for Remote Employees: 14 Ways to Nurture Employee Engagement by Deb Boelkes. For more information visit www.businessworldrising.com.

For more insights on the tools and blogs go to www.diversitymbamagazine.com your resource site.