How HR Can Stay Connected to a Remote Workforce

July 6 2021 - Working remotely is something that many teams have come to grips with recently, either through choice or necessity. Once the remote working system is set up, it is inexpensive to run, and it can be wonderful for productivity and employee happiness. There are some issues with remote working, however, and one of them is that when the team is dispersed across a wide area and perhaps even different states and countries, the HR team will find it hard to keep connected with them. This can cause problems in terms of employee engagement and satisfaction. Read on to find out how your HR team can stay connected to your remote workforce.

Keep in Touch

When someone is working remotely, the onus will be on them to contact the HR team should they need to, and that isn’t something they will always feel comfortable doing. Rather than leaving the responsibility on your workers’ shoulders, ensure that the HR team checks on them regularly instead. In this way, any problems can be noted and responded to quickly. It’s much less arduous for someone to reply to a message from HR than it is to create the message in the first place.

The HR team can even set up automated messages to be sent either via SMS or email, so they don’t have to break away from what they’re doing to send potentially hundreds of emails to each individual employee. Just as you might receive political text messages or emails asking for feedback, replying to these is easy, fast, and secure.

Make a Personal Connection

The above-mentioned methods of communication might not be the most personal ways to get in touch with someone, but they can open up a great discussion, at which point a personal connection needs to be made between the HR team and the remote worker in question.

When you are able to be more personal, you will make a much better connection that allows workers to open up to you much more and will help them to feel as though they are still part of the team, even if they are thousands of miles away. The text message the HR team sends could suggest making an appointment for a video call, for example, which, although perhaps not entirely the same as face-to-face talks, are often just as positive.

Keen an Open Line of Communication

It’s hugely important for the HR team to ensure that every employee knows they can get in touch with them at any time. If the worker has questions, a problem, needs advice, or just wants to talk, ensure they have the means to do that and the confidence that it’s the right thing to do.

It’s also crucial that your team knows they can offer feedback where necessary. In fact, feedback can be hugely beneficial to all involved, and the best and most positive changes can be made through suggestions from the team. They know what will work best for them, after all.

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