5 easy things you can do to boost your remote team morale
We all know how important it is to boost team morale – whether your team is fully remote, hybrid or going to the office, showing them that you care is always a good idea to ensure that they know they are valued and appreciated.
Making sure that your team is happy can be tricky when you’re working as a remote team. Even though working remotely offers plenty of advantages – more flexibility, no expensive commutes and better work-life balance, just to name a few – it’s still worth checking in and making sure that they’re feeling optimistic, enthusiastic and excited about their shared business goals.
No matter the size of your team, the type of business you run or your location, there are plenty of simple things you can do to show your team that you care. To help you out, here you’ll find some easy ways to boost team morale.
Make sure you check in regularly with your team
One of the easiest and most efficient ways to boost team morale is to ensure your colleagues feel listened to. Set up daily catch-ups as a team, monthly catch-ups as a wider company, and fortnightly catch-ups on a one-on-one basis. You can use these meetings to celebrate people’s achievements, keep colleagues abreast of what other teams are working on, lay out plans for the future, and offer personal feedback. It’s also important that you offer your team the chance to share their own honest feedback, too!
Organise fun activities to do together
You might be working remotely, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun together. Organising a few virtual team-building activities – from quizzes to cookery classes – is a great way to lift everyone’s spirits, not to mention encourage bonding and camaraderie.
After all, a team is more motivated and productive when people are happy, bonded and comfortable with each other. And what’s a better way to know your colleagues than a fun paintball tournament or a highly competitive kart race?
Offer wellness benefits
An easy way to boost team morale is to remember that work isn’t – and shouldn’t be – everything. Prevent burnout and encourage a healthy life balance by offering wellness benefits, such as free yoga lessons, meditation workshops, fitness vouchers, and paid self-care days.
When we are busy with work and life, it’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves. Having an incentive like a fitness voucher, group classes or healthy snacks available in the office can benefit your employees' physical and mental wellbeing.
Ask them what would make them happy
Not sure that team morale is quite where it should be? Ask them what would make them happy. When you’re working together remotely, it can be all too easy to forget that there are real people behind the screens; maybe they’re struggling with childcare responsibilities and need a little more flexibility, or maybe they’re feeling lonely and would like a few virtual coffee dates added to their calendars. Maybe they’d enjoy more training, or the chance to work alongside a mentor, or something entirely different. Communication is important. Whether you ask for feedback via anonymous surveys or just sit down for a (virtual) chat, you won’t know unless you ask!
Give them time to nurture their passions
Finally, try boosting team morale by offering your colleagues the time to nurture their passions. This might look like early Friday finishes, to give them time to attend a specific class or workshop. It might look like offering them the chance to work on a project that they’re really excited about. It might be talking to them about their favourite parts of the job and helping them manage their time to maximise this element. Or it might look like flexible work patterns, to ensure they can achieve the work-life balance that suits them best.