What is engagement?

In this piece of knowledge we will make you aware about Work from home engagement activities its benefits and main challenges.

Understanding what engagement means is fundamental to understanding its possibilities in the professional sphere. Furthermore, for the author, a reference in people management, companies still confuse the term engagement with motivation a lot .

According to the author, “in general, motivation is everything that drives the individual to act in a certain way or gives rise to a specific behavior”. In relation to engagement, when we see it in the dictionary, the verb “engage” means to voluntarily participate in something.

Taking it to the organizational environment, an engaged employee is one who demonstrates commitment to their activities and to the company in general . Thus, he will not act this way because he believes this is his duty, but because he cares and is in line with the company’s values ​​and purposes, in other words, an engaged employee is the one who “wears the shirt” of the organization.

This is because HR professionals, managers and leaders are still discovering the best strategies and actions for good distance management of people . In this scenario, it is necessary to show employees that technology does not cool labor relations , but that it can be a powerful humanization tool, as it allows for a better quality of life for professionals and even more business performance.

With this challenge in mind, we have prepared this post so that you can better understand what engagement is and its importance. In addition, we will also present some tools to increase the participation of your team and show you how to engage employees in this new reality in the corporate world. So, be sure to follow the reading until the end!

What are the benefits of Work from home engagement activities?

When employees feel engaged, they produce more and deliver better results for the company. And it’s not hard to understand why. First, when a professional is hired for a position that matches their behavior and, in addition, their profile matches the organization’s culture, they will automatically have a positive experience within the job — something that will make them feel engaged naturally.

In this scenario, even if he has goals to achieve and objectives to meet, he will not feel pressured, but motivated, because he feels that he has a strong bond with the company and does not want to abandon it in any way .

Thus, the organizational climate also becomes lighter, due to the fact that all team members will be aligned with their duties and aware of their individual importance for the functioning of the business — avoiding conflicts and side conversations.

Furthermore, an engaged employee becomes a brand ambassador . Soon, he will speak well about the company to family, friends and even on social media. In this way, he ends up promoting the organization’s mission and values, which makes it an employer brand in the market — attracting the best talent.

What are the main challenges faced in the home office?

Working in the comfort of home brings several benefits, such as eliminating traffic stress, in addition to allowing employees to organize their routine in the best way for them. And most importantly, the home office allows people from anywhere in the world to work together in the same organization — which provides a strong cultural enrichment.

But there are also some challenges, such as:

• maintain an aligned and transparent communication;
• trust on the part of the manager in relation to the employee’s productivity;
• available quality technology and physical structure;
• collaboration of other residents in relation to interruptions;
• leaders who do not know how to manage remotely.

7 tips that will help you improve home office engagement

Working from home is a trend that has been growing in recent times, but which gained strength with the Coronavirus pandemic. Companies and employees are adapting to the new model, dealing with a series of challenges. In this scenario, it is essential to promote engagement in the home office.

Engaging is to create an affective bond between the professional and the company, building a bond that favors performance. To find out how engaged a team is, you can apply satisfaction surveys and measure turnover levels, for example. In addition to monitoring the data, however, it is necessary to create effective measures that guarantee good results.

Below, we’ve separated seven tips that strengthen engagement. Be sure to read until the end!

1. Have good planning

It is necessary to keep the team aligned with the company’s objectives, so that there is a good flow of work. For this, proper planning is essential. Everyone must be clear about the goals and their role in achieving them, with activities defined for the month or for the week, for example.

When crafting the plan, keep in mind that it is an adjustment period. If this is not considered, there can be great pressure on employees and unrealistic expectations. If tasks are well distributed and goals are clear, however, daily life will be smoother and satisfaction will be greater.

2. Set working hours

Organizing schedules is one of the great challenges of the home office , as it is difficult to separate professional and personal life. Thus, homework can become distracting or the person can spend excessive time working, neither extreme being positive.

To help in this regard, have defined times for the journey. Encourage lunch breaks and breaks, for example, and treat overtime in the same way as in the face-to-face model: just because the employee is at home, he cannot work late without being paid.

Empathize and understand that getting organized is not so easy, especially in the beginning. The company can even provide materials and tips to help build the new routine . With these steps, the overhead is reduced and the motivation to get involved increases .

3. Propose group conversations

Physical distance is another major challenge of engaging in the home office. If there is no attention to communication, the relationship between company and employees cools down and teams become misaligned. Thus, the professional feels disconnected from work and takes on tasks automatically.

To avoid this problem, it is necessary to stay present and create an active communication , where both sides are listened to. Periodic, weekly or biweekly meetings, for example, make all the difference. At these times, be transparent about the company’s situation and the strategies that are being designed. Also be open to listening, encouraging the sharing of ideas and suggestions.

It is critical to show that employees are not alone. Give them space to talk about their challenges, pains and joys, seeking to help in whatever way possible. This welcoming is essential for the sense of belonging.

4. Provide a comfortable work structure

As in the face-to-face model, ergonomics in the home office are essential for well-being, health and good performance. Adjusting the furniture, for example, allows you to work with greater concentration and comfort, in addition to avoiding pain and more serious problems. Pay attention to the conditions in which the professional will work, providing the necessary resources to adapt them to the new routine.

In addition to fulfilling your responsibilities for the health of employees, this is also a way of showing commitment and concern for the team. The company can also distribute equipment such as notebooks or tablets, to assist in carrying out the tasks.

5. Promote mental health

While some people identify more with the home office and see its advantages, others go through a complete estrangement. The stress of adapting to a new format, the lack of face-to-face interaction and an imbalance in the routine are risk factors for mental health, which are also reflected in the engagement.

Be sure to promote and encourage emotional care. A good alternative is to offer psychological care as a benefit , or to have a health plan that includes this service. Also, organize tasks well to avoid overload and high levels of wear and tear. Once again, we reinforce the importance of empathy and understanding.

6. Promote moments of interaction

Relaxation times are great to bring people together, create bonds with colleagues and increase job satisfaction. In the home office model, this is even more relevant as the team is separated most of the time. Thus, promote moments not aimed at talking about work, but to interact and have fun.

You can conduct online meetings and activities from a distance, via video calling platforms where everyone can see each other. Scavenger hunts, physical activities, dynamics or simple get-togethers to talk are some of the options, but remember to take into account the profile of the employees.

Encourage participation, but let the decision be free. Thus, professionals feel more motivated and create greater appreciation for the company.

7. Strengthen the feedback culture

Feedback is essential to keeping work aligned and motivating your employees. Follow the progress of tasks and periodically talk privately with each professional. Give feedback on your performance, helping to resolve issues if necessary. Listen to his side and embrace his point of view, all in a constructive, ethical and healthy way.

Also, don’t forget the importance of positive feedback, addressing good performance and praising it. With adequate returns, the professional values ​​the company’s posture, feels recognized and has greater motivation to engage.

Ignoring home office engagement is a big mistake, resulting in low productivity, high turnover and miscommunication. We hope we have helped to build a more positive scenario for the company, avoiding such problems and improving day-to-day activities.

8. Constant and effective communication

Maintaining good internal communication is one of the biggest challenges for managers. But keeping employees informed and clarifying their doubts, even remotely, becomes even more essential for the engagement of teams at a time of so many transformations.

In this scenario, count on the various technological chat and video calling tools available on the market. To do this, establish meeting times with the team, being careful with excesses. Also, don’t skip one-on-one conversations. Remember that each professional has their particularities , strengths and weaknesses and that they must be managed individually.

9. Recognition

Even from a distance, it is possible to engage employees, recognizing their good performance with rewards. And we’re not just referring to financial rewards. A tip is that you get to know the profile of each employee and understand what their greatest needs are at this time of collection.

In this sense, for an employee who cares about his health, for example, you can present him with remote gym classes. In the case of a professional who has children, an option can be extra time off so that he pays more attention to the family. Still, to engage employees who like to study, rewarding them with an online course for their good performance can be a great option.

10. E-learning

For some time now, technology has changed the way people qualify . At this time when social isolation is so important, e-learning is a crucial form of learning for the company to keep up-to-date and competitive in the market.

Thus, we can define this teaching method, which is based on the use of electronic media and the internet, such as e-learning . In addition to reducing company costs, e-learning allows for much more dynamic and up-to-date learning, which can even happen through educational games, a concept known as gamification.

keep the culture alive

Even with remote communication, the company’s culture cannot be lost because employees are at home . One of the alternatives for them to feel integrated is to share playlists, indicate series, publish photos from the workspace or received from the company on the networks, for example. Such actions make employees feel belonging, active and engaged.

In addition, continue sharing the company’s values , carrying out actions and events that were previously done in person, adapting them to online. Happy hours, get-togethers, employee of the month awards, for example, are strategies that can also have a positive impact remotely, bringing your team closer together, nurturing a sense of belonging and, of course, increasing engagement.

How to measure engagement?

As already mentioned, individuals have particularities that make them unique. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that, definitely, what engages one employee can demotivate another.

In this context, the engagement survey is a fundamental tool in talent management. It is a simple strategy that is summarized in a short questionnaire with objective questions. Here, the focus is to obtain data on what needs to be improved in the company to boost employee productivity and happiness.

Thus, even with the team in the home office, it can be carried out completely online, through software and platforms that facilitate the application, in addition to an assertive reading and management of the obtained data.

Still, it is important to remember that the employee who has been in the home office for more than 100 days is not the same person from the beginning of social isolation. So it’s important to apply this research more often and in shorter periods.

There is no instruction manual for the moment of so many transformations that we are experiencing. We are all learning together to adapt to this “new normal”. But an HR professional who is equipped with people management tools and strategic thinking will have no difficulties in engaging employees in the home office.