Businesses in the metals industry are still trying to find the best ways to build and retain high-performing teams in the era of remote working environments. Some aspects that were once taken for granted, like informal conversations with colleagues in the hallway and breakroom celebrations, have been replaced with people working alone in their homes. The ongoing isolation continues to impact employee engagement across the industry. Now, companies really must focus on helping employees endure and achieve their goals. Here are some ways to construct stronger teams virtually.
Executive Participation
The top leaders of an organization really have to be involved in team-building activities to improve employee engagement. Since morale is dampened in many companies right now, it is important for executives to provide regular updates via recorded videos, company-wide emails, social media posts, newsletters, or even one-on-one chats. Employees need to feel team cohesion now more than ever.
Mitigate Zoom Fatigue
There are plenty of benefits of virtual work environments, but we can’t overlook the burnout that it’s causing many employees. Recent research has proven that virtual meeting fatigue is a real condition that can lead to psychological consequences. Here are some tips to mitigate “Zoom fatigue.”
● Use “hide self-view” settings.
● Schedule fun employee engagement activities like trivia contests, virtual puzzles, etc.
● Take audio-only breaks.
● Speakers should frequently pause and request feedback.
● Use a combination of live and recorded videos to present information.
Provide Strong Structure and Direction
First, provide virtual employees with clear goals. Managers need to concentrate on ensuring that employees have a sense of purpose by setting challenging goals that motivate them. Then, leaders should focus on providing a strong structure that promotes positive work dynamics. But, if you really want to build stronger teams virtually, it begins during the hiring process. Metals recruiters always emphasize the importance of onboarding a diverse roster of team members for the best balance of skills. Finally, remote employees need some level of autonomy when managing their work, along with plenty of performance feedback.
Promote a Shared Mindset
Something that weak teams have in common is that they have developed an us-versus-them mentality within their own organization. It is important to promote a shared mindset by strengthening a common identity among remote and onsite employees. Since there can be cooperation barriers between remote team members and managers, leaders must overcome it by providing communication that is complete and by confirming that employees feel valued for their contributions on a regular basis.
The first step is always to recruit talented and motivated candidates for metals careers. Next, you can move on to building stronger teams virtually using executive participation, providing strong structure, and promoting a shared mindset.
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