How To Motivate Your Team Remotely
In these challenging times, working from home has become the norm. I have been working remotely from the USA for over 3 years whilst my business (and team) are based in the UK. As a leader, I have adapted my practices in a way that allows me to stay connected and know what is going on. As a leader, you too will have to adapt your methods to motivate your team as effectively as possible in the given circumstances. I thought I’d share some of the insight I've gained over the years.
Here are some key points to remember:
Stay focussed
When talking to your team, it’s important they know that you’re paying attention. Avoid multi-tasking as this could give the impression that you aren’t listening. You should stay focussed on the discussion at hand, but also take notes to keep track of key points.
Additionally, don’t just focus on what your team is saying. We can gather more information than most people realise beyond just the words someone is saying. It’s important to note how your team is saying something and how they look when saying it. Changes in tone and voice modulation can help you keep tabs on your team’s energy levels and enthusiasm, video calls let you read expressions as well as tackling the loneliness that lockdown can trigger.
Care about your team
Take an interest in your team beyond their work. If team members feel that you care about their lives, they’ll be more motivated to work harder as they will want to impress you. Equally, they will know you care if you ask them for support when you need it.
As a team, we hold catch-up sessions every Friday where everyone discusses their highs and lows of the week. This allows us to destress properly. Better rest leads to better work. However, take care not to be too supportive. Solving problems without you gives your team a sense of camaraderie and independence.
Review their work
If you ask your team to update their business plans or record calls, take the time to review changes and notes to provide feedback. Otherwise they might feel that you’re just assigning ‘busy work’.
When sales results come out, we meet to discuss what worked well, what could improve, and whether everyone is taking on the most appropriate tasks. This avoids confusion over responsibilities and makes it clearer how they can improve.
Some people feel more comfortable in a one-to-one conversation. This is why I have individual meetings with team members each month, where they can ask questions and receive feedback in a confidential and comfortable environment.
Be open and honest
Honesty and openness goes without saying, it avoids uncertainty and toxicity in the work environment. It is important to acknowledge the difficulties that your team is experiencing and empathise with the challenge they face both at work and their personal life.
Use the right tools
We use Share Point to store documents everyone needs access to. There is a WhatsApp group that allows the team to talk to each other in a more social setting, and we use Microsoft Teams for more official meetings and discussions.
E-mail is mainly used only when sharing information from outside sources.
Are you a sales leader working within the pharmaceutical industry? We understand your pain and hope that our content will be of use to you at this unprecedented time! Follow us on our key social platforms LinkedIn & Twitter for more of what we hope will be valuable insights from the field.