By: Claudia Jeffrey

More than half of the world’s workforce already worked remotely at least once a week before the pandemic. Since the outbreak, almost every non-essential business around the world sent its employees to work from home, and many of us were already accustomed to it.

However, it can be difficult to stay motivated and continue working with the same productivity levels due to a number of other distractions and a disrupted work-life balance. Many employers and business owners are making an effort to motivate their remote workers and helping them set some long-term goals that take into consideration the ever-changing landscape of work in a post-COVID world. For those who are new to working from home, it can be especially difficult if they are used to the corporate environment and associated work rhythms. This can affect the employees’ productivity and result in a severe decline for the organization.

“People today really value workplace flexibility and remote work because it allows them to focus their energies on work and life as opposed to commuting or other complications due to geography.” 

— Ken Matos, Vice President of Research, Life Meets Work

Let’s discuss how you, as the manager, can keep your team motivated!

8 Effective Ways You Can Help Your Remote Employees Set Long-Term Goals

Here are eight effective ways to help your remote workers set long-term goals and stay on track while they work from home.

1. Communication is the key.

Remote teams cease to function without proper communication. Any group dynamic working towards a mutual objective should have open communication channels. It helps to have regularly scheduled meetings to align the daily tasks at the start of the day. This standup session can build up motivation for all your team members as each participates in the discussion and shares what they’re working on. It also eases any communication barriers and sets the tone for a productive workday.

2. Get to know your team.

It is often more challenging to build a cohesive team comprised of individuals who have never met in person. From privacy concerns to not having a dedicated workspace, workstation, or equipment to work at home, there can be many issues that can arise from time to time. As the team lead, you should take the responsibility to be a resource for your team members and get to know them both on a professional and somewhat personal level.

3. Start with small, attainable goals.

Now that you have established a daily team meeting to set the tone of the day and helped the members get to know each other, the question is how are you sustaining the connection? Even though teammates may be patient with each other’s shortcomings, it’s not always as smooth as it seems. To lower resistance to goal setting, start with short, individual, and easily attainable goals. Instead of directly burdening them with longer-term goals, work together on mapping short-term goals that are easily achievable and come together to support a larger business objective.

4. Frame tasks around those goals.

One primary responsibility that team leaders and managers undertake is to keep their team on track to reach business goals. After you have set the short-term goals, it is your responsibility to align the tasks that you have assigned them, so they all tie together to contribute to the overarching goal. When they complete smaller goals, remind them how they are making an impact on their team and the business. This is a great way to keep them motivated and on track.

5. Practice what you preach.

As a team leader, it’s not enough to make motivational speeches and dictate how they should go about achieving goals. A team leader should set a positive example in being forthright about their own goals and objectives. A motivating manager actually practices what (s)he preaches to their team members. Share your own struggles and successes, and also share how you’re working through them.

6. Manage, motivate and empower.

Team management is not easy. Some remote workers are better at self-management than others, and it’s up to team leaders to ensure the right things are getting done. Being able to identify the behaviors of remote workers who may need more help self-managing is critical for your team to be successful. One way to counter a lack of self-discipline is to manage well by motivating and empowering your employees with the resources they need. Help them understand that completion of assigned work and achieving set goals also aligns with their personal achievements. Show them that you, too, do the same and are expected to deliver results.

7. Offer appropriate incentives.

At the end of the day, we all are humans. We all work because of the incentives involved in the process, whether long-term or short-term. As a manager, you might consider offering incentives to your team members to keep them motivated and working towards the long-term goal without giving up. The expectation of a significant incentive by the end of the long, hectic process of working towards an objective might keep them inspired to cross the finish line.

8. Identify resources.

Lastly, it’s important to identify resources to keep you and the team inspired. Ask leaders within the company to make an effort and help the team understand the company vision, mission, and objectives better to align their long-term goals with that of the company. Help them realize that not answering to the team lead, not understanding other team member’s personal space and not fully communicating is not a show of utmost responsibility that a good employee should show. If your team learns to value their everyday tasks as part of a bigger, better goal, you will have a productive team who supports each other and rallies together to achieve their goals.

All in all, nobody in the world, whether they are a celebrity, a businessman are just a regular fellow human, like you and me, would say that they were prepared for what 2020 would bring. Such challenging times are unprecedented. There’s no better time for us all to work together to achieve long-term professional goals and also our personal life goals.

Claudia Jeffrey is a Sr. Business Analyst at Crowd Writer. She has worked as a stay-at-home mom, which is why she understands the struggles of remote work and regularly shares her experiences with readers on her blog.