How to Improve Remote Employees’ Morale

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Remember those “water cooler” chats that you once had with people in your office? 

You would stand in the common area and catch up on what you did over the weekend or share the scoop on that new restaurant you tried last night. Although those conversations seemed insignificant at the time, the interactions boosted morale and made your team feel connected. These moments, among others, contributed to team morale in ways that may seem difficult to maintain when you aren’t physically together. 

Green Apple has been a virtual team since March of 2020, and we’ve learned a lot along the way about keeping everyone happy, collaborative, and engaged. Based on what we’ve learned along the way, here are a few of our tips for improving your remote employees’ morale.

Create Opportunities for Connection

Keeping your team connected and communicating is crucial when working remotely. Even when you can’t be together, you can create out-of-the-box ways to bring your team members closer together. We encourage you to get creative! 

A few of the ways that we stay connected include:

  • Daily Zoom meetings to discuss work and personal topics
  • Virtual happy hours and lunches
  • Increased use of collaboration tools, such as Basecamp
  • Group text chains to share photos, videos, and stories
  • Sharing recommendations for books, podcasts, shows, and movies
  • Virtual team-building exercises

If your team is located within driving distance, and it’s safe to do so, plan team outings to help everyone have shared experiences. For some inspiration, the Green Apple team’s most recent team outings were taking a boat tour in a Kentucky cave and visiting a Tennessee vineyard. Even as a remote team, we enjoy finding opportunities to make memories together. 

Send “Happys” to Your Team

Everyone loves a surprise. Even a small gesture, such as a handwritten card or a $5 coffee gift card, can brighten someone’s day. Recently, we’ve been loving Thnks, a platform that allows you to send thoughtful gifts of gratitude with just a few clicks. Remember that even a quick message of appreciation to your team can make all the difference.

Encourage Positive Language and Kudos

We say “thank you” often and freely at Green Apple, and it’s one of the things that gives our team a positive glow. Showing gratitude to those around you doesn’t take much effort, and it fills your workday with good vibes and warmth. Some might think, “well, they’re just doing their job,” but it’s still important to thank them for what they’re contributing to your team. When people feel appreciated, they feel a stronger sense of satisfaction and purpose in their work. 

Remind Team Members to Take Time Off

When work and home collide, you may notice your team taking less time off. One of the advantages of remote work is that schedules become more flexible; however, that can turn into a disadvantage if employees begin taking fewer vacation days because they can balance work with personal matters. Encourage your team to take time to completely unplug from work so that they can come back refreshed and prevent burnout. 

Maintain an Open Door Policy

Open communication is an essential piece of the employee-morale puzzle. Encourage your team members to express their challenges and worries, as they may otherwise harbor frustration. If you feel that someone on your team is feeling down or overwhelmed and they aren’t reaching out, it could be a good time to set up check-in meetings with individual employees to give them a safe space. Even when all is well, your employees may benefit from consistent communication to ensure they’re feeling balanced and supported.

There are a multitude of ways that employers can support their remote team members. Most importantly, though, your team wants to feel connected, appreciated, and heard by you. 

Want to Improve Employee Morale?

Green Apple can build an internal marketing program that allows you to support employees while sharing your company’s message to help your team connect with your vision. Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

Green Apple Goes Virtual

zoom snapshot of Green Apple team working virtually
The Green Apple Strategy team recently shared how our perspective has changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We shared those thoughts after weeks of soul searching and challenging ourselves to understand what makes our team tick and how we can improve. A few of the lessons we learned from the pandemic were expected: flexibility is everything, teamwork is crucial, and encouragement can move mountains.  But, there was one lesson we didn’t expect to learn—we work beautifully as a remote team. And so, without further ado…Green Apple Strategy has gone virtual!    You might be thinking, “Didn’t you just move into a new physical office space?” And the answer to that is yes, we did move recently; however, after more than three months away from the office, we began to notice that we work like a well-oiled machine, no matter where we are. Our care for our clients and our penchant for teamwork is boundless. We carry it with us wherever we are.  As we continue learning about remote work, we wanted to share a few insights into what makes it work. Who knows? Maybe you’ll take the leap, too.

3 Key Benefits of Remote Work

1. Higher Levels of Productivity
According to CoSo Cloud, 77% of remote employees report greater productivity. We’ve found that this statistic is overwhelmingly true for our team. “Making the transition to full-time remote work has pushed me to be intentional with how I prioritize tasks and make myself available for last-minute or urgent tasks that arise,” says Adam York, Content Marketing Director. We’ve seen that our time working remotely has allowed us to concentrate even more fully on our clients than before. Technology makes it so that our team is able to connect every morning for a “water cooler chat” to stay connected and up-to-date, and we use project management tools that allow us to handle client work wherever we are.
2. Team Connection
Many teams that consider going remote fear that their team will become disconnected from each other. We’ve put activities and meetings in place to ensure that we work as a unit. Kate Leggett, Client Relations Specialist, agrees: “In a lot of ways, I feel closer to the team than ever! We have a meeting to kick off the week every Monday and, for the rest of the mornings, have “water cooler” chats to start the day. It’s really great to have dedicated times to connect as a team.” We’re excited to go beyond our virtual meetings and one-on-one chats to begin scheduling fun team outings as well. Samantha Pyle, Owner and Chief Strategist, can see the connection between the members of her team: “We have always been a close team, but nothing like we are now. I truly feel like our team has connected on another level, because we are very deliberate with our conversations through video chat, making an extra effort to get to know each other and enjoy each other’s company. The days of checking in on someone when walking past their office door have evolved to scheduled Zoom calls, and we don’t take that time together for granted.”
3. Employee Wellness
In another statistic from CoSo Cloud, 52% of remote workers say they’re less likely to take time off than if they worked in an office. While we always support our employees taking time away from the office with their families and disconnecting from work, we have seen that this statistic rings true. Our team is able to use the flexibility of remote work to take care of themselves without sacrificing time in the office. We have more opportunities to practice self-care, like doing yoga or taking a walk—and in turn, we can be more focused and present for our clients’ needs. Madi Ballou, our Assistant Client Relations Specialist, weighs in: “I have time to focus on my personal health and self-care. I appreciate cooking now more than ever. I picked up painting again, which I used to love. Overall, I think I have learned to take more time for myself.”

Our Steadfast Commitment to Our Clients

Our team will always put our clients first—not just because it’s good for business, but because we absolutely love seeing our clients succeed. Just ask Olivia Cooper, Client Relations Specialist: “Getting that happy reaction from a client is worth every moment. It’s so fun to work with a team and clients who are willing to not only work hard and think smart but try new things to deliver the best results.” We’ve seen that remote work fuels our team’s satisfaction and creativity, allowing us to deliver original quality content to our clients. We are excited to start this chapter of our business and are confident that moving to remote work is the best decision for our team and our clients.  Thank you for following the Green Apple journey as we grow and evolve. If your company is interested in working with a marketing team who loves our clients, please contact us to schedule a consultation!