If you’re leading a fully remote team, a sudden and unexpected shift from being in the office together to each teammate working from home due to the COVID19 pandemic may have diminished your company’s once-thriving culture. Even leaders of teams that were totally distributed before this crisis hit are suffering the ill effects of a tough year, including negative impacts on levels of employee engagement, performance and productivity.

To help leaders who are trying to adapt their cultures to the “new normal” of working remotely, members of  Forbes Coaches Council shared tips business leaders can use to improve morale among their remote team members. Follow their recommendations to strengthen your overall remote culture and team dynamic.

1. Create Opportunities For New Leaders To Emerge

Our “new normal” requires inspiration and transformation, especially now that people are reflecting on their immediate wants, needs and goals. Emotional intelligence with a focus on self-actualization is essential. Management should create opportunities for new leaders to emerge by building space for mentorship, returning to personal values and providing resources to model growth.

Dr. Remi Duyile
—RemiSpeaks

2. Share Highs And Lows Each Week

The simple weekly practice of sharing highs and lows will help to strengthen bonds and reinforce the good things that are happening. Even simple high points should be recognized because they accumulate to build morale over time.

Marita Decker
—FutureCourse Education

3. Increase The Energy On Your Team

We are in the last mile of the marathon, and everyone is tired, including you. What will get us across the finish line? At this point, energy is everything. Improve morale by increasing the energy on your team. To achieve this, you can schedule fewer meetings or shorten them, encourage and share ideas for self-care, show appreciation for one another and ask the team to share energy-boosting ideas.

Beth Fitzgerald
—Fitzgerald Coaching and Consulting

4. Ask Team Members What They Need

We cannot possibly know what every single person needs at this time, or at any time for that matter. It is best to ask them what would help to improve engagement and morale. Listen to, acknowledge and note what they each share. Go over the list with everyone, and then either agree to start on ideas right away or to follow up on them in a couple of days. People need to be heard.

Tracy Quinton
—Quinton Group

5. Promote Collaboration And Connection

Collaboration is the cornerstone of a great culture. Create ways for your team to stay connected, such as through Slack groups or Jabber messaging, to help your employees feel seen and involved. Maintain the team-building activities that helped you build your strong culture. Utilize Zoom for virtual happy hours and encourage “water cooler” chats online.

Dominique Law
—Hired! Career Solutions

6. Plan Fun Virtual Events Unrelated To Work

You can always improve morale in an all-remote team by creating fun Zoom events that have no other purpose except to draw everyone closer as a group. For example, you can do virtual escape rooms together, or use Netflix to watch a movie together and open up a side chat.

Hannah Keeley
—Team Keeley LLC

7. Hold All-Team Staff Meetings

All-team staff meetings give people the ability to communicate and feel connected, heard and understood. This one act of bringing people together unifies and puts everyone on the same page. Be sure to allow others to speak and air the thoughts, experiences and concerns they may have. This act opens hearts.

Shaan Rais
—Omni-Solutions Consultation LLC

8. Prioritize Employee Recognition

A little recognition goes a long way. Reward employees for their hard work, which raises morale in turn. Companies that typically host lavish events can have virtual or socially-distanced, in-person options to fill that void. If cost-cutting is a priority, a handwritten thank-you card or video message from the CEO is affordable and quite meaningful.

Michael Timmes
—Insperity

9. Carve Out Time For Gratitude

This year has been hard. I’ll validate that all day long. Focus on the positive and, especially, carve out time for gratitude. The fastest way to happiness and connection is through gratitude. Make it part of the weekly call. Find out one thing each person is thankful for. Individually express your gratitude to each team member as well. Another key is to regularly find out how they are coping.

Curtis J. Morley
—Entrepreneur’s Paradox

10. Develop A Buddy System

A little effort goes a long way when fostering opportunities that support authentic, positive connections. We’ve seen success when organizations create buddy systems and encourage team building through virtual happy hours (alcohol not necessary) and themed meetings. Sowing personal relationships in this way not only increases morale, but also enhances creativity, collaboration and joyful work.

Cheri Rainey
—Rainey Leadership Learning

11. Encourage Teammates To Cover For Each Other

Encourage team members to cover for each other and give each other email-free, contact-free time. We all need it. Looking out for each other without more “Zoom-togetherness” builds trust and partnership among team members.

Lisa Rangel
—Chameleon Resumes LLC

12. Play A Team-Building Game

Morale and connections between team members can be greatly improved with one simple “practice.” There are many ways to play with this. The game is called “five favourite things.” Have each employee jot down and share five favourite things about a teammate, a project they’re working on, their surroundings, our current conditions, their pet, etc. Do it before meetings begin, or have them email their lists and post.

Christine Meyerl
—Christine Meyer Coaching

13. Identify And Speak With ‘Morale-Busters’

Many uncontrollable factors outside of the workplace drain morale these days. Sometimes, however, certain individuals at work are responsible for dragging morale down even further. Identify the team members who are morale-busters and give them feedback about how their actions impact others. They may not even realize that it’s happening.

Carroll Welch
—Carroll Welch Consulting

14. Surprise And Delight With Personalized Experiences

Surprise and delight. If it feels as if your remote team culture is strained, surprise your people with a personalized experience –something you know would boost their morale. Maybe it’s a much-needed pamper session or dinner at that restaurant they love. These small acts let them know that you care and can massively influence the general vibe in your company.

Allan Dib
—Successwise

15. Implement Peer-To-Peer Coaching

A great way to improve morale and increase remote engagement is to move the focus of weekly staff meetings from report outs and status reports to focus on a collaborative, peer-to-peer coaching approach. The advantage of peer-to-peer coaching is that the team members begin to see their colleagues as a safe source of advice. Trust and engagement will be built within a short time.

Mary Patry
—ITeffectivity, LLC

16. Allow For A More Flexible Cadence At Work

Remote or non-remote, this era of COVID-19 requires a different cadence to our work. Everyone is adapting to the pandemic differently. When possible, give teams extra time for projects. Consider providing some time off to allow staff to recalibrate and adjust to all of the challenges outside of work. Also make space during check-ins for candid conversations around how people are adapting or struggling.

Billy Williams
—Archegos

About the author

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only organization for senior-level executives in the coaching industry. To learn more about Forbes Coaches Council, visit www.forbes.com.

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