How to Retain Remote Talent: 5 Best Practices You Can Adopt Today
Published
In our recent State of Remote Work report, we found that more than half of people surveyed would work remotely if given the opportunity.
But with so many remote companies to choose from, the ability to work from home is no longer enough to retain remote team members these days.
So if this is the only “perk” your company offers, your employees may leave for greener virtual pastures to another company that takes better care of their teams.
The result is declining retention rates and the need to constantly hire new employees, costing you time, money and headaches.
But you know what? It's not that hard to retain remote team members who are productive, engaged, and happy in their roles.
Follow the five best practices we share in today's guide and you'll see lower turnover rates and more engaged employees in no time.
How to retain remote employees: 5 best practices
Those : whrg.com
Stop trying to recruit every few weeks and do this instead:
1. Start with an exceptional onboarding process
At We Work Remotely, we strongly believe in a solid onboarding experience.
As we wrote in our guide on the topic: A well-crafted onboarding process can improve new employee retention by 82% and productivity by 70%.
A solid process also helps new employees feel welcome and comfortable from day one, so they can be excited about their role and contribute their skills.
This first impression sets the tone for whether your new employee will do their best or just the minimum. So if you're trying to retain remote team members for the long term, your first step is to nail your onboarding experience.
We've discussed all the details of creating the best onboarding experience in the guide we just linked, and you should definitely check it out when you're finished here.
Essentially, your onboarding needs to show your new employee how much you value them. He shouldn't feel like he's just another employee on your sales wheel. Show him that you are invested in his success and are excited about what you will accomplish together as a team.
Your process should welcome new employees and introduce them to their team members. He should also set expectations early so that employees are not confused, unsettled, or left in the dark.
If they feel valued and feel like they are an integral part of the team, loyalty should soon follow.
Again, you can learn more about creating an exceptional onboarding experience by checking out this guide or even reading this article on Best Onboarding Practices for Remote Companies.
2. Choose an asynchronous communication style
It is often said that employees don't quit their jobs, their bosses do. And many bad relationships between employees and bosses start with poor communication.
Even if you don't see your team members in person every day, your communication style plays an important role in your employees' happiness and productivity.
If you're constantly checking in, micromanaging from a distance, and essentially monitoring your remote team members, you're signaling that you don't trust them. This distracts remote employees and negatively impacts team morale. If you continue this long enough, it's also a sure way to lose good employees.
A better approach is to use an asynchronous communication style.
This technique requires you to trust your team members and give them the autonomy to complete their tasks on their own. As described in this guide, teams that use an asynchronous communication style send actionable messages without expecting an immediate response.
This way, employees can be kept away from distractions during their focused work hours. Then, when they take a break, they can share, give an update, answer a question, etc.
While this technique may be difficult to adopt at first, it does bring benefits: better focus, higher productivity, and more engaged (and less stressed!) employees. Every new and experienced employee knows that you trust them and their expertise, which in turn contributes to employee retention.
3. Conduct regular inspections and performance reviews
Those : ragan.com
With asynchronous communication, you need to continually make sure your team members have everything they need to complete their tasks, meet their deadlines, and stay out of trouble.
But you should also have regular individual conversations with your employees to see how they are doing. This personal conversation shows your employees that you are interested in their success.
Ask open-ended questions about what they need from you, what they like, what challenges they face, etc. Let them know that you are always there for them.
At these meetings you can learn how to better support your team. And they give you clues about potential problems before anyone is ready to jump ship for a better opportunity far away.
Plus, they don't have to and shouldn't be long - just long enough to keep the lines of communication open so you can contribute meaningfully.
In addition to these check-ins, it is also a good idea to conduct routine performance evaluations.
Some remote workers feel isolated when working away from the team. They may feel like their hard work goes unnoticed because they aren't there to get that coveted pat on the back.
Your performance reviews provide you with an opportunity to provide feedback to your employees
Employees to improve morale and identify who is struggling and needs help.
So praise their achievements and address any areas that need action during the 30-day, 60-day, 90-day and annual performance reviews.
What you discuss here should lead to our next tip.
4. Offer virtual training to sharpen and improve skills
Your performance reviews and check-ins can reveal what skills your employees need to improve.
To show that you are invested in their professional development and success, offer them the opportunity to further their education.
Give your employees access to online training and courses for hard and soft skills. Then find a way to reward those who accept the offer.
This simple but effective best practice will help your remote employees identify more with their work and be more loyal to the company.
5. Give recognition and praise to make every employee feel valued
Don’t forget to give your remote team the praise and recognition they deserve.
Praise them as a group, but don't forget to highlight employees' special achievements so that each individual feels valued and recognized.
It's not uncommon for remote workers to develop a routine and toil on their rat race every day. Praise or recognition for a job well done helps break this demotivating monotony.
Even a small note in a Slack channel or email will go a long way.
It won't cost you much, but it will be worth it because you will have happy, loyal employees who feel valued and will stay with you.
Final thoughts on remote team retention
Those : togetherplatform.com
We hope that by reading this guide, you've found lots of easy (and affordable) ways to retain remote team members. Solid onboarding ensures that new employees are well prepared and committed to your company from the start.
Then it's a matter of communicating effectively, showing that you trust their work process and supporting their professional development. Sprinkle in some regular reviews and recognition and your remote team will always feel valued.
This is how you retain remote employees who will develop further in and for your company. Goodbye, high turnover rates!
