Office Climate Assessments: Benefits of Engaging Your Remote Workforce

This article is part of a series Summit Consulting is releasing in collaboration with Huron, a Global Consultancy. In this series, we look at how an office climate assessment is a valuable tool to gain insight into employee perceptions of company policies and procedures. We talk about data collection techniques, engagement in a remote workplace, and a case study of a real organization. Check out the whole series:

1. New Year, New You, New Office
2. The Nitty-Gritty
3. Tactics to Keep a Remote Workforce Engaged
4. Benefits of Engaging Your Remote Workforce

In this series, we’ve discussed the importance of gathering employee feedback and leveraging low-cost tactics to keep your remote workforce engaged. In this fourth and final post, we explore ways to simplify collecting qualitative data and how this data can improve employee engagement. In our previous post, we explained how holding consistent, intentional one-on-one conversations between leaders and staff builds engagement. These conversations also yield valuable data that can be used to strengthen your entire organization.

Don’t Just Collect Information—Act on It

The key to benefiting from frequent interpersonal connections with leaders (also called rounding) is acting on the information you receive from your staff. For example, if your employee tells you that Drew from finance stepped in and completed a rush project, recognize Drew by sending a thank-you note. Following up on employee recognition builds morale and reinforces collaboration. Likewise, if an employee gives a suggestion to fix a process, then investigate how—or if—their recommendation can be implemented. Acting on a suggestion from your staff builds leadership credibility and trust. For an example of how this translates into practice, check out the graph below from an organization who implemented the tactics discussed in the previous blog.

Gain Actionable Insights from Employee Conversations

What if you could multiply the benefits of higher morale across your organization? Aggregating all the feedback, recognition, and suggestions from multiple employees (in office and remote) into one database provides valuable information. Many clients have attempted to use spreadsheets to capture feedback but found the process inefficient, time-consuming, and prone to human error. Organizations should consider implementing a tool to conveniently and seamlessly capture employee feedback. With this data, organizations can run reports to analyze and identify individual and collective trends. For example, a report can reveal if a technical issue is affecting a single remote employee or an entire segment of employees. A leader can see if there’s a training issue or a barrier that needs to be addressed across the organization. By aggregating rounding data into one location, leaders can make data-driven decisions that improve employees’ experience.

Virtual Interpersonal Connections Benefit the Entire Organization

Employees who have consistent, meaningful communication with their leaders are more likely to be engaged in their workplace. For example, an 8,700-employee health system implemented structured employee conversations with their staff and physicians. After a year, data showed that staff who met with their leaders more often were more likely to recommend their workplace to others. In this challenging staffing environment, prioritizing communication gives employers an advantage over those who don’t focus on building interpersonal connections with their remote staff.

Conclusion

Over this blog series, we’ve discussed several methods to engage your remote workforce. Companies must take steps to foster a positive experience for their remote employees to attract talent and minimize turnover. Get started today by conducting an office climate assessment and using one of the tactics discussed throughout this series.

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash; graphic by Huron, a Global Consultancy