Finding Ways to Recognize Long-Distance Employees
Q&A with Bob Nelson
Editor's note: Work is increasingly becoming a state of mind rather than a place to go. In fact, one of the fastest growing benefits seems to be allowing employees to work from home. In one sense, the result is happier people, but sometimes this arrangement presents a problem: How can we engender a feeling of community, of corporate family, when employees are not necessarily all in the same place? How best can we motivate workers from a distance? WSA sat down with Bob Nelson to find out.
Q. Is distance working really as big as everyone says it is?
A. Absolutely. Just as distance learning has become almost a norm rather than an exception--or at least it's become more prevalent--so has distance working. Work-life balance is more and more important, and people are finding part of the solution in working from home.
Q. And that's not always a good thing?
A. Well, it is a good thing in that people out there are happier with their work arrangements. But the problem comes in working with many of the same retention problems you'd deal with in a more traditional set-up--in fact, some problems are magnified.
Q. Which ones are those?
A. Loyalty can be more difficult to come by, but perhaps the biggest hurdle is recognition and reward. We have enough trouble motivating the troops when they're just a few steps down the hall. Now they're not even in the same zip code, but we still have to recognize them.
Q. So how can managers best recognize employee performance when an employee may not even have physical contact with his or her manager for days or even weeks at a time?
A. In a virtual environment, recognition needs to be more of a conscious and planned act because there are not as many opportunities to acknowledge an employee's hard work and accomplishments. Going the extra mile to make sure a virtual employee is motivated, happy, and productive is key to ensuring success in a virtual workplace.
Q. How do we do that? Sounds like a tall order.
A. It can be. Remember that the starting point in most any strong working relationship is trust. Yet, without the daily face-to-face contact between manager and employee, trust can easily break down. So we have to find ways around that. Building trust at a distance is challenging, but it is not impossible.
Q. Where do we start?
A. Managers need to know and believe that their remote workers have the competence to do the basic job with little or no supervision, and that they will always perform to the established standards. This is a two-way street, of course, but managers need to let their people know that they believe in them.
Q. Do you have any specific suggestions for building trust?
A. I've found that a good place to start is with an effective orientation program in which virtual employees can find ways to build a sense of community and rapport with their managers and others in the organization. It continues with open, honest, and regular communication to sustain strong, trusting relationships. Distrust surfaces when virtual employees feel that the boss is either inaccessible or questions their decisions and the actions they take.
Q. What else do we have to talk about when we talk about distance?
A. Communication is more important than I can say. We know from electronics that the farther the source, the weaker and more distorted the signal. Likewise, the greater the distance from one's manager, the greater the effort both parties have to make to keep in touch. This can be done through updates, and/or more periodically scheduled meetings and visits, or other means to stay connected. In addition, it can be leveraged as a reward of sorts--people who feel like they're part of the communications loop feel more like a part of the company.
Q. Communication works as a form of recognition?
A. Absolutely. In fact, some type of recognition can be found in almost any type of communication. Verbal ways to recognize employees from a distance might include anything from simply acknowledging a good comment or contribution, recognizing small accomplishments that contribute to the end result, rewarding punctuality and honoring commitments, thanking a team member every time he or she contributes to the conversation, and even praising someone for bringing up contrary opinions or ideas. We have to remember to go out of our way to include these folks.
Q. What other forms of recognition work well for distance working?
A. Well, as I've said, the rules change a bit in terms of long-distance workers. We have to hold to traditional forms of recognition, but we must also find ways to implement virtual recognition.
Q. Virtual recognition? This sounds a little fishy.
A. It can be if it's not done right. As with all motivation tools, it's not just if you're recognizing people, but how. With any reward and recognition activities, managers must be sure to reward the behavior they desire with recognition that is valued and meaningful to their employees. This is especially true when designing virtual rewards and recognition because those employees who are out of sight are more likely to be left out.
Q. What should managers consider with virtual recognition?
A. When creating a virtual recognition program, managers should start by identifying a baseline of the motivational needs of their employees--and they should be willing to look at issues in a new way. A corner office or a prime parking space, for instance, does not have much significance in a virtual environment--but other things might. For example, remote workers are apt to value improved resources such as a faster or better computer. Other possibilities include learning and development opportunities, a bright plant to liven up their home office, or a reward that is linked to a hobby or personal interest such as a gift certificate to a local restaurant or movie passes at a local theater.
Q. Is there one right way to go about implementing these rewards?
A. If there is, it would be to be willing to go about the recognition in as many ways as possible, or at least to be flexible. It's simple, really--to find out what virtual employees want, ask them. You can conduct a survey to discuss what would be meaningful recognition to your virtual employees, have a discussion with your work group about the topic, or select recognition and celebration activities to do at the end of the project, when the work is being planned.
Q. And it works?
A. You bet. A BankBoston employee I spoke to told me that her employer asked her via email what she'd most value in terms of rewards. She listed "time off," "lunch with her manager," and "Starbucks coffee," in her email, sent it back to her manager and promptly forgot about it. She was elated, however, a month or so later, when after finishing a project, she found a coupon for Starbucks coffee on her desk with a personal note of thanks from her manager. The fact that her manager took the time to find out what would be meaningful to her and then used that information in a timely way left quite an impression on her and made her glad to be working there.
Q. Any final thoughts?
A. As you involve those you are trying to motivate, not only are you likely to be more on the mark, but others will more likely take ownership of the recognition program and activities. Involvement equals commitment and the best management is what you do with others, not to them. This holds true across the board, and we know it. We simply must keep in mind that it holds for all of our employees, and not just the ones we see every day.
Bob Nelson is President of Nelson Motivation, Inc. He is the author of the best-selling books, 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees, and the new 1001 Ways to Take Initiative at Work, all published by Workman Publishing.
