5 Ways to Motivate Your Team When Working From Home
Check out these tips to help you and your staff keep a positive mindset while you’re all working remotely
How do you boost staff morale and encourage team building when you’re all in different locations? Houzz spoke with four architecture firms based in London, UK, where businesses are in strict lockdown, for their tips and tricks to help employees maintain their mental and physical wellbeing while working from home. Read on for professional advice from Trevor Brown of Trevor Brown Architect, Heather Shaw of Resi, Cristina Macia-Briedis of RISE Design Studio, and Rosie Ellis of My Bespoke Room.
2. Sweat the small stuff
“The biggest challenge is actually the small things,” says Macia-Briedis. “It’s very easy to answer important questions or address issues, but, with the distance, you lose the small office interactions that build team culture and bring colleagues together.
“In order to avoid losing touch in this way,” she says, “we encourage communication regardless of the weight of the matter – even if it’s to reach out and ask, ‘How’s it going, guys?’”
“Just taking a little time to enquire how someone’s doing is extra important,” says Brown.
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“The biggest challenge is actually the small things,” says Macia-Briedis. “It’s very easy to answer important questions or address issues, but, with the distance, you lose the small office interactions that build team culture and bring colleagues together.
“In order to avoid losing touch in this way,” she says, “we encourage communication regardless of the weight of the matter – even if it’s to reach out and ask, ‘How’s it going, guys?’”
“Just taking a little time to enquire how someone’s doing is extra important,” says Brown.
Keen to connect with other professionals in the design community? Find professionals, browse their work and follow them on Houzz
3. Encourage self-care
It can be easy to focus only on work, but staff health is equally crucial, so make sure you give your employees permission to prioritise these things.
“It’s important to remind staff they need to take care of their mental as well as physical health,” says Macia-Briedis. “Encouraging communication in this aspect is key.”
Approachability is vital, says Ellis. “We’re very clear that we’re a listening ear to anyone who needs us – work-related or not,” she says.
It can be easy to focus only on work, but staff health is equally crucial, so make sure you give your employees permission to prioritise these things.
“It’s important to remind staff they need to take care of their mental as well as physical health,” says Macia-Briedis. “Encouraging communication in this aspect is key.”
Approachability is vital, says Ellis. “We’re very clear that we’re a listening ear to anyone who needs us – work-related or not,” she says.
4. Keep it casual
Team-building often happens during informal interactions away from the desk and, with a little effort, you can recreate these moments remotely.
“We have a regular virtual coffee break, where we all stop working and video call in for a non-work chat,” says Brown.
There are other creative ways to do this. Shaw’s team is planning virtual Friday drinks, while Ellis’ firm is going one step further with a virtual pub quiz.
Team-building often happens during informal interactions away from the desk and, with a little effort, you can recreate these moments remotely.
“We have a regular virtual coffee break, where we all stop working and video call in for a non-work chat,” says Brown.
There are other creative ways to do this. Shaw’s team is planning virtual Friday drinks, while Ellis’ firm is going one step further with a virtual pub quiz.
5. Form online groups
Embrace technology to help with both informal get-togethers and group meetings. “We’re big fans of Slack,” says Shaw, “not just for day-to-day work, but for fun channels, such as our ‘Watercooler’ chat group, where people can catch up as they would in the kitchen, or our ‘ListenToThis’ channel, where people share music recommendations.”
You can also collaborate as a team using Houzz tools, such as Ideabooks, where you can share articles, images and ideas, or even dream spaces, with one another.
For Houzz Pro subscribers, you’ll automatically have access to Video Meetings, a new premium feature available immediately to Houzz Pro in Australia (Houzz Pro in NZ), which helps you keep in touch through virtual face-to-face meetings.
Shaw also suggests using Google Hangouts for conference calls, but says, “If you want to have 90+ members of staff on Google hangouts, we recommend using the mute button!”
Ellis also embraces the use of online groups, and says, “We have a designer group chat where we share different themes each day, such as pets, home working stations, homeschooling ideas with the kids, or home updates we’ve got around to doing.”
Your turn
How are you fostering team morale during this time? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation with Houzz’s online community of professionals.
More
Keen to bolster your business in this current climate? Read how here with 8 Things You Can Do Right Now to Strengthen Your Business
Embrace technology to help with both informal get-togethers and group meetings. “We’re big fans of Slack,” says Shaw, “not just for day-to-day work, but for fun channels, such as our ‘Watercooler’ chat group, where people can catch up as they would in the kitchen, or our ‘ListenToThis’ channel, where people share music recommendations.”
You can also collaborate as a team using Houzz tools, such as Ideabooks, where you can share articles, images and ideas, or even dream spaces, with one another.
For Houzz Pro subscribers, you’ll automatically have access to Video Meetings, a new premium feature available immediately to Houzz Pro in Australia (Houzz Pro in NZ), which helps you keep in touch through virtual face-to-face meetings.
Shaw also suggests using Google Hangouts for conference calls, but says, “If you want to have 90+ members of staff on Google hangouts, we recommend using the mute button!”
Ellis also embraces the use of online groups, and says, “We have a designer group chat where we share different themes each day, such as pets, home working stations, homeschooling ideas with the kids, or home updates we’ve got around to doing.”
Your turn
How are you fostering team morale during this time? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story and join the conversation with Houzz’s online community of professionals.
More
Keen to bolster your business in this current climate? Read how here with 8 Things You Can Do Right Now to Strengthen Your Business
Constant communication is key when it comes to lifting staff morale when working remotely, according to our professionals. “I make sure I speak to my team every day, even [if it’s] briefly,” says Brown. “Everyone has concerns and pressures, so open and clear communication is the key.
“The main challenge is not being able to take advantage of the group’s shared knowledge,” he continues, “but everyone knows they can pick up the phone for a quick question or send an email.”