How to Increase Productivity in Your Remote Workforce

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Starting a business from home is a huge endeavor, but if you’ve already taken the leap and have grown the business enough to hire a remote workforce, then you’ve already hit several milestones.

While it’s certainly possible to run a highly successful business remotely, it can pose some unique challenges. One issue that business owners can run into is encouraging productivity in their remote workforce. When you aren’t all in the same office space together, sometimes there can be a disconnect.

Here are some great ways that you can encourage increased productivity in your remote workforce, helping your start-up to be even more successful.

Ensure Lines of Communication Are Always Open

This particular tip is important for any business, but when managing a remote workforce, it becomes even more essential. Ensuring the lines of communication are open means everyone is on the same page, understands the assigned tasks, and is aware of deadlines. This is the best way to keep projects on track and on time.

You may want to schedule regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings through video conferencing. This can be a time to discuss current projects and any questions employees may have.

Use an Online Project Planning Tool

Here’s an example of where technology can transform your business. Using an online project planning tool or calendar is an excellent way to keep the company and its employees organized. You can choose one that will reflect real-time updates so all employees can access the latest information.

These are available through software, apps, and browser-based platforms. It comes down to your specific needs and whether you want free or paid-for options. For instance, you could use Jira to make collaboration easier.

Reward Your Remote Workforce for Hard Work

Another way to encourage increased productivity is to reward hard work. Recognizing that employees are not just doing their job but doing it to a high level of success will encourage them to keep it up.

And while words are a great start, as a business owner, you can go further. Why not create an employee incentive program, giving them something tangible to work towards?

Some great employee rewards to consider include:

Bulk Amazon gift cards that you can hand out one at a time.
Trending electronic gadgets and items.
Branded company clothing, making sure they are useful items.
Paid time off given in half-day or full-day increments.
Local restaurant gift cards.

Don’t hesitate to step outside the box, as you want to choose items that employees want and would use. Be sure to be clear about the rules and targets when creating the employee incentive program so that employees understand what will be expected of them.

Final Thoughts

Each of these tips can help bring about positive change in productivity, but be careful not to let up on the gas pedal. It should be seen as an ongoing quest that you’re always staying on top of, making sure employees feel supported and incentivized to give it their all.