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4 Best Practices for Communication Among Remote Teams

4 Best Practices for Communication Among Remote Teams

by | Mar 30, 2021 | Blog

4 best practices for communication among remote-work teams. These four remote-work strategies can help keep your workforce connected, regardless of their location. 

They say the most important part of any relationship is communication. For workforces in the new world of remote work, that’s easier said than done. While technological advancements including Zoom, Slack and Google Suite can go a long way in helping teams stay connected, distance among remote-work teams can easily cause miscommunication and mistakes.

What remote-work strategies can employers enact to enhance communication?

What are some successful remote-work strategies that employers can initiate to keep a remote-workforce connected? Consider these four best practices for communication among remote teams during the pandemic.

1. Communication at work goes beyond long-form emails.

One big loss when working from home is that employees may be less willing to reach out to one another on non-work related issues. In the office, team members often connect through casual moments between tasks and during lunch. Casual conversation is not only good for team morale, but may contribute to more creative problem solving and a willingness among employees to help their organization and coworkers.

Finding a space to talk casually and encouraging employees to use that space may help improve communication for remote teams. Quick-paced, instant messaging systems like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Hangouts can allow your employees to connect quickly and stay in contact more regularly. Create channels for work announcements, but also allow a space for non-work conversation, and general communication.

2. Clearly define tasks and be open to questions.

This is true for both remote communication and in-person work but has only become more vital in the age of COVID-19. When employees are assigned a task in-person, it’s easy for them to follow up with clarifying questions or ask for additional guidance. The same isn’t always true during remote work. Make sure when an employee has a task, that they know when it’s due, what’s due and exactly how to complete what’s been asked of them. Be open and available to questions in the same way you would be if they were at the desk next to you. This may mean offering up a phone number or chatroom where you can be easily reached or otherwise making sure they know that you’re available to assist as needed.

3. When an issue arises, pick up the phone.

Inevitably, part of leading a team is knowing how to resolve conflict when it arises. Whether a miscommunication about a work assignment, or a disagreement between two team members, be proactive in the way you handle lapses in communication. Email and messaging platforms may provide quick responses, but they also generally lack the emotion and investment that a phone call or video chat can convey. It can be so easy to misinterpret a sentence in an email that would be so obviously non-controversial in a face-to-face or at least in a voice-to-voice conversation. In times of crisis, a quick phone call can often be the best type of communication for remote teams.

4. Communicate more than you think is necessary.

Clarity and shared vision is critical to the success of any team. Working remotely, it’s easy to stay in your individual worlds, but  whether you’re sharing more clarification, information, or just normal conversation, it’s almost always a positive to communicate. It’s not just that you’re erring on the side of caution in terms of transparency. Working from home can be lonely. You want to make people feel involved, engaged and connected.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.

5 Things Employers Need in a Financial Wellness Program

5 Things Employers Need in a Financial Wellness Program

by | Mar 24, 2021 | Blog

5 Things Employers Need in a Financial Wellness Program

Not all financial wellness programs are created equal. How do your options measure up?

Post pandemic, financial wellness programs have seen a sudden rise in popularity. Forty-two percent of employers now offer one or more financial wellness programs, according to data from MassMutual. Those numbers are only expected to grow.

Employers seem increasingly aware that they need to provide a high-quality, broad-based financial wellness program. Even as they invest in a more holistic approach to overall employee wellness. It’s the right move. But not all financial wellness programs are created equal. And, throwing a bunch of point-based solutions at your employees doesn’t count.

Maybe you’re already offering a financial wellness platform loaded with benefits to your employees. Or, perhaps you’re getting ready to take the plunge. Either way, these are the five must-have pieces to successful financial wellness program.  

1. Financial wellbeing programs need comprehensive guidance.

Employer financial wellness programs shouldn’t start and stop with a 401k plan or the occasional bonus. Money is at the root of many of the decisions that we make every day in our career and personal lives. Your employees are facing issues as wide-ranging and unique as they are:

  • Paying off significant student debt
  • Financing or managing health care costs
  • Daily budgeting issues
  • Elder care challenges
  • Relationship issues, and everything in-between.

In order for a financial wellness program to truly make a difference in a person’s life, it should address financial needs both great and small with a consistent breadth and depth of knowledge.

2. Include customizable financial wellbeing content for employees at any stage.

Similarly, while it’s true that money affects everyone, it affects everyone in different ways. With up to five generations in the workforce, your employees have different financial goals, expectations and circumstances. In order for a financial wellness program to be worth the time and money you’ll invest, it needs to address every individual employee, regardless of their age, financial status, stage of their career, etc. A good financial wellness program will offer the same level of individual assistance to those employees still starting their careers as it does to those raising families or approaching retirement. A great one will make personalized and customizable content available in an easy-to-use, integrateable intuitive platform.

3. Bring financial wellness current with timely insight into real-world issues.

Real-world financial insecurities require real-world advice and realistic solutions. Your financial wellness program needs to acknowledge and validate that external factors like mental health, chronic illness, gender or racial inequality and other inequity play a part in your employees’ financial lives. Reality-based financial tools are more likely to be used and yield tangible results for the employee, and real ROI for HR.

4. Financial wellbeing programs need trustworthy, reliable security.

This one is simple: Money matters are sensitive issues, and nobody should feel like their financial security is at risk. A good financial wellness application is encrypted and secure, even at rest, with no one, not even employers, able to access an individual’s delicate financial information without the user’s permission. Look for a financial wellness program that prioritizes user security. 

5. Don’t forget to include a human touch.

It’s easy to get lost in a flurry of statistics and calculations when talking about financial wellbeing, but at the end of the day, financial security is key to emotional and physical wellbeing. It’s time to demystify learning about money: Your financial wellness program should be fun and easy-to-use, run by a team who cares about your employees as much as you do. 

Keep these must-haves in mind as you think through program changes. How do the financial wellbeing programs offered to your employees measure up?

Financial Wellbeing Programs Create Opportunities for Employee Engagement

If you’re looking for a stronger solution, talk to us. Best Money Moves is a human-centered program that offers a personalized approach to financial wellbeing. The comprehensive and user friendly-platform provides a plethora of financial resources and educational tools, with nearly 800 articles, videos, and calculators. Employees can measure their level of financial stress in each of 15 categories, and our algorithms will send personalized and customized information, tools, and solutions that help solve the problem and reduce financial stress.

Whether your employees need help saving money, paying their bills, raising their credit scores, getting ready for retirement or buying a house, Best Money Moves is there to support them every step of the way. Best of all, Best Money Moves is portable, so when your employees move on, they can take it with them.

Give your employees the very best financial wellness experience. Reach out for a demo today!

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.

The Top 5 HR Trends to Look For In 2021

The Top 5 HR Trends to Look For In 2021

by | Mar 3, 2021 | Blog

The Top 5 HR Trends to Look For In 2021. Keep an eye out for these five up-and-coming HR trends as workforces everywhere adjust to a post-COVID world. 

It’s no secret that 2020 was a disruptive year. Fallout from the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of Americans to work from home, and changed the way employers think about employee wellness. The new workforce needs to be adaptable and resilient in the face of uncertainty and leadership must find new ways to keep their teams motivated and healthy. 

 Here are the top 5 HR trends to look for in 2021, after a year that transformed the way Americans work. 

  • Continued remote work & an emphasis on hybrid work spaces. 

A year into the pandemic, workers have had time to reflect on the pros and cons of going remote and, to the surprise of many, there’s reason to believe that work-from-home options may stick around, even after the pandemic has ended. In a recent PwC survey, 83% of employers said their shift to remote work has been successful. According to the same survey, 55% of employees want to work at least three days a week from home, even after concerns of COVID-19 fade. While this doesn’t exactly align with employers — 68% of whom claim they need at least three days in the office a week to maintain company culture — the results do make one thing clear: We are likely heading in the direction of compromise. Look for more offices staying remote or vying for half-remote, half-in-office hybrid models in 2021. 

  • Increased flexibility on work hours. 

Some Americans are beginning to feel the restrictive nature of the 9-to-5 daily grind, especially after a year where many working parents lost the support of daytime childcare to the pandemic. Now, it seems employers are exploring alternative ways to structure employee time at work, many of which are paying off. According to Gartner’s 2020 ReimagineHR Employee Survey, while 36% of employees were high-performers in the standard 40-hour workweek, that number rose to 55% when employees had flexibility over their hours and location. Expect this idea to be tested in more and more companies this year.

  • Increased employer focus on employee wellbeing and mental health support. 

According to the CDC, mental illnesses are associated with higher rates of disability and unemployment. These struggles affect more than just productivity and engagement, they can damage physical capabilities and daily functioning. Nearly 41% of adults report symptoms of anxiety or depression in their households, according to a January 2021 report from Kaiser Family Foundation, a massive spike from the 11% reported in June of 2019. With more and more employees experiencing challenges resulting from the collective trauma of the pandemic, employers must adapt. While there’s a long way to go, many companies feel more comfortable having conversations about mental health. As such, employee benefits are trending towards mental health support.

  • Increased employer focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion among staff. 

This trend isn’t based around productivity or output and isn’t about numbers or qualifiers: It’s about morality and equity. A year of social unrest has caused more companies to acknowledge their shortcomings when it comes to diversity and take the first steps toward becoming more inclusive. While diversity describes the make-up of a company, inclusion implies a more active approach. Companies are understanding that you need to be intentional about remaining inclusive.

  • Emphasis on corporations taking social and political stances. 

The United States is undergoing a serious social reckoning and being a bystander to the burning social and political issues of the day is becoming harder to justify. When the leadership of a company aligns itself with the views of its employees, the entire company culture moves towards unity and, in turn, productivity. According to Gartner research, the number of productive and engaged employees jumped from 40% to 60% when their companies acted on the social issues of the times. More and more companies are feeling empowered to voice these opinions to their employees. 

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.

How to Build a Strong Remote Work Culture in 2021

How to Build a Strong Remote Work Culture in 2021

by | Feb 17, 2021 | Blog

How to build a strong remote work culture in 2021. Remote doesn’t have to mean disconnected. Build a strong remote work culture during the pandemic. 

Two thirds  of executives feel that a physical office space is key to employee productivity, and about the same number feel employees should visit the  office a minimum of three days per week in order to maintain a distinct company culture, according to a January 2021 Remote Work survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. But with the Coronavirus/COVID-19 still sweeping across the United States and many remote employees feeling unsafe returning to the office, it could be months before that happens

So, how can workforces maintain a strong remote work culture in 2021 if they feel a physical space is key to success? Just like remote work may not come naturally to every employee, a strong remote work culture doesn’t happen without effort from employers. Supporting your remote workforce and keeping them connected outside of the office requires intentionality and practice. 

Try these three strategies to help develop your remote work culture in 2021, regardless of how long your team is stuck at home. 

  1. Communicate deliberately and transparently with your workforce. 

In the office, quick questions and passing conversations go a long way to helping business run smoothly. At home, communication becomes more complicated and even a passing question to a coworker may require extra steps. 

Clear, consistent communication is a cornerstone of successful remote work culture. Make the avenues of communication available to your employees very clear and encourage their use as often as people need — whether that’s email, telephone or video calls, or an instant messaging service such as Slack or Google Hangouts. Actively check in with your employees and give them individual attention and opportunities to ask questions. 

It’s also important to keep your remote team up to date on company share company goals. Working alone from home can be isolating and it may be hard for an employee to stay motivated if they can’t see the bigger picture. Create a remote work culture where individual goals are aligned with the company’s needs. Team members generally work together better if they can fully understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and how their individual actions impact the company as a whole. 

  1. Celebrate employee successes (and remember to say thank you). 

Positive reinforcement is another factor in a positive remote work culture. Employees are commonly affected by negativity bias, a behavioral phenomenon where individuals are more impacted by negative events than positive events of equal intensity. A positive remote work culture is more likely to form when employees are working towards acknowledgement for hard-won achievements, rather than in fear of being reprimanded. Additionally, pointing out personal wins on a team or company-wide scale can be a great way to encourage conversation between remote employees and connect separate team members with a common victory. 

  1. Encourage consistent work-life-balance, even while remote. 

When your office is your bedroom, the lines between your “on” hours and your “off” hours can become blurred. You leave work, but your laptop is still right in front of you. If you work ceaselessly and don’t take strong breaks, productivity is bound to decrease. 

Finding this balance is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. The events of 2020 have left workers everywhere dealing with significant emotional exhaustion. Many members of your team may be dealing with financial struggles, mental health issues or even personal losses related to COVID-19. Team members deserve to feel that their work matters to the organization beyond their day-to-day productivity, and that their employers are concerned with their personal wellbeing in addition to their work output. Encourage employees to work hard when it’s work time and enjoy the other aspects of their life when it’s break time. 

Ultimately, these tactics should all work together to increase your employee buy-in. When everyone feels like a team, supported and united under one vision, then the work culture will fall into place.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.

How to Increase Remote Employee Engagement in 2021

How to Increase Remote Employee Engagement in 2021

by | Feb 10, 2021 | Blog

How can you increase remote employee engagement in 2021? As COVID-19 keeps workers at home, remote employee engagement strategy comes into focus for employers.

With the COVID-19 Pandemic still sweeping through the United States, many people have been working from home for almost a year with no end in sight. Over two thirds  of Americans who can work from home are continuing to do so, according to a 2021 survey conducted by Pew Research Trends. More importantly, 54 percent of those currently working from home report a desire to stay remote even after the pandemic has ended.

Remote-work employees can feel stranded and not engaged

But no employee is an island. While working from home offers employees enhanced flexibility and further protection against exposure to COVID-19, it can also pose significant challenges to remote employee engagement and communication among an unprepared workforce

How can you increase engagement among remote-work employees?

What steps can you take to increase remote employee engagement in 2021? Try these three strategies. 

1. Be intentional about non-work communication with remote-work employees.

At the office, employees talk about work, but they also make jokes, grab lunch, and stretch their legs by the water cooler. These moments may not feel immediately productive, but they’re vital for building team unity and trust. From home, casual conversations with employees are often lost, resulting in employees who feel isolated from their peers and who may be less likely to reach out to team members for help when needed.

Focus on remote employee engagement outside of a traditionally productive setting. As an employer, make an effort to not only keep your communication open to lighter commentary, but actually schedule time for employees to get together to socialize in remote or virtual spaces. Coffee breaks and happy hours can go a long way to improve morale.

2. Prioritize mental health.

According to a new report from the ExecuSearch group, “over 50% of employees reported not getting mental health support during these unprecedented times.” The report also noted that employees marked “unplugging” as the number one challenge to remote work. Consider creating a framework for employees to practice mindfulness or meditation. It’s important to find time to step away from the screen.

In any case, make sure you check in often with your employees. Don’t just ask how the work is coming along, but ask how they are doing and in what ways they can be better supported by management.

3. Support financial wellbeing.

2020 was a difficult year for everyone. While we enter 2021 hopeful for improvement, things are still not normal. The biggest stressor for many employees is the state of their financial wellbeing.  According to a 2021 Capital One CreditWise survey, 73% of Americans rank their finances as the most significant source of stress in their life. Increase remote employee engagement by creating avenues for employee financial stress.

And, don’t forget that more than half of all households lost income during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even if your employees held onto their jobs, their spouse or partners might have lost their, taken a forced furlough, or experienced a temporary or permanent pay cut.

Best Money Moves boosts remote employee engagement

Best Money Moves offers a human-centered and individualized approach to financial wellbeing. The comprehensive and user friendly platform provides a plethora of financial resources and educational tools. The library of resources contains over 800 articles, videos, and calculators. Each Best Money Moves user has their personal feed tailored to the several distinct factors that monitor their personal stress.

This means your employee can use Best Money Moves to educate themselves on anything from investing in the stock market to co-signing loans to buying their first home. Employee information is always private but employers do have access to key analytics that show overall employee financial stress and stress levels over time. The Employer Dashboard also features information on program usage, debt and savings levels and more so employers can see just how valuable Best Money Moves is to their employees.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company, download our whitepapers.