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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.

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.

5 Financial Stress Statistics for 2021

5 Financial Stress Statistics for 2021

by | Feb 3, 2021 | Blog

5 Financial Stress Statistics for 2021. These 5 financial stress statistics illuminate a growing problem in the American workforce. What can employers do to help their teams?

Almost a year after the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus/COVID-19 a public health emergency, workforces nationwide continue to feel the effects of the pandemic. But fears of getting sick aren’t the only thing keeping Americans up at night. Increasingly, studies show that financial stress is a major problem among most employees, and employers need to reevaluate the scope of the problem in order to find solutions that financially empower their teams.

Here are five fast facts about financial stress in 2021 that could be impacting your workforce:

  1.  On the whole, the American workforce is stressed out about money — often even more so than they’re stressed about the pandemic.

    According to a 2021 Capital One CreditWise survey, 73% of Americans rank their finances as the most significant source of stress in their life. Given the state of public health, this statistic reveals the gravity of financial wellbeing in the lives of individual employees.

  2. Gen Z and Millennial employees are feeling this crunch the most.

    This same survey pointed out that the younger generation in the workforce are the most stressed about their finances. A remarkable 82% of Gen Z respondents and 81% of Millennial respondents noted that their finances are at least somewhat stressful. Although it’s difficult to say what exactly is causing this disparity, two factors may be that younger generations have significant student debt and a smaller accumulated savings.

  3. The cost of medical care weighs heavily on employees.

    Forty-one percent of Americans feel that the cost of medical care is the biggest financial stressor, according to the latest CFP Board and Heart + Mind Strategies survey. Other major concerns seemed differentiated by generation. Gen Z and younger Millennial respondents marked more concern about paying rent or mortgage than older Millennial and Gen X respondents, while the older generations were more concerned with saving for retirement than younger colleagues.

  4. Most people are underprepared for financial emergencies.

    According to PwC’s annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 38% of all employees have less than 1,000 dollars to deal with unexpected expenses. This number jumps to 62% among Gen Z respondents and drops to 34% among Gen X respondents.

  5. Employees are shouldering this burden alone.

    The CFP Board and Heart + Mind Strategies survey also noted that 3 out of 4 respondents did not seek the help of a financial planner. Those who did saw their stress levels drop.

Bringing Financial Wellness To the People Who Need it Most 

One thing’s for sure: In one way or another, regardless of age, experience or industry, employees are struggling with financial stress. That’s why financial wellness platforms like Best Money Moves are key to improving the employee experience. 

Insightful, comprehensive and easy-to-use. Best Money Moves offers consumer-focused financial education designed to help users of all experience levels learn more about their money. More than a simple budgeting tool, Best Money Moves helps your employee educate themselves about everything from investing in the stock market to co-signing loans to buying their first homes with access to a library of over 700 articles, videos and calculators. Plus, Best Money Moves connects employers with data they can use to help their workforces succeed by  leveraging user analytics to create individualized employee content.

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.