A Leader’s Guide: Employee Engagement When Working From Home

Over the last 6 months, I have spoken with several Managing Partners and HR Managers negotiating the new reality facing public accounting firms. Transitioning staff to remote work has been extremely challenging. Many Tax Partners have asked how they can increase motivation, maintain employee engagement, and ensure their staff are well supported. Out of these conversations, came a workable guide that assists in increasing productivity and retention.

Some suggestions include;

Check-in often.

One of the first suggestions I had for partners and HR Managers was to keep mid-day/morning meetings intact. Check-in with employees regularly and utilize video conferencing software. If you have quick questions or need an update, an instant message works well, however, a video conversation is always the best way to gauge how your team is doing and how individuals may be feeling. Body language, tone of voice, and energy levels are apparent when you can speak face to face and this will give you a clear insight into where people may be struggling or succeeding. It should be noted, however, that there is a limit to how many check-ins are warranted. Candidates that I have spoken with have mentioned ‘meeting fatigue’. Keep these employee check-ins to once a week, perhaps on a Monday or Friday.

Adjust communication style.

I recently read ‘A leader’s guide: Communicating with teams, stakeholders, and communities during COVID-19’ released by McKinsey and Company in April of this year. They discuss how people’s information needs evolve in a crisis. This also applies to a good communicator’s messaging. Different forms of information can help listeners to stay safe, cope mentally, and connect to a deeper sense of purpose and stability. In a crisis’s early stages, communicators must provide instructing information to encourage calm; how to stay safe is fundamental. Simple and concise information will prevent overwhelm in your employees. As people start to adjust, the communication focus should be on how to adapt to the new way of doing things. When communicating clear and simple messaging, frequency and framing should be a consideration. So consistent messaging from the firm’s leaders will be important. Stuart Butterfield, the CEO of Slack, kept his messaging to a simple ‘We got this. Look after yourself, your team, and your family’. Hearing a heartfelt, simple message from firm leadership strengthens workplace connection. In the latter stages of WFH, shift messaging to the big picture and firm outlook. Focus on individual contributions, where the firm is going from here, and how you will be supporting staff in the coming months.

Encourage virtual socializing.

More often than not, the office is a place where co-workers can shoot the breeze for 15 minutes in the morning, discussing sports, TV, and catching up with each other. During my conversations with candidates, many of them have mentioned that they miss the buzz of an office, the ability to stop by somebody’s desk, and socialize. Human interaction is something that has been sorely missed over the last few months. Encouraging virtual socializing is an important factor in improving engagement and morale. To help maintain these bonds (and fend off stress), make space for non-accounting conversations, whether it’s creating a Slack channel for sharing jokes and memes or encouraging virtual lunches over video calls. You can also implement a themed Slack channel, a book club, throw a weekly party to celebrate team contributions, play games, or set an office-wide challenge. My husband and his colleagues enjoy a fitness channel where they can share their most recent fitness endeavors. Experiment with what you think fits your culture and engage your team for ideas and feedback on what they like and don’t like. Keeping the lines of communication open to discuss non-work related topics, will allow a reprieve from stress that many are encountering.

Recognition is key.

The majority of managers do not consistently recognize their employees when they do great work. And while 90% of business leaders think that a recognition strategy will improve business success, only 14% of organizations provide managers with the necessary tools for recognition. The majority of candidates I speak with have listed a lack of recognition as one of their top reasons for wanting to look for a new role. According to Aon Hewitt - Trends in Global Employee Engagement (2018) companies with effective recognition programs had 31% lower voluntary turnover, and engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their jobs. Conversely, 55% of employees stated they would leave their company to join a company with a strong culture of recognizing their staff. Never miss an opportunity to recognize your staff when they’ve done a good job. By letting your staff know how their work fits into the bigger picture of the business, your staff will recognize how they are actively contributing to the bottom line. Introducing a recognition platform like Kudos, Bonusly or WooBoard can be helpful.

Impose structure.

Suggesting a loose structure to the day is a smart management tool. This will create a rhythm for remote teams.

Monday: Hold a performance cycle meeting for the team that covers what you did last week, what commitments people are working on, what files are a priority, how can each person on the team help each other, who contributed what, and how well.

Tuesday-Thursday: Have at least one individual meeting with each of your team members. This is an important meeting that will allow your employees to be candid, discuss any difficulties they are facing, and what they are succeeding at. In the long run, this will pay massive dividends in terms of team camaraderie and loyalty. It is a prime example of good mentorship and should be incorporated permanently to ensure all staff feel supported and understand that their professional development is a top firm priority.

Friday: Focus on reflection. Check-in with all levels of staff and plan a virtual social event.

Deloitte Global CEO, Punit Renjen talked about resilient leadership in his Deloitte Insights conference call of March, 2020. He noted that ‘resilient leaders seize the narrative at the outset, being transparent about current realities—including what they don’t know—while also painting a compelling picture of the future that inspires others to persevere’. COVID-19 may fundamentally change the culture of the workplace, how you distribute work and deploy your workforce, and how you engage your people. This may be a wonderful opportunity to be a firm that creates a wholesome culture that looks after it’s people.