Engagement Tips for Remote and Offsite Employees
Not everyone works on a computer, at a desk, in an onsite office location. Engaging remote and offsite employees, like those who work in construction, requires a thoughtful approach that considers the unique challenges presented by these work arrangements. Here are some strategies to effectively engage an offsite and remote workforce:
Communication
- Establish clear channels of communication to ensure all employees are aware of the campaign and any engagement opportunities. Reach out to department managers and ask them what their preferred method is for communicating with their teams and creating marketing materials and messaging in their preferred format.
- Printed flyers to post in communal areas for employees who work outside of the office are likely preferred whereas remote employees may prefer a short video message shared in a Teams or Slack channel.
- Remember, one style of communication will only reach one type of employee.
- Communicating with employees should not end with a single communication about the campaign. It should consist of regularly scheduled outreach in the preferred formats established previously by all departments.
- There may already be various internal communications within other departments that campaign messaging could be included in so do some research before creating anything new.
Promote Social Interactions
Remote and hybrid work arrangements can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation. Encourage social interactions among team members through virtual team-building activities, volunteer engagement and interactions with the nonprofits involved in your campaign.
- Consider organizing occasional in-person team events or gatherings to promote the campaign and strengthen relationships. If you feed them, they will come.
- Social engagement activities for remote employees have been perfected over the last two years. Trivia games and virtual escape rooms are still a fun way to interact remotely. Include campaign messaging before and after the virtual gathering to ensure all attendees are aware it’s campaign time.
Volunteer
Volunteerism is a great way to engage employees and get them interested in supporting nonprofits in the community. There are a variety of volunteer projects for any type of employee whether they be remote, in the field, or at the office. It may take a little creative ingenuity, but it can be done. Just ask your nonprofit participants what they have available as far as opportunities and work with them to plan something specifically for your team members.
- Visit the CHC volunteer Hub to see hundreds of volunteer opportunities offered by our network partners.
Lead by Example
Ask department managers to participate in the campaign first and encourage them to then share their reasons for giving with their team members. A personal story can be a very effective tool to motivate people to give.
- Recruiting department managers to support the campaign will be very helpful in reaching employees in remote and field positions.
Here are some real examples of creative ways to engage employees and bring awareness to the campaign provided by CHC campaign partners:
- Corporate Account – Campaign committee begins planning their campaign by surveying all employees to determine the nonprofits they would like to highlight in the campaign. Nominated nonprofits are then featured and promoted in both digital and hardcopy campaign marketing materials. They also host a Silent Auction for all employees to bid on items donated by leadership with proceeds going to the featured nonprofits. This is a great example of how a company creates an inclusive campaign from the start no matter where the employees work.
- Public Sector Account – Individual departments plan and host their own campaign events and invite all other departments to participate. The most popular event that gets the highest attendance is a Popcorn Sale. Department staff hosting the event take turns popping fresh popcorn in their lobby and employees come from all other departments to get a box and learn about how their campaign participation impacts nonprofits. Special events and fundraisers are a great way to invite employees to get involved and feel included. Departments with remote employees could host a virtual event and showcase employee pets at home or photos of their pets if they work onsite.
- Public Sector Account – Hosts an annual company picnic inviting all employees to have lunch, learn about the campaign and meet some of the nonprofits listed.
There is an old saying about campaign event planning, “feed them and they’ll come”. While this is a great event to bring both offsite and onsite employees together, remote employees may find it difficult to attend depending on their location. A company could provide remote employees with a gift card to a favorite restaurant along with a digital package of information about the campaign and maybe set up a live feed of the event so they can watch from their computer while enjoying their lunch.
