The Importance of the Remote Employee Experience, and How to Improve It

In fall 2023, more than half (53.2%) traded office chairs for comfy couches. Most of them were doing the hybrid work thing and going into the office a couple of days a week. However, there was still a good chunk (19.6%) who had bid farewell to the office completely and fully embraced remote work.

But let's be real. Remote work isn't all smooth sailing. It brings its own set of issues. Your team might grapple with isolation, feel overwhelmed by digital tech, or struggle to balance their work and home lives.

No worries, though. We're not here to dwell on problems but to provide solutions. In this guide, we're giving you the lowdown on all things concerning the remote employee experience—what it is, why remote culture matters, and some winning strategies for HR leaders to improve it. 

Sound good? Great, then let’s get started.

What's the employee experience?

Every single employee at your company has their own experience. Whether it's in-person or virtual, they're continually interacting with you, the employer. The employee experience is the cumulative result of these interactions.

The significance of these experiences and how they affect staff well-being can determine whether it's a good or bad day at work. Feeling appreciated, fulfilled, stressed, or burnt out—all these are aspects of an employee's experience.

Why does the employee experience matter?

The employee experience isn't just about keeping employees engaged and working hard. No, it's much more than that. It can enhance crucial metrics such as retention, turnover, and even productivity.

When individuals have a positive experience with your company, they’ll invest more effort, deliver superior work, and be inclined to stay with you for an extended duration. Let's face it, what company wouldn't want that?

Now, throw remote work into the mix, and employees have more options than ever before. They can work from anywhere, be it their living room or, in some cases, a beach in Bali. This has resulted in 98% of remote workers stating they’d like to keep working remotely at least some of the time and the same amount saying they’d recommend remote working to a friend.  

This places a heightened responsibility on companies to go the extra mile to maintain a positive remote work experience.

How does remote work affect the employee experience?

Establishing a positive culture for remote workers poses several challenges. These include:

Feelings of isolation 

Being on the remote work train can sometimes make you feel like a lone wolf, missing those water cooler moments. Sure, we all rolled our eyes at the Friday afternoon drinks when they were happening, but now they’re gone, many people feel isolated.

But don’t just take our word for it: Microsoft found that 55% of hybrid employees and 50% of the fully remote crew admit to feeling lonelier now than when they were office regulars. 

The absence of casual interactions and impromptu conversations has created a void, leaving individuals yearning for the social connections that once flourished in a traditional office setting. As virtual workspaces become the norm, finding effective ways to alleviate these feelings of isolation is crucial.

Work/life balance

The boundaries between the professional and personal often blur when it comes to remote working. One example is that a lot of people struggle to unplug. A staggering 44% of remote workers were working more in 2023 than the year before, and one in five reported feeling burned out. 

The same study found that many remote workers checked their work emails outside their designated hours. Weekends were no exception, with 63% immersed in work-related correspondence. Even vacations provided no escape, with 34% unable to resist the pull of their professional inboxes.

Team collaboration 

Fostering a collaborative culture can be another major hurdle when team members are physically scattered around the country (sometimes even the world). One survey revealed that 43% of leaders thought that building relationships posed the greatest challenge with remote and hybrid work. 

The struggle isn't just about coordinating tasks either: it's also about maintaining a sense of teamwork and connection in a dispersed landscape.

Overcoming this requires innovative strategies and technologies to ensure your team remains interconnected, engaged, and able to collaborate effectively despite geographical constraints. 

Proximity bias

The idea that remote work might impede career growth is another persistent concern, and Owl Labs' 2022 findings underscore this worry: 48% of remote workers fear their voices won't be heard, harboring the belief that their in-office counterparts enjoy more opportunities for professional advancement. 

They're not that far off either. The same study found that 49% of workers are more likely to ask the opinion of those they physically work with over their remote colleagues. 

How to improve the remote employee experience

Okay, so we’ve established that a lot of people love remote working. We’ve also seen that it’s not all flowers and rainbows and that there are certain challenges HR teams need to overcome to improve the remote employee experience. 

In this next section, we’re going to give you the low-down by sharing our top strategies to do this. 

#1 Revamp your onboarding

When it comes to bringing in fresh talent and kickstarting their training, the onboarding process heavily shapes the overall atmosphere of your workplace. 

• Assign a remote mentor. Offer your new remote sales crew members a personalized introduction to your company courtesy of a designated mentor. The mentor’s role includes offering guidance and being readily available for meetings, with an open calendar during the first onboarding stretch.
• Harness training videos. Leverage training videos, too, for efficient information delivery. These could be about specific aspects of the job, like how to use your lead management solution or other technology your company has introduced, or about your company culture and collaboration opportunities. Be sure to maintain a constant feedback loop with your new hires to ensure they feel connected despite your virtual setup.
• Articulate your remote mission. This might involve highlighting the unique contributions of each remote employee and emphasizing your core company values.

#2 Set the stage for remote employee success

For your grand ideas to take flight, you and your team need the right tools. Building a strong remote work culture means making sure your employees have what they need to get the job done. 

Here's a list of necessities to keep your remote team in the game:

• Laptop or desktop computer
• Reliable, secure internet access
• Paper and other office supplies
• Quality webcam and computer microphone (if not integrated into the computer)
• Ergonomic desk and office chair
• A reliable team communications platform

#3 Establish a clear remote work policy

Now your team is geared up for remote work success, it’s time to outline the ground rules. In the same way that you’d have an HR checklist for startups, give your remote employees a policy document to keep them in the loop. Share this digitally, ensuring your team understands and signs off on it. 

Here are key areas your remote work policy should cover.

• Communication guidelines. Specify preferred communication channels (e.g. email, messaging apps, or video calls). Establish response time expectations for emails and messages and encourage regular check-ins to maintain team connection.
• Scheduling policies. Define the core working hours your remote employees will have to be around for. Be sure to provide flexibility, but clarify expectations on availability. You’ll also want to carefully outline the process for requesting time off or adjusting working hours.

• Use of tools and equipment. Detail approved tools for virtual collaboration in your business, such as Assembly, Slack, or Zoom. Address the responsibility for maintaining and securing company-provided equipment and don’t forget to include a clause on your reimbursement process for necessary work expenses.

By introducing a remote work policy, you’ll set clear expectations from the offset, which can improve productivity and happiness. 

#4 Set clear collaboration guidelines

As remote work becomes the norm, the massive amount of communication tools on offer can be both a blessing and a curse. While these often provide tailored solutions, managing multiple channels can nonetheless overwhelm remote workers who are already juggling various tasks. 

To streamline collaboration without causing chaos, consider the following.

• Choose unified platforms. Opt for popular collaboration platforms with corporate account options. This will simplify team communication while respecting your employees’ work/life balance.
• Utilize the time management matrix. Prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance to optimize productivity and allocate time effectively.
• Clarify collaboration policies. As mentioned above, you’ll want to have some policies in place so your remote workers are in the know. In terms of collaboration, specify approved collaboration tools for work purposes and clearly outline expectations for response times and posting frequency.
• Streamline virtual meetings. By communicating the amount and frequency of scheduled virtual meetings, you’ll reduce any ambiguity (and hopefully any feelings of isolation) by defining where and how often these will occur.

#5 Strengthen virtual bonds with online team-building

Traditional team events might seem like a distant memory to remote workers—but fear not. You can still foster a sense of community among your virtual employees through imaginative online activities, including virtual team building events. 

Here are some ideas:

• Unwind with a virtual happy hour, transcending geographical boundaries for some relaxed team bonding.
• Host a virtual trivia competition featuring questions related to each team's domain specialties.
• Arrange sessions where team members from different locations share insights about their respective cultures.

By embracing these ideas, you'll not only strengthen virtual bonds but alleviate the feeling of proximity bias that many remote employees experience. 

TIP: Check out our ‘How to Win at Virtual Collaboration’ guide for more great ideas.

Final thoughts

So, there you have it: our complete guide to the remote employee experience. We’ve considered the perks and challenges, from the bliss of flexibility to the difficulties of isolation and proximity bias. 

Remember, remote employee engagement may not be smooth sailing, but it’s far from impossible. Simply revamp your onboarding, gear up your team, establish clear policies, and infuse some virtual fun into team-building—these are your keys to forging a successful remote work adventure.

By embracing these strategies, you should witness a positive shift in your workers’ experiences. They'll be happier, more engaged, and more satisfied with their remote setup too.

Ready to elevate your team's performance? Then our award-winning employee engagement solution can help you do just that. You can celebrate achievements, keep your staff in the know, and nominate your top performers all from one seamless solution. Why not book a demo today? 

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