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The COVID-19 outbreak has brought significant changes for companies and their employees around the world. To comply with government orders, many organizations transitioned to remote work for any role that could adapt. According to Gallup, 62% of American workers have been working from home during the pandemic.
At Hueman, we moved to a fully remote model for all employees. One of the most common challenges of remote work is maintaining employee engagement and motivation. For many individuals, working from home is an entirely new experience. For others who have worked remotely in the past, current circumstances introduce new and unexpected distractions.
Fortunately, there are practical steps organizations can take to keep their workforce engaged, productive, and connected.
Have a culture and core values in place
A strong culture and clearly defined core values are essential to sustaining engagement and productivity. When employees have a sense of belonging and genuinely advocate for your values, they are more likely to remain motivated — regardless of where they work.
If employees are truly a cultural fit, they can uphold your company’s culture and values from any workspace, whether that’s a spare bedroom, a dining room table, or a desk in the office. At Hueman, our five core values are embedded in everything we do — from hiring and training to recognition and community involvement.
Make sure employees have the right technology and equipment
Having the proper tools is critical to productivity. Not every employee has a fully equipped home office with dedicated space, monitors, or ergonomic setups — in fact, many do not.
Organizations should provide what they can to support employees, including monitors, laptops, phones, ethernet cables, and other essential equipment. Equally important is having the right IT infrastructure and support in place to ensure virtual employees remain connected through platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or other collaboration tools.
Have virtual meetings
If meetings are recurring, keep them virtual rather than canceling them altogether. Clear communication is even more important when teams are remote, especially during periods of uncertainty.
At Hueman, we host a weekly all-colleague meeting every Monday morning to share business updates, welcome new team members, and communicate relevant news. These meetings have continued virtually via Zoom with thoughtful preparation to ensure consistency. Maintaining this routine helps employees stay informed, feel connected, and retain a sense of normalcy.
In addition to regular meetings, leadership communication is more important than ever. Each week, our CEO sends out a YouTube video from home to share updates and encouragement. Sometimes the message focuses on operational plans, and other times it acknowledges the challenges of the moment and reminds employees that it’s okay to have an off day.
That visibility and honesty from leadership reinforces the idea that we’re all navigating this together — and it helps employees stay grounded, supported, and motivated.
Keep employees feeling a sense of connectedness
When you aren’t in the office there is no chance to stop by a colleague’s desk and talk about what happened the night before or go and grab lunch. This is important to your employees and your overall culture as an organization. Some things we have implemented, with input from our employees are:
- Virtual lunch buddy sign ups
- Friday game day with companywide challenges (Some of the games we have done are scavenger hunts, Two Truths and a Lie with our leadership team, Name That Tune, and BINGO.)
- Individual team happy hours or game nights
Each of these are planned ahead of time and sent out to all employees to participate. Not only does it help with productivity, but also it’s a fun way to feel connected to each other when we can’t be around each other physically. All of our games have been played via email and it has been a blast for everyone whether they are just along for the ride or actively participating!
Empower your employees with schedule flexibility
Working from home provides different distractions and especially now with spouses and children also at home. Random things can come up that need to be dealt with and people need to feel empowered that they update their schedules accordingly. Amid the pandemic, these situations could be going on a toilet paper search, needing to homeschool children, or a day of feeling down and anxious. Times are uncertain and people are going to have things come up that wouldn’t if they were in the office working at their desk. Encourage your employees to be flexible and work with their next level leader to make their at home schedule work for them and their family.
People appreciate when their leadership realizes the challenges and insists on making accommodations so that work doesn’t have to be one more stressor. Some people with kids may need to start their workday later, others may need to take a few hours in the middle of their day. Giving your employees the freedom to work when they will be most productive will do just that – help them to be the most productive. If you have hired the right people and you encourage them to work in the right ways - they will work smarter and harder for you!
Implement online recognition programs
Recognition remains just as important in a remote environment as it is in an office setting. At Hueman, we’ve long prioritized recognition through our Core Value Commendations and High Fives programs.
These programs allow employees to recognize colleagues — whether on their immediate team or across the organization — for demonstrating core values, accomplishing major goals, or simply making someone’s day better. Commendations are shared with both the employee and their manager and include entry into a monthly gift card drawing. High Fives offer a more informal way to say thank you, whether for help on a project or a small but meaningful gesture.
To keep recognition consistent across a distributed workforce, Hueman leverages a virtual platform that supports real-time appreciation.
"Our workforce is physically dispersed, so to stay engaged across all levels of hierarchy and across all teams, we leverage virtual high-fives through a tech platform we use for all one-on-one engagement. It's simple, noninvasive and allows us to immediately demonstrate thanks and praise for daily activities that can be taken for granted or overlooked." - Sarah Palmer, Hueman RPO
Culture by Design, Wherever You Work
As a Recruitment Process Outsourcing organization, Hueman recruits remotely for clients nationwide every day. We also support a fully distributed internal workforce. Years ago, our leadership team intentionally built a culture by design — one that supports engagement and motivation regardless of physical location.
We believe it all begins with hiring the right people who align with your organization’s culture. Our focus on communication, transparency, core values, and disciplined hiring practices has shaped an engaged workforce and earned Hueman recognition as a Great Place to Work for 14 consecutive years — more than any other organization in the country.
We share what has worked for us because we want to help other organizations strengthen their own remote and flexible work environments.
Preparing for the Future of Work
Keeping remote employees engaged and productive is no longer optional — it’s essential. Remote work is expected to remain a standard part of the modern workplace. According to Gallup, three in five American workers would like to continue working remotely.
Organizations that prepare for this shift by embracing flexibility, engagement, and culture-driven hiring will be better positioned for long-term success. If we can help your organization create a culture by design or recruit talent that aligns with your values, contact us today! We are here to help and truly enjoy seeing organizations and their employees succeed.
