Remote work has quickly become a mainstream way of working for many businesses. Notwithstanding the fact that it brings various benefits — from flexibility to access to a global talent pool, it also presents some unique challenges. One of the most pressing ones is keeping employees engaged in their skill development when they are not physically present.
Namely, even though remote work allows employees to manage their time more efficiently, it also portends that learning opportunities aren’t as structured as they would be in a traditional office setting.
How can businesses ensure that their remote employees are continually growing and acquiring new skills?
We’ll try to come up with a suitable answer. Read on!
Creating a Learning Culture for Remote Teams
The first step in supporting skill development for remote teams is fostering a culture that values learning. However, this doesn’t translate into simply offering a few online courses. Rather, businesses should actively support growth as an integral part of the remote experience.
What’s important to keep in mind is that, in the case of remote teams, continual learning doesn’t imply occasional upskilling opportunities. The process needs to be solid, continual, and adaptable. For this approach to work, leaders should actively engage in performance management for remote employees.
First and foremost, they need to set clear, measurable learning goals that simultaneously align with organizational objectives and personal career development plans.
One solid strategy is to build a resilient learning culture is through regular check-ins and feedback loops. It is essential that team leaders dedicate some time for one-on-one meetings where remote employees will discuss personal development aspirations and leaders will identify areas of growth.
For this strategy to be efficient, however, it needs to rely on feedback. Remote employees tend to feel disconnected from the team or organizational goals and regular check-ins can help them understand their role in the larger picture. That’s why the meetings should highlight areas where employees can improve.
Onboarding for Remote Teams
Onboarding for remote teams goes beyond the first few days of the job. It should be an ongoing process that highlights the importance of continuous learning. Without in-person introductions, remote onboarding can prove rather vague. To prevent this, leaders should carefully plan communication.
A well-structured onboarding process for remote teams should include setting expectations for ongoing skill development. Remote employees should be given a clear idea of the learning opportunities to come. For starters, they should be provided with initial learning goals. It’s also a good idea to assign mentors to new remote hires.
In addition to technical training, onboarding should introduce employees to the company’s learning culture. E.g., monthly knowledge-sharing sessions or collaboration on open-source projects can keep remote employees engaged and motivated.
For onboarding programs to be successful, they should take into account that remote employees need to feel confident that they can ask questions, access resources, and receive the support they need.
Motivating Remote Employees to Embrace Continuous Learning
Motivating remote employees to stay committed to learning transcends access to educational resources. The key challenge lies in maintaining engagement when there are few in-person interactions as employees may feel disconnected from the broader organizational culture.
Without the external push that comes with working in an office environment, remote workers might struggle to see the direct benefit of ongoing training, especially when balancing a heavy workload.
Therefore, the first step to undertake is to align learning opportunities with employees’ professional goals. To do this, leaders and HR teams need to actually understand what drives each team member. E.g., some employees may be motivated by career progression, while others might be looking to improve specific technical skills.
Another critical strategy is recognition. Just because remote teams work from different locations doesn’t mean their learning achievements should go unnoticed. Recognition can take many forms: public acknowledgments during team meetings, celebrating the completion of learning milestones, offering certified programs… Leaderboards, gamified challenges, or even simple thank-you notes can go a long way in making remote employees feel appreciated.
Further out, remote employees who are given the autonomy to choose what and how they learn are typically more motivated. Coupled with clear performance management practices, this opportunity ensures that remote employees actively seek out opportunities to improve rather than just participate in learning.
Upskilling as an HR Trend
Upskilling is gaining traction as one of the most important trends in human resources, especially for remote teams. Scilicet, remote work has led to a dramatic shift in how companies approach professional development. By embracing upskilling as an HR trend, businesses can more easily help remote teams adjust and stay engaged.
One of the chief reasons why upskilling is so critical for remote teams is that remote work can sometimes create a sense of isolation, especially when regular face-to-face interactions are missing. By contrast, office employees can easily exchange knowledge in hallways or lunchrooms. Remote employees don’t have that opportunity.
To counter this, businesses should create structured learning paths that ensure remote employees always have access to resources that keep them competitive. A solid upskilling program helps remote employees grow in their current roles; a dedicated upskilling program helps them position themselves for new opportunities within the organization.
There are multiple ways to go about this, too. Some companies use learning management systems (LMS) to store training materials, thus offering self-paced courses that remote employees can take whenever they have some free time. Others rely on real-time learning experiences such as live webinars, virtual workshops, or team projects where remote employees can apply new skills immediately.
A crucial aspect of upskilling is to keep the process dynamic and engaging. This is where methods like learning engagement through edutainment can prove effective. As the term portends, edutainment blends entertainment with education and has proven to be rather effective in keeping learners engaged.
Since remote employees typically take care of multiple tasks, the learning experience needs to be entertaining and interactive to stand out. Typically, businesses turn to gamified learning for help, but there are other alternatives available.
Overall, building a culture of continuous learning within remote teams may not be easy, but it is essential nevertheless. The strategies outlined above can help keep remote employees engaged and motivate them to keep learning.
In the end, it’s consistency that counts, Skill development doesn’t happen in a few weeks; it’s an ongoing commitment. Businesses that understand this will naturally succeed in inspiring their remote teams.
