March 15, 2022

Successful Solutions
Issue Theme: Engaging Remote Workers
Spring Is Right Around The Corner!

Anyone else have spring fever? Spring is a time of growth and renewal! So why are so many of our employees trapped in a seemingly endless grey winter that is steadily decreasing engagement levels? Perhaps the culprit is remote work.
 
While surveys show most employees would much rather work fully remote, this new way of working has our employees feeling isolated and unsupported. With many organizations not planning to return to five-day in-person work for the foreseeable future, this is not a problem that is going away anytime soon.
 
We have all read the research about the benefits of engaged workers; increased productivity; improved morale; better customer service; lower turnover; and the list goes on. So as managers and HR professionals how do we re-engage our remote workers?
 
This edition of Successful Solutions addresses just that.
 
The “What’s New at ODLS” section features the services we can provide to help re-engage remote workers through team building sessions and focused manager training. Our Spotlight article focuses on a case study of building collaboration amongst remote workers right here at the UMass Donahue Institute. Our Vendor Spotlight features some newer online collaboration tools. Lastly, our Top Ten Tips article focuses on practical ways to re-engage remote workers.
 
We have a new section of upcoming events which features the schedule for our new public programs: the New Manager Webinar series and our Leadership Excellence Certificate program.
 
For information on how we can help your organization with its Organizational Development Consulting, Learning Solutions and Event Management needs, please read on and be sure to visit us: www.donahue.umass.edu/ODLS.
Thanks!
Dana L. Henry, Director
New At ODLS!
Team building services and training for managers with remote workers
What is team building?

It’s the improvement of group dynamics via activities, processes, and simple interactions.

What are the benefits of team building?

Improved job satisfaction, employee retention, increased productivity and a healthier work culture.

What does virtual team building look like?

Most people assume that team building has to be conducted in person but with skill and planning, team-building can happen in a virtual environment! We offer team-building sessions that range from 90 minutes to three hours. The design can be a simple off-the-shelf activity, utilizing a personality assessment (i.e., Myers-Briggs or other) or a custom-built solution for your team.

Manager Skill-building: Managing a Virtual Team

Most managers understand they need to actively manage and motivate their direct reports, but few understand the factors that impact managing remotely. Managing a virtual team requires more attention to structure and affirmative, clear-cut agreements compared to managing face-to-face. These include solid cooperative online “workspaces” for sharing files; clear meeting protocols; clearly articulated expectations; explicit lines of authority/decision-making; profound attention paid to trust-building and maintenance; and scheduled activities to build and reinforce mutual appreciation and relationships. This session also helps managers to understand the overall role of a manager to provide development and support to their direct reports while balancing the need to drive results.
In this Issue
New at ODLS
  • Team building services
Spotlights
  • UMass Donahue Employee Huddles
  • Staff Spotlight: Dana Henry
  • Recommended Technology for Engaging Remote Workers
Useful Resources
  • Top 10 Tips
  • Leadership Excellence certificate program
  • New Manager webinar series
  • Helpful Links
Spotlights
Re-engaging Remote Workers
UMass Donahue Employee Huddles

Like every organization, the UMass Donahue Institute has been challenged during COVID to keep our remote staff engaged and feeling like they are part of a larger organization. Adding to the challenge, our staff are spread across the country.

Under the leadership of our new Executive Director Johan Uvin, we launched quarterly “All-Employee Virtual Huddles” to help build relationships, increase engagement and spark learning and strategic thinking across the entire organization.
Staff Spotlight - Dana Henry

Dana Henry became the director of ODLS in January 2017. Ms. Henry has over 25 years of experience focused on the design, development, and implementation of competency-based leadership development systems and custom learning solutions. She has led strategic planning and prioritization with senior leaders, developed change management skills in middle managers, and built organizational bench strength through the development of emerging leaders.
 
Ms. Henry is skilled in the design and delivery of team building sessions and is certified in numerous team-based assessments including Hogan Assessment Suite; MBTI; BEST Communication Styles; Benchmarks; Leadership Effectiveness Analysis; Management Effectiveness Analysis; and Intercultural Conflict Styles.
Spotlight: Technology Helping To Engage Remote Workers

Companies use employee engagement applications to improve talent retention and job satisfaction. The objective is to leverage the power of technology to boost productivity and efficiency in a quantifiable way. Most organizations are already using platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack to increase virtual communications and improve team productivity. However, there are a growing number of specialty tools/platforms that focus directly on improving employee engagement.

Below, we list a few that stood out in our research. You can also spend a few minutes Googling “Increasing Employee Engagement” and you will discover many more options!
Useful Resources
Top 10 Tips: Re-engaging Remote Workers

From inspiring employees to work hard and do their best to achieve business goals, to attracting high-caliber talent and keeping them, and creating new opportunities for innovation and organizational change, effective leaders have a significant influence on an organization’s success.

  1. Encourage Work-Life Balance: Recent research indicates that fully remote employees actually work longer days. With no clear boundary between work and personal lives, it is easy for employees to get absorbed into working more hours. Strive to bring wellness to the forefront of your employees’ daily workday! Encourage them to take frequent breaks and set boundaries for how many hours they work.
  2. Extend Flexible Work Schedules: Employers need to realize that many fully remote workers do not need to work a typical 9 am – 5 pm day. Working from home also increases the probability that people’s personal lives intrude on work hours (i.e., chores; kids; etc.) Consider letting your employees know that they can set their own work schedules as long as they still work their required/scheduled hours. (Of course, this will depend on the type of work.)
  3. Set Clear Expectations: Setting clear performance expectations with employees is always critical. But when employees are working remotely, managers can no longer casually check in on progress or clarify success metrics. In a virtual work environment, it is now even more critical to set clear performance expectations upfront and frequently check in on progress.
  4. Prioritize More Frequent Communications: Working fully remotely can lead to employees feeling isolated and uninformed. Managers should consider increasing how often they communicate with their direct reports. This does NOT mean more emails! Using platforms like Zoom to visually communicate with employees is critical to re-engage remote workers.

The UMDI Leadership Excellence Certificate program
The Leadership Excellence program (LEx) is for leaders who need new skills and tools to implement organizational change and advance their careers. We proudly offer the LEx program in collaboration with University Without Walls and UMass Online.

  • The five-module program provides 30 hours of synchronous hands-on learning over eight weeks in an interactive online classroom. 
  • Participants also complete two online leadership assessments and receive individualized coaching to interpret the results. 
  • Completion of this program earns learners a certificate and is accredited to award three continuing education units (CEUs) through University Without Walls.
  • Significant discounts for non-profit (30%), government (30%) and UMass employees (50%). Ask about our group discounts!

New Manager Skill Development Webinar Series
Offered this Spring 2022, now registering

This webinar series is designed for managers with limited experience in managing direct reports. These learning modules are focused on core skills that any manager should master to be effective in engaging, developing and retaining talent, and driving the performance of their team members. Each webinar is designed to engage the participant and to stimulate dialogue so that new managers can also learn from their peers.
UMass Donahue Institute
Organizational Development & Learning Solutions
100 Venture Way, Suite 9
Hadley, MA 01035
(413) 545-0001
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