Office Morale Boosting Satellite Office
Delivered August 6, 2019. Contributor: Tarik T.
Goals
To find ways to boost the morale of a satellite team based far from head office. This information will be used to motivate a team based in Los Angeles, while the head office is in New-York.
Early Findings
- One of the main challenges for companies having satellite locations is to maintain employee engagement.
- The important issue is to avoid a situation of "us vs them".
- Tackling this challenge can be done through 4 different ways: same benefits for all offices, keeping satellite employees in the communication loop with head office, setting goals for them and providing them with a nice office environment.
Equal Benefits
- Companies located in satellite locations should have access to the same benefits as the ones based at the head office.
Strong Connection through Communication
- This can be done by making the teams located in these satellite offices fully connected with head office.
- The use of video-conferencing, in this case, can be much more effective to stay engaged and build relationships than voice-only calls.
- In order to build a rapport between people in the satellite office and workers in headquarters, video or call meetings between the two can incorporate some open-ended personal questions, to make employees talk about each other and know each other better.
- The channel of communication should be open between employees and anyone in the company, to allow colleagues from different cities to communicate and collaborate in a simple and efficient way. Communication tools such as Slack can be useful for that purpose.
- Head office should regularly keep satellite employees in the loop of what is happening at the company so that they can feel connected.
Office Design and Space
Goals and Objectives
- It will also be important to discuss with teams in the satellite office how they can contribute to achieving the company's goals so that they can feel valued.
- Training and upskilling can be an effective motivational tool as well. Companies can offer free online courses to their employees in their field, with a possibility to move to a better role thanks to their new skills.
- Rewarding employees who perform well will contribute to boosting morale, by handing bonuses or promotions to workers who achieve exceptional performance.
Proposed next steps:
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