Figuring out how to keep remote workers engaged in the long run is challenging, especially when your only forms of communication are virtual. Some of your employees may even start to feel fatigued by working remotely if it’s not an option they chose.
However, with the right incentives for remote workers, you can help your employees thrive and feel encouraged to do their best, no matter what circumstances require them to be remote. If you’re considering doing special work-from-home perks, here are some ideas you can try using to engage remote workers.
Tips for Remote Workers and Engagement
Any well-seasoned manager knows that it’s key to create an environment where employees feel like they can “harness their full selves” in order to work well. William Kahn, famously known as the father of engagement, put together a theory of employee engagement.
Boiled down, his theory states that people need to:
Feel the work they’re doing is meaningful.
Feel safe in the environment they work in.
Feel available to fully devote themselves to work.
If you have a team working remotely due to a crisis, such as COVID-19, these three needs will likely fluctuate much more than normal. This is why it’s important for managers to consider what strategies they can use to help create that feeling of meaningfulness, safety, and availability.
Creating an apparel program may not be your first thought, but if you dig into different apparel strategies, you may realize it’s the perfect tool to help you meet those needs. Using apparel incentives for employees goes beyond just having special gifts for working from home.
If you create a well-planned program with offerings that your team values, apparel can help create better engagement and complement your efforts with relationship building and incentivizing. Below we’ll provide some ideas to help you get started creating your strategy to create positive and well-received employee incentives.
4 Simple Employee Engagement Ideas for Remote Workers
When it comes to using apparel, here are some tried and tested tactics we’ve seen work with incentivizing remote workforces. If you’re looking for ways to start figuring out how to engage remote workers, consider incorporating all of these ideas into your corporate apparel strategy.
1. Reward Employee Achievements with Gifts
Part of helping employees see their work as meaningful lies in recognizing and rewarding their accomplishments. Consider setting and communicating a goal, then rewarding employees who meet it with an apparel gift.
While you can certainly opt to give them an apparel item you’ve paid for, you have a lot more robust options if you’ve set up an online company apparel store. When using a virtual ordering site, your gift can be:
Vouchers or digital gift cards emailed directly to employees
Discount codes to unlock savings
A limited-edition apparel design offered online only
Having this goal in place and providing rewards your employees’ value can excite them to jump into action.
2. Host Virtual Team Building Events Complete with Custom Apparel
Even when working remotely, you can still reap a lot of benefits from doing team building. It may be easier to forget as your company goes virtual, however, it’s still a crucial tactic for fostering that sense of safety and support within your teams.
Using apparel as you host a virtual event or throw a virtual team fundraiser is a great way to get your employees excited. The apparel for the event can help commemorate it and turn it into an experience, so it doesn't feel like just another video conference.
And since you’re holding remote events, make sure you work with a custom apparel company that can offer direct delivery to your employees’ doorstep. This is key to having your remote event run seamlessly since not everyone can meet up to grab their orders in person.
3. Commemorate Special Business Milestones with Custom Clothes
Another great way to use apparel incentives for remote workers is to celebrate big company milestones or employee anniversaries. Or if you’re thinking creatively, try creating limited edition clothing designs to commemorate a special launch or company initiative that’s involved a lot of work.
Again, having a virtual apparel ordering website branded to fit your company can make managing your program much easier. This is especially true if you decide to set up apparel gifts to celebrate employee work anniversaries, like being with the company for 5 or 10 years.
With a virtual store, those remote stakeholders can claim the free anniversary gift they want and have it delivered directly to their homes. This also saves your business from ordering bulk gifts for remote employees that go unused. That way you’re not wasting your marketing dollars or your precious storage space on leftover items.
4. Promote Healthy Lifestyle Choices in an Online Ordering Site
Working remotely gives your employees a chance to save time that’s normally spent commuting and instead focus on their own general well-being. For many, this is done by focusing on exercise and living a healthy, active lifestyle. This, in turn, helps them feel more available and present at work.
Keeping this in mind, consider if you can offer apparel gifts that go hand in hand with these work-from-home perks. Perhaps your company can offer branded activewear that your workers can enjoy as they go jogging or step out to run errands.
Again, if you set up a virtual store, it can make offering this type of custom apparel a lot easier. With an online store, you can easily swap out activewear options to fit the latest consumer trends or to match the season.
Additionally, offering that individual delivery once an order is placed is key to ensuring your employees enjoy this incentive. Door delivery ensures they get the apparel they want when they need it. That way they don’t have to drive into the office to pick up their order and waste time waiting for someone to sort through it all.
Next Steps for Creating Incentives for Remote Workers
Now that you have some ideas of different ways you can use apparel incentives, it’s time to put some in action. As you’re planning your apparel strategy and tactics, make sure above all else that your incentives check the following:
Your apparel program is easily accessible for remote employees.
Your custom apparel offerings are of value to your target audience.
Remember, the success of your apparel incentives relies on them being items your workers will enjoy using. Plus, if you set up an online site and put power directly in their hands, your teams can directly order clothes that are a good fit and match their expectations. Make sure you do some digging to learn what types of apparel incentives your workers will best enjoy.