Remote working: Market to your staff before your customers

This article was written by Caroline Sutherland, Lecturer in Marketing at Teesside International Business School builds upon the current debate surrounding remote working practices.

Historically remote working (or teleworking) has been aligned to those colleagues in managerial roles who can complete their daily tasks using digital technology and can do these tasks independent of colleagues or immediate supervision. Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic as few as 5% of employees in the UK worked remotely.

Yet, the environment which employees work was turned upside down by COVID-19. The past five years has seen a clear acceleration in the adoption of new technology, with fewer jobs remaining entirely dependent on a single location for work.

Unsurprisingly, employees’ ability to work remotely has created a surge in demand for access to broader remote working practices. Today, 73 million employees are currently working remotely according to the World Economic Forum. Whilst many employers embrace remote working practices, achieving a business model and culture that protects performance and worker welfare is difficult, with as few as 34% of businesses taking proactive steps to creating a sense of online work community to protect employee well-being. A further 78% of business leaders expect some negative impact from the increase in remote working practices.

Operationally, it is becoming increasingly important for UK firms to make informed choices about remote working practices.

Present labour force data reveals five warning signs regarding the threat of remote working to employee engagement.

• First, levels of isolation and detachment from company culture remain a problem amongst staff – affecting morale and business productivity

• Second, levels of employee engagement are recovering, but much slower than predicted, this indicates that many firms require help to support their workforce.

• Third, leadership is key when remote working, there is a growing need for trust, but firms are struggling to identify behaviour that facilitates trust.

• Forth, managers are looking for greater support in guiding and managing their teams. The threat of employee burnout is now higher amongst managers than employees.

• Fifth, data reveals only 2 out of 10 firms have a long-term strategy in place to support remote working practices.

There are three ways managers can better support their employees whilst remote working through dedicated internal communications.

1. Eliciting employee feedback

Historically marketing communication has been externally focused, targeting existing and prospective customers. But communicating internally allows firms to gauge reactions from those closest to your business and those most familiar with your products and services.

Employees are a firm's biggest marketing tool and will invest time selling the firm inside and outside of work if they have a positive experience.

Spending time listening to employees elicits new insights and builds trust and understanding of your employees’ needs.

2. Internal communication

Ensuring processes are in place to transmit new knowledge across the entire organisation regardless of if you are on site or working remotely is important. Effective internal communication allows staff who are remote working to feel involved and engaged.

It also ensures all employees are up to date with the latest developments. It’s vital to establish clear communication channels; regular team meetings, one to one catch ups and informal check-ins help to maintain clarity and connection amongst managers and their teams.

3. Training

Just because a member of your team is remote working, that doesn’t mean that you can’t access training and development opportunities.

There remains an intensive appetite amongst employees especially those working remotely to enhance and showcase their professional development. Investing in employee training and development can directly reduce staff turnover and boost business productivity. Outputs from the marketing workshops on the Help to Grow: Management Course include managers assembling new communication models and investing in securing staff feedback. Today marketing is holistic, and your staff are as important as your customers!

Find out how the Help to Grow: Management Course can help you here.