How do you foster a sense of belonging and engagement among your diverse and remote employees?

> Prioritize clear, regular communication across all channels. > Actively solicit and address feedback from diverse perspectives to ensure everyone feels heard and valued. > Organize engaging virtual activities to build connections and camaraderie. > Publicly recognize achievements to celebrate individual and team success, fostering a sense of shared purpose. > Offer flexible work arrangements to empower employees and acknowledge their individual needs. > Provide ongoing learning and development opportunities to promote growth and career satisfaction.

To foster belonging & engagement among diverse remote employees, prioritize open communication through regular virtual meetings & transparent updates. Implement inclusive practices, such as recognizing diverse perspectives & promoting equal opportunities for all team members. Encourage team-building activities that celebrate cultural differences & create a sense of community. Provide flexibility to accommodate various work styles & time zones. Foster a supportive environment by addressing individual needs & concerns promptly. Utilize collaboration tools for seamless communication & ensure that everyone feels heard & valued. Regularly solicit feedback to adapt strategies & continuously improve the remote work experience for all team members.

To foster a sense of belonging and engagement among diverse and remote employees, Meet Yourself can provide valuable insights into individuals' genetic and thinking motivators. Here's how it can be utilized:

Your vision and values need to be extremely clear. Values - >Don't have more than 5 >Translate them into actions/verbs >Don't say "integrity", say "we always tell the truth even when" etc... >Don't claim values that aren't already demonstrated by leadership Vision - > What you do >WHY you do it >EG - Helping start-ups scale > - Because we always want to support the underdog You can then assess existing and new employees against this

One of the fundamentals items in leadership is vision and values. When you communicate a vision, mission and values to a team, you then align that vision and mission with the goals of the team, and the individuals. Without this you are leading people blind. To foster a strong belonging on a team environment that you want a them to get behind, you first must understand the goals, imagine the vison, create the strategy, communicate the strategy, motivate and inspire the vision, align team members goals, and their vision with yours. It's human behavior to naturally want to belong to something. Something bigger than yourself. You can foster a culture of belonging by ensuring your vision is aligned with the team, and theri goals.

Getting the team's input and feedback on current and new or proposed tools and ways of working as well as having regular check-ins to simply listen are ways to connect with each person on many levels.

1. Understanding Diversity: Meet Yourself assessments help organizations understand the diverse motivators and preferences of their employees. By recognizing and appreciating the unique strengths and differences of each individual, organizations can create an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and understood.

I think it is critical to promote an inclusive culture where every employee feels valued and respected. Also, it is imperative to build a diverse team. Recruit people with a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.

2. Personalized Communication: Meet Yourself insights can guide organizations in tailoring their communication strategies to accommodate the diverse motivators of remote employees. By understanding how individuals prefer to receive information and engage with others, organizations can adapt their communication styles to foster better connection and engagement.

Support your teammates in building boundaries: work needs to not be a 24x7 event. At the team level, get specific about three things: 1) When people are expected to be available for meetings, calls and chats. For example, set Core Collaboration Hours for 10am-2pm, Monday through Thursday. 2) What gets escalated outside of those hours. What's a truly urgent issue that requires attention outside of your core collaboration hours -- an outage, change in plans for tomorrow, etc.? 3) How you'll communicate outside of core hours -- is it Slack, Teams, email or a text message? Turn off notifications outside of those hours and that one tool, and get back some focus time and, better yet, some balance in your life!

3. Individualized Support: Meet Yourself can assist in creating individualized support systems for remote employees. By understanding their motivators, organizations can provide targeted resources, development opportunities, and mentorship programs that align with their unique needs. This personalized approach helps remote employees feel supported and engaged in their work.

4. Virtual Team Building: Meet Yourself insights can be used to design virtual team-building activities that cater to the diverse motivators of remote employees. By incorporating activities that align with their preferences, such as collaborative projects, virtual social events, or recognition programs, organizations can foster a sense of belonging and engagement among remote teams.

Social interaction for remote teams beyond the required and routine scheduled meeting is often overlooked by managers, and opportunities to foster a sense of fun can be accomplished with far less effort than one might expect. Team-building outside of day-to-day tasks must be intentional and takes planning, however solutions can easily play into activities that team members are passionate about- movie nights, book clubs, challenges/competitions, themed days or even simple conversation time via virtual coffee breaks.

I think this is so important especially working with remote teams. Remote teams can still build camaraderie with virtual team building events. I also think this is the easy one to skip. It's easy to say you are okay to colleagues when you are on your own island. Brining the team together and encouraging fun will bring your team to new levels!

Building strong virtual relationships is paramount in the virtual world we live in. I would suggest facilitating regular virtual team meetings, one-to-one check-ins, and informal virtual gatherings to cultivate personal connections. Encourage team members to share their successes, challenges, and hobbies beyond work-related topics. In my past experience in a corporate environment, I used collaboration tools to encourage real-time interactions with my team despite physical distances.

5. Continuous Feedback and Recognition: Meet Yourself can facilitate ongoing feedback and recognition practices that acknowledge and appreciate the diverse contributions of remote employees. By understanding their motivators, leaders can provide feedback and recognition in ways that resonate with each individual, enhancing their sense of belonging and engagement.

In addition to these points, fostering a sense of belonging among employees and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives, 3 key actions can be brought to attention: ?? Eliminate “outsiderness”: Strive for a workplace culture where individuality is both noticed and valued. Combat feelings of "outsiderness" by valuing individuality and offering regular support and check-ins. ???? Address Conflicts Promptly and Equitably: Successful conflict resolution respects people's emotions, fostering a positive work atmosphere. Quick and fair resolution prevents disruptions, builds trust, boosts satisfaction and retention. ???? Lead by example by encouraging inclusion, celebrating diversity, and fostering a culture of belonging.

Creating a highly engaged and connected remote team that thrives on collaboration, innovation, and shared purpose is not a myth. You can do that by fostering a sense of belonging, leveraging virtual relationships, and ensuring clear communication of your vision and values.

It's important to note that while Meet Yourself provides valuable insights, fostering a sense of belonging and engagement among diverse and remote employees requires a holistic approach. Organizations should also consider factors such as inclusive policies, regular communication, and opportunities for collaboration to create an inclusive and engaging remote work environment.