6 Stages of The Employee Life Cycle
The Employee Life Cycle Model maintains that all employees pass through six individual life cycle stages during their employment.
When working remotely, team members don’t see each other on a daily basis and miss out on chatting over lunch or attending meetings together. That doesn’t mean that colleague-life needs to be absent, however, and companies can create bonds by utilizing technology to allow employees to enjoy time with each other. Slack has become one of the most popular tools to do just that.
In the remote world it’s quite crucial to actively ask questions and be engaged. It’s challenging to track exactly when and how much everyone in a team is working (physically seeing someone in the office, for example, can be a comfort, regardless of actual productivity).
To avoid falling in the micromanagement trap, employees can be active members of the online team community by updating the group as things happen - for example informal updates about when you’re going to lunch, starting late because of a dentist appointment, or checking in when your kid is sick,.. It may seem silly at first, but sharing even the smaller things is a great way of building your character amongst the team and maintaining trust.
Overcommunicating is also important to ensure everyone truly understands their tasks and is aligned and connected with each other when working together on projects. Creating separate project channels for example, and encouraging an environment where people speak up and ask questions, is important to ensure people aren’t struggling with their questions or doubts in silence.
Transparency makes everyone feel more connected, informed and involved. Encourage transparency and communication between leaders and teams, with frequent business updates and insights into decision making processes and changes.
It’s easier to be unaware of your colleagues’ lives when chatting to a screen name, but it’s more important than ever to be respectful and mindful of everyone’s differences.
Cultivated a judgment-free communication policy, where everyone is encouraged to ask questions and give their input.
A couple of examples:
One of the most common struggles amongst people working remotely tends to be separating their personal and professional lives. It’s harder to “log off” when you’re not physically leaving the building, and while one can stop checking emails, it’s the direct communication (like Slack messages) that feel almost impossible to shut out. Combine this with varying time zones and you officially have no time to sleep!
But nobody expects you to work 24 hours, and in fact this pressure is a straight road to a burn out. To avoid this, it’s important to set working hour expectations and respect each other’s offline hours.
As a company grows, teammates are in more and more countries and timezones around the world, bringing a diverse skill set of ideas and talent. As this happens, it’s important not to force teams to work according to the timezone of your dominant location. You will reap the rewards of a more productive team and greater employee satisfaction, reducing hiring cost, by allowing employees to work their own timezones - perhaps with an ‘overlap zone’ for urgent queries and communication.
(Slack tip: use @here to grab the attention of members that are currently active, instead of @channel which notifies everyone regardless of whether they are active or not)
While varying timezones can make it difficult to combine working hours, it is important to set up a couple of hours (whether daily, weekly or monthly) of overlap where all the team members are active to give everyone the opportunity to connect.
(Another Slack tip here: set up your timezone in your profile settings - this will ensure everyone is aware of your working hours!)
In a remote setting, it’s important to be mindful of the effect certain communications can have on individuals as well as teams.
Positive events such as team and individual accomplishments are always a good idea to share with the group, no matter the type or size of achievement, and boosts the morale of the whole team. On a personal level, praise amongst peers is likely to boost one’s momentum and work ethics. So, next time a teammate helped you solve a problem, made a sales deal, or just did an excellent job on one of their tasks, say thank you!
On the other hand, it’s safer and more effective to critique privately and speak via DM or over a one-on- one call. This way, you can discuss the issue in a more amicable environment, free from distraction and the risk of upsetting your team spirit or being misunderstood.
In the remote work environment, it is not uncommon to work with a colleague for years without ever meeting them in person. This makes it difficult to build friendships, but not impossible! Here are some activities that can help build relationships remotely: