In these uncertain times, how can you boost the positivity of your remote working team members to drive productivity and profitability?

In this article, we are going to explore several practical ways to foster a positive remote working environment. This will help your team to quickly adapt to the recent changes, limiting operational disruption and enabling you to continue delivering for your customers.

Just a few weeks ago, we were writing blog content about the potential growth of remote working in 2020. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who are working remotely. According to Global Workplace Analytics, between 2005 and 2017, there was a 158% increase in remote work.

When we were writing this blog content, we had no idea that a global pandemic was fast-approaching, a crisis that would change how millions of workplaces are operating on a day-by-day basis. It’s safe to say that in just a few weeks, remote working has become rather popular, as measures of social distancing come into full effect.

The short-term economic fallout of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has left businesses of all sizes in survival mode. It is now their duty to be doing everything they can to deliver exceptional levels of customer service. However, the sudden shift move from physical workspaces to multiple remote locations has proven to disruptive for many businesses.

Under normal circumstances, we recommend that businesses slowly transition into a remote working environment. Moving too quickly can be detrimental to your workplace culture. Highly-engaged teams show 21% greater profitability and changing your operational structure without thorough planning can lead to short-term damage.

Many businesses have had to rush into remote working during this crisis. They were unlikely to have had the time - or headspace - to consider how this may impact the team’s productivity in the short term. Remote working teams can often be more productive than those in a physical workplace, but building this culture takes time.

As leaders look to ensure that their team members are maintaining high levels of productively during this uncertain time, they are going to need to develop strategies to keep the team highly engaged, focused and motivated. We believe, despite the distance, human connection can play an important role in driving positivity and productivity in remote working teams.

Face-To-Face Communication

We have been excited to see many remote working teams embrace the use of video conferencing applications, such as Zoom, to hold team meetings, increasing the amount of face-to-face communication that employees are having on a daily basis. You should never underestimate the power of face-to-face digital communication.

Face-to-face communication is the perfect opportunity for you to uplift the spirits of your team members. It’s a chance for you to make sure that every single person feels valued and appreciated, knowing they have a role to play as the business confronts the challenges of an economy in freefall.

However, it isn’t very practical for your team to be spending the entire days on video conferencing calls. For this reason, you are going to need to find other ways to keep them motivated during the working day. The most immediate line of communication is likely to be via your Slack channel - so you should start to think about ways to promote a positive work environment from this application.

Praising Team Members

Using Karma, our intuitive workplace culture tool for Slack, you can give praise to specific employees whilst telling the rest of the virtual office at the same time. This can be done by simply typing in a few words in the Slack group chat about the performance of a certain individual and the results they have achieved.

When a team leader has done this a few times, it can lead to a reciprocal effect, where multiple team members might begin to praise each other for their efforts throughout the week. This is a fantastic way to lift morale through positive reinforcement.

Praise is addictive and when you incentivize it, this can result in workplace gamification. People are motivated by competition. When they see someone else doing well and achieving results, they instinctively want to be able to hit that level and strive for success. It all comes down to positive reinforcement, anchoring positive behaviour and promoting it to the rest of the team.

In the same way that you would praise team members in the physical workspace, this virtual alternative can help to mimic the positive workplace culture that you put so much effort into building. When you’re apart, human connection is more important than ever and the simple act of praising team members can bring everyone together.

Rewarding Team Members

Team leaders can use Karma in Slack to reward employees for positive behaviour, such as completing a task ahead of schedule or doing something that is in-line with company values. At just the click of a button, your company values can be reinforced within your Slack channel, as a clearly defined list of behavioural objectives.

For instance, if you are leading the customer support team, when they’re not hitting your targets, you can add the company values into the group chat to remind team members of what is expected of them.

In a points-based system, you can incentivize team members to be productive with a range of different rewards. This can make team members feel as though they are working towards something. Whether it’s an Amazon voucher or cinema tickets, you can make a list of rewards that can be displayed inside of Slack using Karma.

Through positive reinforcement, team leaders can give points to individual employees. Eventually, once enough points have been earned, team members will be able to choose from the range of rewards that you have outlined.

Rewarding remote working team members is vital because it helps them to feel as though they are being appreciated, despite the distance. Establishing a clear line of positive communication is key to have a highly-productive remote working team and Karma can help to facilitate this.

Karma is the perfect tool for building high-performing remote teams. A strong line of communication is essential to remote working. Karma can help to facilitate this with a variety of features to promote cross-team communication.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

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What are some of the existing barriers to remote work? How can we overcome these in the future?

FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics recently produced a special report on the growth of remote work.

Between 2005 to 2017, there was a 159% increase in remote work. In 2015, 3.9 million U.S. workers were working remotely. Today that number is at 4.7 million, or 3.4% of the population.

As we move forward in time, the rapid acceleration of cloud computing has paved the way for an abundance of remote working opportunities. Although, if remote working was so easy, why aren’t more workforces implementing it?

The answer lies in some of the existing barriers to remote work. If we can find potential solutions to these barriers, we will be able to encourage more workforces to start embracing the cloud-based applications, unlocking remote productivity.

Let’s dive straight into the barriers to remote work whilst exploring potential solutions to overcome them in this ever-evolving landscape.

A Workplace Culture Built Around A Physical Space

When an employer has invested a considerable amount of time and money into building a robust workplace culture, the thought of dismantling it entirely could prove to be rather disheartening and frustrating. Who wants to see their hard work destroyed?

From implementing employee wellbeing systems to planning training sessions and launching team building activities, a lot goes into crafting the perfect workplace culture. This isn’t something that happens overnight, it can take months and even years to fine-tune a working environment.

The vast majority of workplaces will, at least initially, be unable to go solely remote. This means they would have some employees working from home, with others still in the physical workspace. The staggered approach gives team leaders time to develop strategies for a strong remote workplace culture.

The question is, how can you translate the culture built in the physical workspace to multiple remote locations? We believe it begins with the use of a centralized system, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. You can then add tools such as Karma to help shape this positive remote working culture.

For employers who have seen the benefits of encouraging their team members to participate in group bonding activities, we recently wrote a comprehensive article with a series of ideas for remote team bonding.

A Highly Localized IT Infrastructure

Does your workforce operate on a localized network? Whilst increasing numbers of businesses are utilizing cloud storage, many still have key, task-related files stored on local servers and drives. Remote working would mean that team members could lose access to these essential files.

Businesses often purchase large packages of software for use across their physical workplace. This software cannot be accessed remotely unless it is cloud-based. For many businesses, shifting an entire operation onto the cloud would lead to massive, short-term disruption.

However, when you look at the bigger picture, it can eventually lead to long-term gain. We recently wrote an article on why millennials are deciding to leave top companies. A modern workforce craves flexibility. Remote working is the solution to this desire. Delaying cloud migration could result in the future loss of talented and skilled workers.

A Lack Of Trust From Employers

Trust is paramount in business. If an employer cannot trust their workforce to be productive in a physical location, they are almost certainly going to have issues with trusting a workforce that is spread across various remote locations.

Harvard Business Review recently reported on behavioral science research showing positive teams that trust each other are likely to be more productive, creative and resilient. They found these traits were able to improve a workforce’s overall effectiveness.

How can employers break past the obstacle of not trusting their team enough to permit remote working? Ultimately, it comes down to the types of systems that are put into place. If your team uses a cloud-based communication channel like Slack, team leaders will be able to monitor productivity from afar.

Karma is the perfect tool for building high-performing remote teams. A strong line of communication is essential to remote working. Karma can help to facilitate this with a variety of features to promote cross-team communication.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

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In recent years, the rapid advances in cloud technology have enabled workers to complete day-to-day tasks from the comfort of their own homes. According to Global Workplace Analytics, remote working has grown exponentially, having increased by 140% since 2005.

In this article, we are going to explore several questions relating to the current state of remote work, including:

• What is the state of remote work in 2020?
• Are there challenges facing remote work in 2020?
• Will the popularity of remote work rise in 2020?

Let’s dive straight into answering these three essential questions about the ever-changing landscape of remote work.

What is the state of remote work in 2020?

Every year, Buffer produces a dazzling report on the state of remote work. The outlook for 2020 is overwhelmingly optimistic, with three years of data indicating a gradual, upward trend in the number of individuals working remotely.

To collect their data for this year, Buffer surveyed more than 3,500 remote workers from around the world. The eclectic mix of questions answered by these remote workers helped us to see remote work in its current state from a range of perspectives.

The pool of participants was asked whether they would like to continue working remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of their careers. 98% of respondents were in favor of this. We see this as a huge stamp of approval on remote working.

Workers have fallen in love with the concept. It gives many of them more flexibility than ever before, breaking the zombie-like rhythm that exists within the 9-to-5 cycle.

Companies and organizations have all had their own methods of introducing remote working into their operational structures. When you look at how much time people spend working remotely, it currently varies quite considerably.

Only 57% of employees operating from home are doing so for their entire working week.

Are there challenges facing remote work in 2020?

Being able to trust a team to work remotely has proved to be a barrier for some companies who have considered the remote working approach. Employers can feel a sense of unease about not being able to physically see their employees work.

Many employers have invested a lot of time and effort into fostering a strong office culture and they do not want to see this being dismantled by the introduction of remote working. In the long-term, face-to-face environments may prove to be unsustainable as remote working trends continue.

Cloud computing has become a staple of the modern workplace. Whether it’s Slack or Google Drive, companies and organizations are using cloud-based tools for daily tasks and operations. When an employee is unable to be present in the physical office, they can still continue with many of their daily tasks via these applications.

At Karma, we are constantly making improvements to our Slack-based tool, helping remote teams to build stronger, happier teams whilst fostering a high-performance workplace culture. We want to turn your remote workers into a team filled with rockstars.

Will the popularity of remote work rise in 2020?

As the genuine appetite for remote working continues to grow, we believe it is likely that more companies and organizations will start to explore the adoption of remote working.

It’s all about finding what works best for your operation.

For this reason, we expect to see exponential growth in remote working opportunities as companies fight to keep their top talent and stay competitive in the industry marketplace.

The recent fears around Coronavirus (COVID-19) have led to the temporary closure of many workplaces, giving their employees no option but to work from home. As the number of reported cases continues to rise, there will be an increasing need for individuals to self-isolate.

As remote working opportunities grow, 2020 is likely to be a continuation of the trend that we have seen over the past few years. It will only take a few industry-leading companies to adopt remote working before small businesses start to seriously consider it to remain competitive when hiring.

Ready to start building a high-performing, remote workforce? Begin today by using Karma.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

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Shifting workplace culture is far from easy. It often requires systemic change and this doesn’t happen instantly. Although, with the right tools and resources, this can be achieved quicker than you may think.

Culture can only change when you have every member of your team onboard. It simply can’t be forced. You need to communicate with your team members about your ambitions for the culture and collectively decide upon how you are going to reach these targets.

What does a positive workplace culture look like? Why do you need one? In this article, we are going to explore the many benefits of positive workplace culture. Here are five reasons why positive workplace culture is of vital importance to your business.

1. Attract Top Talent

The rise of platforms like Glassdoor has led to an increased awareness of workplace cultures, particularly in large organizations that employ hundreds of workers. Glassdoor has exposed many organizations that neglect the need for a positive working environment.

In the public domain, you can now gain employee insights into workplace culture at the click of a button. If there is negative literature about your culture, available to read online, this could impact negatively on your ability to hire impeccably talented individuals, who may choose to look for opportunities elsewhere.

2. Support Mental Health Of Employees

The increasing visibility and awareness of mental health has prompted many employers to take action, ensuring that their workforce receives an appropriate level of support and care if they’re privately battling personal challenges.

A positive culture can help to prevent your workplace from contributing to the mental health challenges of an employee. It’s important for team members to feel safe and supported in a working environment, so they can develop meaningful working relationships with their colleagues.

3. Increase Productivity

When team members feel comfortable in their own skin, they are more likely to perform better. At Karma, our mission is to promote a high-performance culture and we believe this can be achieved through a positive working environment.

The acceleration of productivity can lead to an increase in results. You want to be able to squeeze as much value out of your workforce as possible, whilst making sure they feel well-supported and nurtured in the office.

4. Reduce Employee Turnover

High employee turnover is often a sign of internal unrest. It’s never a good look. If multiple employees are choosing to pack up their bags and leave, it might be time to start asking some questions about the environment you’ve created.

Are your employees well-supported? Do they receive positive reinforcement? With a tool like Karma, they will start to feel more closely connected with the rest of the team. The use of Karma can create a cycle of positivity throughout your team. It’s the gift that just keeps on giving.

5. Improve Team Communication

A positive working environment can allow employees to work in harmony with each other. They understand that it is a team effort and want to support those around them. This is the kind of culture you should be promoting. Communication is a key component to a successful workforce and a significant dose of positivity through Karma can help to instil this.

Karma, our intuitive workplace tool, that sits inside Slack, is designed to foster a high-performance team culture, bringing your team closer together. We believe in the power of positive communication as an effective way of building stronger and happier teams.

Ready to start promoting positivity in your workplace? Improve team communication today by adding Karma to Slack.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

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The issue of loneliness in organizations is chronic. The impact this can have on workplace effectiveness is devastating. So, how can organizations use digital technology to bring their teams closer together?

To answer this question, we first need to explore the underlying reasons behind workplace loneliness. In other words, why have we all become so distant?

In modern workplaces, deadlines are tighter and workloads are larger. When things get tough, employees want to have the support of those around them. It’s a team effort after all. With teams communicating digitally via platforms like Slack and Telegram, many employees lack any real sense of human connection in their day.

Some people blame the rise of digital technology on the breakdown of communication and human bonding across teams in the workplace. We’re no longer getting those face-to-face conversations like we used to, a vital form of basic human connection.

The Research of Dr Sarah Wright at the University of Canterbury

Dr Sarah Wright at the University of Canterbury has completed extensive research on the impact of loneliness in the workplace. In the words of Dr Wright, “Research surrounding loneliness tends to focus almost exclusively on personal characteristics as the primary determinant of the experience, and largely ignores the workplace as a potential trigger of loneliness.”

Personality tends to be overestimated as the reason for loneliness, with only a small amount of consideration being given to environmental factors such as workplace culture. After realizing this, Dr Wright wanted to explore the relationship between loneliness and workplace culture further.

Dr Wright invited employees from various organizations to participate in online research via email. This study managed to generate 362 submissions from a diverse range of occupational groups, giving Dr Wright plenty of data to analyze.

The data suggested that workplace culture serves to simultaneously predict the emotional deprivation factor of loneliness, alongside employee attitude and wellbeing. At Karma, we believe that positive culture in the workplace can help to boost morale, leading to an increase in productivity.

Before we began our mission of creating a tool to boost productivity in the workplace, we recognized that productivity can only be unlocked through positivity. Leaders can try to force productivity through the threats of negative consequences, but all this does is simply induce fear.

Environmental factors such as fear, lack of community spirit and value congruence play a role in the experience of work-related loneliness and have an overall negative effect on employee withdrawal behaviours and job satisfaction.

In other words:

as workers feel more lonely, their levels of effectiveness and productivity spiral.

Meanwhile, their desire to leave the workplace increases as they start to neglect the responsibilities that come with their role. This ultimately results in lower outcomes of achievement for businesses.

So, how can digital technology be used as a force for promoting enhanced workplace relationships among teams?

Let us introduce you to Karma - an intuitive workplace tool designed to foster a high-performance team culture, bringing you closer together in the process.

Do you want to know the best bit? Karma sits inside Slack, embedding positive communication and team bonding into your existing workflows. Our unwavering ambition is to build stronger, happier teams.

Ready to start bringing your team closer together? Reduce loneliness and drive productivity in your team today by adding Karma to Slack or Microsoft Teams.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

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Gamification takes the characteristics that we like about games and applies them to everyday scenarios.

The aim of gamification is to appeal to our natural affinity for achievement and competition. People are motivated by competition as it gives them a reason to improve their performance and strive towards achievement.

Games are exciting because they are often structured around these ideas of achievement and competition. Therefore, it’s not particularly surprising to see that people are adding game-like elements to mundane tasks and activities, inciting motivation in participants.

In the workplace, gamification has proven to be an exciting opportunity for leaders to enhance the motivation of their team members. Increased motivation can lead to a more productive and happy workforce. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Gamification is starting to be tested in the workplace, particularly in large organizations where scaling company culture can prove to be challenging. It can be used as a tool to change workplace behavior through positive reinforcement, utilizing ideas of connection, competition and feedback.

The Gamification Of Sweden’s Speed Camera

When we drive down the street and we go above the speed limit, we risk getting a speeding ticket. In Sweden, they tried a ​different approach​.

When you drive at or below the speed limit, you got entered into a lottery. This gave you a chance to win the proceeds of those who are speeding.

By simply focusing the attention on those who aren’t exceeding the speed limit, giving them a form of positive feedback, they were able to lower the average speed limit. It’s a smart idea that puts an emphasis on positive behavior.

Boosting Productivity & Morale With Positive Reinforcement

Sometimes, team leaders use negative feedback as a form of guilt for their workforce to behave productively. Allowing your workforce to set positive goals to strive towards can prove to be significantly more effective than delivering feedback that focuses on what they’re doing wrong.

Positive reinforcement is all about anchoring positive behavior, leading with what a person should do, rather than what they shouldn’t. Rewards are typically better at anchoring behavior than punishments.

How can you bridge the gap between the excitement of gaming and the predictability of your employee’s workload? People love to be productive, in a similar way to how they like to play games. Workplace gamification presents an opportunity to blend these two things together and boost productivity and morale.

TalentLMS’s 2019 Gamification At Work Survey

TalentLMS​, a cloud software company has spent many years conducting surveys into workplace gamification. Last year, they spoke to almost ​900 employees​ and asked whether they had noticed any gamification elements in an app or software they use at work.

Here are some of the key findings from the most recent survey into gamification in the workplace by Talent LMS:

• 89% of employees say gamification makes them feel more productive.
• 88% of employees say gamification makes them feelhappier.
• 89% believe they’d be more productive if their work was more gamified.
• 43% of the employees haven’t noticed any gamified elements at work.

The evidence is clear. Workplace gamification can come with a stream of positive benefits, enhancing the productivity and morale of your team members. Yet, nearly half of the employees who participated in this survey had not noticed any gamification elements at work.

If there currently aren’t any gamified elements to the everyday tasks and activities in your workplace, where does implementation begin?

Karma​ can bring gamification into your workplace with game-like incentives that foster a high-performance team culture. We help to build stronger, happier teams through consistent positive reinforcement from leaders.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

Ready to start adding gamification into your workplace to drive the performance of your team members? Drive productivity in your workplace today by ​adding Karma bot to Slack​ or Microsoft Teams.

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Despite the distance, there are plenty of group activities that your remote teams can engage in to help them bond and get to know each other. Here at Karma, we’ve outlined a list of 20 ideas that you could very easily adopt.

#1 ​Virtual Team Meetings​

​Virtual Team Meetings​ are an exciting opportunity for your remote team members to get some face-to-face time. There’s only some much that can be achieved by typing away via email or Slack.

#2 Friday Spotify Playlist

Who have you got your ​Friday Spotify Playlist ​set up? During the week, encourage your team members to individually pick three songs that will go into a group Spotify playlist. Upon listening on Friday, they can each share why they picked the songs, creating opportunities for conversation.

#3 Netflix Club

Is your team filled with binge-watchers? Why not start a ​Netflix Club​? Once a week, on a lunch break, team members can talk about what you’ve been watching on Netflix. Several of your team members may have similar tastes in shows, bringing common interests to light.

#4 Ask Me Anything Sessions with Team Leaders

Have you ever scrolled through AMA subreddits? ​Ask Me Anything Sessions with Team Leaders ​are a great opportunity to promote transparency across your workforce. It is also a chance for team members to collectively raise any queries or concerns that they may have.

#5 Lunchtime Cook-Along Club

Ready! Steady! Cook! Why not host a ​Lunchtime Cook-Along Club​ via a video call? Team members can follow recipes to create some delicious snacks for the afternoon ahead, all whilst bonding and getting to know eachother.

#6 Secret Santa

When we get closer to Christmas, you could organize a ​Secret Santa event for your team. To avoid extortionate shipping costs, you could limit the gifts to only being digital products, such as vouchers.

#7 Live Stream Events​

Will your company be heading to any conventions, such as trade shows, in the near future? You could ​Live Stream Events​ to make everyone feel like they are part of a collective mission to make the company more successful.

#8 Meme Group Chat​

Have you considered starting a ​Meme Group Chat​? Introduce some light-heartened banter into the working day with a stream of funny pictures and jokes for people to scroll through on high-pressure days.

#9 Coffee Break Club

Can you make the perfect brew? Why not start a ​Coffee Break Club where you can learn from each other and bond over a shared love of hot beverages.

#10 ​Lunchtime Book Club

Have you been reading an absolute page-turner? With a ​Lunchtime Book Club​, team members can share their thoughts on their favorite books whilst listening to others.

#11 ​Friday Bingo Game

Did someone say bingo? Who doesn’t love a game of bingo? A ​Friday Bingo Game ​is a bit of uplighting fun before your team finishes for the weekend.

#12 Gaming Sessions

Do you have any rabid gamers in your team. You could encourage them to start to have a few ​Gaming Sessions ​every once in a while, bringing the team closer together through collective interests.

#13 Current Affairs Quiz​

Who doesn’t love a Friday? You can make it even better with a Current Affairs Quiz​. With an international team, you can put their knowledge of world events to the test.

#14 Photograhy Competition

If you work with a creative team, a ​Photograhy Competition ​can help to keep your remote team active, encouraging them to explore the outdoors on their lunch breaks and breathe in some fresh air!

#15 Ultimate Bucket List

Do you know the dreams and ambitions of your team members? Ask each team member to send their ​Ultimate Bucket List​.

#16 ​The Donut Team Building Extension​

Does your team collaborate through Slack? ​The Donut Team Building Extension​ ​can introduce people who don’t know each other well on teams of all sizes via direct message.

#17 Personal Facts Guessing Game

How much do your remote co-workers know about each other? You could play a ​Personal Facts Guessing Game ​to gain some surprising and potentially unexpected insights into the lives of those you work with.

#18 Nice Intros

Are you getting ready to introduce a new member of your team? ​The Aloha! Slack Extension​ can gently onboard newbies, helping them get a sense of the team values and community standards.

#19 Geographical Fun Facts​

With an international team, you could create a map of ​Geographical Fun Facts​, enabling every team member to learn something new about the many cultures that their co-workers come from.

#20 Gamify Through Rewards and Points

Offer positive feedback and peer recognition to every team member with ​Karma For Slack​ or Karma for MS Teams.

Try Free Karma for Slack (and Microsoft Teams) today: free interactive demo below

Karma can foster a high-performance remote team culture. We help to build stronger, happier teams through consistent positive reinforcement from leaders. Ready to start adding peer recognition into your remote team communications? Drive productivity in your remote team today by adding Karma to Slack​.

Customer reviews at G2.com »

Nobody likes to give negative feedback to their co-workers. For many leaders, it can be one of the most challenging aspects of their managerial role. Despite being difficult to deliver, according to Harvard Business Review​, 92% of employees believe negative feedback can effectively improve their performance. So, how can team leaders deliver it to ensure maximum impact?

Micro-feedback works best when it’s short, specific, and behavior-focused (not personal). A simple structure many leaders use is SBI: Situation → Behavior → Impact. It keeps feedback clear, fair, and actionable — especially when the message is hard to hear.

Employees Crave Constructive Feedback

Having the ability to give feedback to co-workers can prove to be a significant learning curve for individuals who are new to managerial and leadership roles. Managers can assess the effectiveness of their feedback by seeing whether their co-workers have actively taken steps to improve their performance and meet objectives.

With the stigma attached to negative feedback, managers can sometimes forget to provide actionable steps for improvement when reviewing the performance of a co-worker. In research by Harvard Business Review, 72% of employees feel that their performance would improve if their managers provided corrective feedback. Managers can use corrective feedback to reinforce expectations and keep employees on target to meet goals and objectives.

The desire to receive feedback in the workplace stems from a longing for clarity of expectations. Imposter syndrome is all too common in the workplace, with employees having low self-esteem and doubting their professional skills and abilities. A ​2017 survey​ found that a third of millennials suffer from imposter syndrome at work.

Employees want to know if they aren’t performing well in the workplace.

By knowing, it allows them to stop second-guessing themselves and ignite a sense of progressive direction.

Engaging Employees With Regular Feedback Intervals

An exceptional team leader can in many ways be likened to an orchestra conductor. They are responsible for making sure that the output of the collective is harmonious. When a player’s performance is negatively affecting the collective’s output, the orchestra conductor may be tempted, with their experience, to grab the player’s instrument and show them how it is done. Instead, an effective orchestra leader will provide the player with corrective feedback at regular intervals to bring out their best performance.

The impactful management of co-workers is all about course correction. Vague comments about performance can only lead to misunderstandings. With this in mind, team leaders should try to use solid data when giving regular feedback to co-workers. After reviewing a co-worker’s performance, team leaders should set agreed-upon goals and objectives that are attainable and close enough to motivate and energize the individual in both the short and long term.

It is vital for team leaders to be in tune with the overall strategic vision of the company they work for. Employees want to be able to see the bigger picture when it comes to the small and mundane tasks they have to undertake on a daily basis. Any uncertainty or doubt around a particular target and how it will contribute to the wider success of the company will lead to confusion and eventually, disengagement in the workload.

Karma Bot Facilitates Micro-Feedback For Workplace Teams

Waiting until the next quarterly review to provide employees with necessary course correction is a dangerous game to play. Between now and then, plenty of damage can be done to the overall effectiveness of your team if you delay the strategic remedying of performance issues. Like an orchestra, the off-target performance of one individual could be enough to disharmonize the output of the collective.

Micro-feedback keeps employees aware of their performance in the short term, whilst focusing on the strategic bigger picture and long term vision outlined by the team leader. Without disrupting your existing workflows, Karma bot​ can bring micro-feedback into the core of your business operation, offering seamless integration into Slack. With our intuitive workplace tool, employees can receive feedback at regular intervals from their team leaders, ensuring short and long term company-wide growth.

Ready to start fostering a high-performance culture in your workplace with micro-feedback? Get employee feedback on a regular basis via Karma bot.

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