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Inspiring Teams When They Aren’t All There (In Person, That Is)

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “Mike, how do you engage, inspire, and motivate people when they work from home or even in another city and you don’t have the same level of interaction with them as your other onsite employees?”

(The second most frequent question I get is, “Who cuts your hair? Do you do it yourself?” But let’s leave this question for another time, shall we?

Okay, so, yes absolutely, it’s a huge challenge engaging people who you rarely see in person. Maintaining a feeling of team camaraderie and unity when the team is scattered across the country or even the world can feel like a hopeless task.

But there’s no getting around the fact that more and more organizations are relying on remote workers (again, physically remote, not emotionally remote – that too is a whole other conversation). And without question more and more employees want the flexibility of being able to work from home or stay in their city and not relocate when their office moves shop.

Consider just a few of the trends from Global Workplace Analytics (June, 2017):

  • Regular work-at-home, among the non-self-employed population, has grown by 115% since 2005, nearly 10x faster than the rest of the workforce.
  • 7 million employees (2.8% of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time.
  • The employee population as a whole grew by 1.9% from 2013 to 2014, while employees who telecommuted grew 5.6%.

A 2015 survey of business leaders at the Global Leadership Summit in London found that 34% said more than half their company’s full-time workforce would be working remotely by 2020;  25% said more than three-quarters would not work in a traditional office by 2020. Other estimates have put the number as high as 50% by the year 2025!

And heck, why not? Having the option of employees working remotely can save companies huge costs and prevent their top talent from abandoning ship. It allows businesses to hire great people from anywhere on the planet. Many top performers say they want more flexible work options and better work life balance, and part of that mix can include working remotely, at least part time. Several studies also suggest that remote employees are often happier and less stressed. Managing for results and output rather than straight hours worked at the office or number of bums in the seats can be a huge boon to productivity. Telecommuting can also be a way to be more environmentally friendly and substantially lowering your carbon footprint (which I recognize is saying the same thing, but everyone enjoys reading the phrase carbon footprint these days so I thought I’d toss it in)

Yes, there are downsides. Telecommuting isn’t for everyone. It can be lonely and isolating only talking to your cat Jeeves. Employees that aren’t accustomed to working alone can struggle with the lack of supervision. There can be chronic concerns around trust and communication.

But these shortfalls can be overcome. Indeed, they have to be overcome – any smart, successful leader needs to be able to lead virtual teams. It’s no longer considered a “nice to have” option but rather a growing necessity for leading in the 21st century.  Companies are increasingly hiring leaders who have the ability to lead remote teams, and employees who can produce independently on their own.

So if you want a fabulous list of 100+ ideas on how to engage, motivate, lead, manage, and occasionally cajole your remote employees and virtual teams and a whack of ideas on how to add more fun and humor to your virtual teams and remote employees, cruise on over Leading, Motivating and Adding Fun to Virtual Teams, Remote Employees.

Michael Kerr is one of Canada’s most in-demand business keynote speakers and the author of six books, including The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank. For rocking great ideas to inspire your workplace, be sure to sign up for Michael’s raved about weekly newsletter Inspiring Workplaces! 

Rave Reviews

“Your presentation was beyond excellent! You have the unique ability to both entertain and educate. It was the perfect mix of a serious business message, along with a very funny delivery.”
Dave Thompson, CFO & President, Sandvik Canada, Inc.
“Michael was brilliant! An incredible session that received a standing ovation. The content was a welcome and valuable divergence from typical educational sessions. If you need to leave your audience energized with great content, I highly recommend Michael Kerr!”
Dana Cooper, Executive Director, Orthotics Prosthetics Canada
“Michael held the full attention of our senior management team for a full 4-hour presentation! His management philosophy is a fantastic approach that I have encouraged my team to carry forward.”
Martine Rothblatt, Chairman & CEO, United Therapeutics
“It was evident, almost from the first word you spoke, that you would be one of the most memorable parts of the two days. Your high energy, fast-paced, powerful style had everyone on the edges of their seats. Beyond being incredibly entertaining, you gave the leaders pragmatic tools and ideas that are easily transferable to their jobs.”
Mark Breslaw, Human Resources Business Partner, Telus
“Michael’s Leading and Laughing During Turbulent Times was the best presentation I have seen in my 40 years in business.”
Rodney Meadows, Director East Alabama Home Medical
“That was one of the best virtual presentations I have been on and the best one since this pandemic! It was the highlight of my week and gave me a resurgence of positivity, motivation and energy.”
Natasha Purnell, Chief Culture Officer, Park Insurance
“Michael Kerr delivered an absolutely outstanding performance – virtually! His energy and humorous content had our event attendees wanting our company to book him again!”
Kylene Donaldson, Western Financial Group
“Michael Kerr’s humor, messages and energy was not lost at all in the virtual format and allowed us to continue an important tradition of having fun and being together. His messages on how to  build resiliency were delivered in an engaging way that really hit home!”
Brier Albano, Associate Registrar, Medicine Hat College
“With his high energy and animated presentation of over 90 minutes, he had everyone’s full attention!”
Jolaine Arsenault, Retail Market Analysis and Liaison Specialist, Co-op Atlantic
“Just wanted to say “WOW!” – that was awesome! We’ve had many speakers over the years, but none the likes of Michael Kerr.”
Richard Dansereau, President, NAPA Autopro BDG
“One of the most enjoyable keynote speakers we have worked with. Not only was it entertaining, it contained valuable lessons for our managers to take back to the office.”
Peter Panaritis, President, Brinks Canada Limited
“Many of the head office staff thought you were the best keynote speaker we’ve ever had! Thank-you for your invigorating and energizing keynote presentation.”
Tanya Dusyk, Territory Manager, Shell Canada
“Your dynamic and interactive presentation was the highlight of our conference. To this day, years later, we will often refer to the topics you enlightened and enriched our lives with!”
Steve Enns, Vice President and General Manager, TGS Harvard Management
“I wanted to share with you the amazing customer comments below. We’ve been employing various techniques that you described and I wanted you to know that your work makes a difference!”
Kevin Walsh, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Showdown Displays
“Yours was one of the most effective, enlightening, and entertaining presentations we’ve ever had at a conference (and we’ve had a lot!).”
Mario Bernardi, Executive Director, ClimateCare Co-operative
“You were by far the best rated speaker. Michael’s energy influenced my entire experience at the conference.”
Mary Anne Yurkiw, Food Matters Conference Chair
“YOU ROCK! Michael had everyone in stitches and offered amazing workplace food for thought.”
Janice Vilaca, Program Administrator, Co-operative Education, Wilfred Laurier University
“I’ve seen Michael four times – he’s amazing. You come away with knowledge on how to make your workplace better and you don’t even realize you were being taught because you are so busy being entertained.”
Michelle Kimura, Owner, MicAr Marketing
“Thanks to your suggestions, staff feel engaged and empowered to start creating an inspiring workplace. You have made a huge, positive impact in just 90 minutes!”
Paola Zurro, Senior Director, Real Property Branch
“Michael exceeded our expectations in every aspect. He was nothing short of the star of our event. By far, the best speaker we’ve ever had!”
Rod Smith, VP, Business Development, Century Vallen
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