4 Tips to Boost Employee Engagement for Traveling Teams

Image credit: Christin Hume from Unsplash

Travelling teams are essential for some businesses. However, keeping them happy can be challenging. Managers must deal with all sorts of issues, from burnout to shoddy work. 

This post is here to help. We take a look at seven tips for boosting employee engagement in travelling teams and ensuring they are successful in everything they do. Here’s what you need to know. 

Set Clear Policies And Goals
The first step toward engaging travelling teams is to set clear and realistic goals for them. Objectives help employees understand what is expected of them and how you’ll measure their performance. They should also detail how workers will contribute to the organisation's vision and mission and provide focus, and motivation for employees to achieve their targets.

Setting goals for travelling teams tends to be a little trickier because they are always on the move. They work in a dynamic, changing environment, meaning you have to consider travel schedules, availability of resources and so on. Therefore, when setting goals, communicate the organisation's vision and mission clearly and frequently and align individual goals with those of the team. Also, adjust goals as needed if circumstances change. 

Provide Flexible Working Arrangements
Next, engage travelling teams by providing flexible working arrangements. Let employees choose when, where, and how they work, as long as they meet your objective for them (and deadlines). 

These flexible arrangements can: 

• Reduce stress and burnout
• Enhance productivity and efficiency
• Increase autonomy and empowerment

You can also make working arrangements more flexible with serviced accommodation. This way, employees don’t need to keep checking in and out of hotels that might not meet their living or lifestyle requirements. This type of accommodation gives them more independence and gives them a home away from home, making it feel less like travel. 

Foster Better Communication
Communication is essential for travelling teams. With it, employees stay connected with the base, informed, and engaged.

However, communication can be challenging for travelling teams because of the physical distance, time zone differences, and other cultural issues they might face on arrival. 

Therefore, managers should: 

• Use multiple channels to communicate with workers, such as video calls and instant messages
• Choose the tone of their communications wisely. (Make sure they sound friendly before sending them). 
• Communicate frequently, but not excessively

Build Trust
Teams can find it challenging to build trust when people work remotely, but it is essential for the success of the business. Trust helps employees feel valued, supported, and engaged.

However, trust can be difficult to build for travelling teams because of the lack of face-to-face contact. There’s less rapport. 

Fortunately, there are several ways you can help. 

First, always be highly responsible whenever a team member gets in touch with you. Be reliable and flexible in your comments. Don’t try to lay down the law. You can also be more transparent at your end, telling employees what you expect from them and how they can drive the business forward. Don’t leave it to chance. 

Ultimately, you can boost engagement by adopting advanced management practices that work in a digital workplace.