The world is changing and so are the teams. Gone are the days when accounting was all about the 9-5. As the new generation of accountants and accounting leaders continue to take over the industry, it becomes increasingly important to understand the pros and cons of the new structure. And it’s not just about the operational timings, teams are no longer confined to the office walls. The accounting industry is becoming increasingly accepting of remote work. This remote setup has opened up avenues to hire global teams for both internal and outsourced teams.
While remote work has its own share of benefits – no commute, better flexibility, work-life balance, etc, it also has several disadvantages. It is easy for remote teams to lose their motivation. They do not get to see their team members or leaders daily; hence, it is easy to lose sight of the goals and deliverables.
Leaders of organizations with remote teams need to strategize the right way to incentivize and keep the teams motivated.
Key ways to keep global teams motivated:
- Set clear goals for teams:
It is easy to lose track of the priority, for both leaders and teams. They end up working longer hours and on tasks that might not be as important. Global teams must know what they can do to support the organizational goals and how they are making a difference.
Set office hours or conduct ones to have a dedicated time to meet the global teams. Keep resources at the disposal of the global teams which they can refer to when in doubt. As a leader, be clear about what you expect from your global teams, especially if they are outsourced resources. What hours do they need to be available for? What is their scope of work? When do they meet your internal teams? Find answers to these questions.
- Encourage employee recognition:
This is one of the key ways to keep your global teams motivated. Positive reinforcements in any form are known to be the most powerful way to keep your teams motivated and engaged. When employees put their best foot forward, it is essential to recognize their commitment and hard work. Sometimes they take the extra mile or walk through hardships to meet the goals.
Rewards, bonuses, or a simple social media shoutout can go a long way to letting your employees know that you value them. There are several recognition platforms that you can use to keep your employees highly motivated and burnout levels at bay.
- Host virtual team-building activities:
No matter how many jokes are made about the Fun Friday activities hosted by the HRs, remote teams miss them and there is no doubt about it. Remote teams do not get to meet their teammates face-to-face and they might feel left out. Team collaboration can suffer as they do not get a chance to meet their team members face-to-face. Hosting virtual non-work activities is important. Not only do they help in team bonding and collaboration, these activities help keep the team morale high and soaring.
- Offer well-being perks:
The feeling of burnout and being overwhelmed is pretty common for global teams. Firm leaders need to encourage a healthy work-life balance. Besides encouraging your teams to set clear boundaries, offer health and well-being benefits and incentives. This helps build a support system within the organization and encourages teams to put their health – both mental and physical – first.
Offering health benefits, and perks like discounts on gym subscriptions, workout classes, and home gym equipment are some of the great ways to give your employees the venting space they need. Leaders need to understand that their employees are their biggest assets and giving them the topmost priority can go a long way in keeping them satisfied, motivated, and associated with the organization.
- Expand professional development opportunities:
Teams want to grow. The modern workforce is growing and they are ambitious. They want to do more and want to be associated with the organizations that support their plans. Providing them with training and development opportunities can help employees invest in their careers. Encouraging them to continue their education if they want, can also help them reinstate their faith in your care towards your employees.
Mentor matching is a great way to match your interested employees with the specific experts within your organization. Investing in the people is a must if you want to keep your employees engaged, motivated, and connected with the organization.
- Set boundaries for team meetings:
The first thing you should ask before setting a meeting is, “could this be an email”? If the answer is yes, avoid the meeting at all costs. When the pandemic had just begun, a lot of firms and teams relied on video calls and held additional team meetings to feel connected and keep teams motivated. But as teams continue to get used to the practice, this concept has now become obsolete. And Zoom fatigue proved to be a real thing. More and more uncalled-for meetings are equivalent to a loss of time for productive work. But this does not mean you avoid video meetings at all times.
Help your employees protect their time and not extend their workdays unnecessarily by creating blocked-off hours for focus work or even a focus day each week.
Handling a globally spread team can seem difficult. But not when you take the right measures to keep your teams connected and motivated. While remote teams can benefit your employees and employers, it also takes a lot of effort to make sure both parties are on the same page.
At Finsmart Accounting, we have been providing accounting outsourcing services with our global teams. We take pride in being a top choice of English-speaking, global outsourced teams to help clients serve better. To know how we can help you, write to us at connect@finsmartaccounting.com.
Director Growth Strategy & Alliance
Maanoj Shah is a finance and outsourcing expert with strong Business Strategy and Scaling-up experience. Over the last 20 years, he has incubated multiple businesses and helped build global enterprises in verticals as diversified as hospitality, technology, and healthcare.
