If there’s one thing that causes HR workers to shudder, it’s being given the mandate to motivate the team. Even though they know what to do, their hands are often tied because the solutions need leadership approval. Unfortunately, for many companies, this approval never comes, and it leads to demotivated teams.
As one popular study from Gallup would prove, only 21% of employees are engaged in the work they do. They found that almost 60% of employees are actually struggling in their lives, and only 33% could say they were ‘thriving’.
Unsurprisingly, these problems are only compounded when companies operate on a global scale and have remote teams in different locations. If you’re in a position of power and have the ability to authorize real change, read on.
Avoid Being Too Inflexible With Raises
If you’re looking for a more straightforward fix to motivation issues, there’s simply no better way than looking at pay. This is also one of the few strategies that work well for both domestic and international teams. The fact is that there’s plenty of research to prove that compensation is a key factor in worker motivation.
Data from one report by consulting firm WTW precisely reveals this. They found that 48% of workers cite pay as the main reason to join or stay at a company. Moreover, 56% of workers would consider leaving their company for better pay. Too often, companies forget to pay attention to this aspect, but it becomes easy to track, especially if you use a global payroll management service.
As Remote, a global HR and payroll platform, notes, 40% of employees feel uncomfortable requesting a raise, and this leads to hidden dissatisfaction. Something that can lead to sudden turnover. Likewise, they highlight that ignoring pay feedback is often more costly than a salary increase.
Another great way to clear things up is to have crystal-clear criteria for raises. Many workers become frustrated by criteria that hide behind vague statements like “raises are linked to performance.” Instead, make things more transparent and fair. Even if the standards are high, it will no longer demotivate your team.
Try to Create an Atmosphere of Safety and Security
Something that a lot of companies do not recognize with global teams is the power dynamics at play. Often, the workers hired remotely tend to be from developing countries in Asia or Africa. As such, employment with a foreign company is a lucrative opportunity, and employers are aware of these sentiments.
Some leaders directly or indirectly leverage fears about job security in order to drive results, but fail to recognize the impact on motivation. One report by PwC showed that employees with the highest psychological safety are 72% more motivated than those who aren’t. This comes in the context of AI acceleration, which has created a culture where 44% of workers don’t feel it’s safe to try new approaches.
As Remote notes, building psychological safety within remote teams will take time, but it’s not difficult. They recommend key steps like showing trust from the first day, showing accountability from the top, and measuring performance instead of screen time.
If your interest lies in cultivating a team of engaged, long-term workers, it’s a good idea to follow these steps. Of course, this doesn’t mean you treat your workers like children. However, a little consideration goes a long way, especially with remote workers.
Respect Cultural Differences Without Lowering Standards
This is one of the biggest factors at play when motivating global teams. As you can imagine, every culture brings in variables that make cookie-cutter approaches to management ineffective. Of course, we’re not telling you to compromise on core aspects like hours worked or quality of deliverables. Those are non-negotiable.
We are talking about the myriad of other ways that workers can be influenced in their day-to-day work. For instance, in some cultures, work is deeply tied to identity and personal achievement. This is in stark contrast to Western cultures, where it’s simply a means to provide for yourself and your family.
If you’re working with team members from such cultures, even simple statements of encouragement hold massive weight. Yet, the same statements might be met with a smile and casual thanks at home.
Ultimately, motivating workers at your company based in other countries is always going to be a challenge. If management is happening stateside, remotely, this is even more so. Thankfully, any one of the strategies we covered today will make a difference to motivation.
It’s honestly not that hard to keep workers engaged. It’s just that some companies have gotten so used to squeezing out as much productivity from teams that they forget the consequences. If some of the ideas we’ve covered above feel impractical in your context, then take a moment to realistically evaluate things. You might find that in the long run, some of these steps end up saving you more money than any other alternative.
