PEO Growth
FOSTERING ENGAGEMENT AND INNOVATION IN REMOTE SALES & MARKETING TEAMS
Culture, engagement, collaboration, and innovation have all experienced drastic changes over the past several years. The move many companies made to a remote or hybrid work environment has created a need for new strategies to achieve the same level of production and employee engagement. This is especially true for marketing and sales teams, which traditionally relied heavily on in-person collaboration and innovation sessions.
Ordering pizza for lunch for the entire office or having regular in-person all-employee meetings are not always possible. Many leaders I’ve spoken with recently are feeling the effects of this and are struggling with unengaged employees, lower productivity, and a lack of new idea generation. People feel more alone, and many struggle with mental health challenges. There isn’t much helpful guidance online for managers that goes beyond theoretical ideas of creating an inclusive and safe environment and delves into practical application and how-to tactics.
So, what are the solutions? After much trial and error, here are a few things I’ve found that work well and some that have fallen short.
STRATEGIES TO FOSTER INNOVATION
Traditionally, innovation happened in brainstorming meetings in conference rooms or team meetings over lunch. Whiteboarding sessions and group activities allowed one person to feed off the next and for ideas to grow into something tangible. How do companies stay ahead of the competition and ideate the next big thing when everyone is working from home or in hybrid environments where not everyone is together simultaneously?
The prime directive here is intentionality. It takes coordination and specific effort to ensure this critical element of corporate success doesn’t get lost. Leaders can help nudge teams along this path by having transparent conversations about their expectations on this topic.
Whiteboard technology is common in online collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc. Use this whiteboarding space for innovation just like you would in-person around a conference room table. You can have a central idea and others can add to it and contribute their ideas. Brainstorm new verticals to target, blog ideas, sales strategies, or video storyboards – endless possibilities.
Email. Asking team members to share ideas on a topic via email hasn’t worked well. Many people don’t want to take the perceived risk of sending an idea and either not hearing back or the leader not doing anything with it. In a groupthink environment safe from criticism (no bad ideas), they feel more at ease sharing ideas in real time.
Virtual meetings. While meetings work great for other agendas, some folks on a team don’t feel comfortable speaking up in front of a group when they aren’t sure if their idea is valid. This is especially true if any form of leadership is on the call. Virtual meetings can fall flat for new idea generation, even in safe environments.
STRATEGIES TO FOSTER ENGAGEMENT
There’s no doubt that employee engagement has suffered post-COVID. Employees aren’t as clear on what’s expected of them. Many have absorbed the job duties of laid-off co-workers. They may not have the right technology or equipment to do their jobs effectively in a remote environment. Transparency and communication are key for sales and marketing leaders.
Have fun! We used to have office lunches, team-building activities, holiday parties, and other fun in-person activities. Don’t let the fun fall off just because all or some employees are remote. My team has enjoyed a few things over the last couple of years.
Virtual games – get everyone together over Zoom and play a game. You can use apps like Kahoot for trivia, Sketchful.io for Pictionary, or JeopardyLabs for a team game of Jeopardy.
Meme wars. Have everyone on the team post a (work-appropriate) meme that describes how they’re getting through the day.
Virtual lunches. Send all your remote workers Grubhub e-gift cards and cater in a meal for your on-site team, then hop on a call together for a virtual office lunch.
Interactivity. I sent everyone on my team an ornament kit ahead of our virtual holiday party. We played holiday music and built our ornaments together in a virtual meeting. I got great feedback on that, and everyone got a unique ornament as a keepsake.
Team meetings. I initially tried to replicate in-person weekly team meetings in a virtual environment. Everyone gathered for an hour once a week to go over projects and deadlines. When that format no longer worked, I switched to 15–30-minute daily huddles where we all answered goofy questions like, “What’s your least favorite fast-food chain?” Of course, we also talk about deadlines, projects, and priorities.
Fostering collaboration and innovation is still possible in a remote or hybrid environment – it just looks a bit different in the post-pandemic era. I’d be happy to hear from you on other ideas that have worked for your teams – feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to continue the discussion.
DEBORAH BROUSSEAU
Managing Director of MarketingLandrumHRPensacola, FL