Should employee retention be more of a concern when your team works remotely?  Maybe you have never asked yourself this question, and maybe you should.

I ran a recruiting firm for over 20 years.  I interviewed tens of thousands of people over those years.  They considered leaving their current company for many reasons…advancement, role, leadership, proximity to home, money…and a host of others.  However what was a consideration then for job seekers is less of a consideration now, that’s about location.

Today, working remotely (from your home or hoteling type office) is commonplace.  A new employee can move to a new company and take on a new role and never have to move where they work.  It makes a career decision that in the past might have included extending their commuting times, or having to relocate less of a concern.  And that my friends is something to seriously consider.

We are closer than ever, yet further away

While technology has in some ways allowed us to be more connected, it has in many ways created more distance at the human level.  Leaders have to be more thoughtful about ways to connect the team members with each other, and team members to themselves. 

In many companies there are fewer people working in the office full time, and many who only come into the office for a specific reason. The days of walking down the hall and popping into someone’s office are fewer than even a few years ago.  You don’t see someone in the hall, the kitchen or the lobby very frequently.  They simply aren’t physically there, they are working at home, in a cafe, at another site location; anywhere they now call their office.

Technology has us easily connected through email, text, chat programs, video and so much more.  It feels like we are talking to our team even more.  You chatted with them several times today, emailed back and forth, even set up a video meeting for next week. It seems you have more interactions with them than if they worked down the hall.

And maybe you do in actuality.  However I bet if you think about it those interactions were about a task or project, not about them personally.   Unless you specially make time for personal interactions, where you are connecting with them at the heart level, more interactions does not mean quality.

Here’s the problem

You might not realize it, but the quick drive by conversations you have in the halls or popping into their office, has you connecting with people at the human level, at the level that matters to them.  Think about it.  How often in chat or emails are you asking someone how their weekend was?  This is when you learn about a hobby they have, what their children are involved in, how they spend their free time.

Yet it’s a common question when you chat with someone in person.  You get to know them store that information away (hopefully) to ask them about it in the future.  They feel like you care, that they matter and are connected to you.  This matters when it comes to whether they will consider opportunities outside your department or company.

Here’s the problem.  When you rely on technology for most of your interactions with your team, both as a team and as individuals you won’t talk to them the same way as when you have conversations with them. You’ll miss the opportunity to hear the tone in their voice, sense that something is off for them, find out about their needs, values and wants…all the things that matter to them, and should matter to you.

This article isn’t about how to be/stay more connected to your team, it’s about concerns you should have about retention when your team is remote. 

What’s the Risk?

When your team or individuals on the team work remotely it takes way more thoughtfulness, focus and frankly planning to be and stay connected to them.  Because many leaders don’t pay enough attention to this, employees can easily feel disconnected, unimportant, not noticed by others all of which easily lead to dissatisfaction. 

Dissatisfaction is going to lead to questions you don’t want them to ask themselves.  Questions like: “Will they even know about my skills and experience when a promotional opportunity comes up or will they overlook me?”, “Does it matter who I work for since I don’t see my manager often or other team members?”, “It seems that others are getting juicy projects or opportunities to learn and I’m not.  I bet it’s cause they brown-nose the boss or others.” 

I promise you from years of conducting interviews that as soon as they start asking these types of questions, or thinking these types of thoughts they will be open to considering other opportunities.   And once they have an interview with another company, even if it’s not the job they want or aren’t made an offer, they will keep interviewing.  It gets people thinking about other possibilities.

Here’s a truth you should know.  As a recruiter I could never convince someone to consider another opportunity if they were happy with their current situation.  Because I did no advertising, and LinkedIn and job sites weren’t readily available most of the people I spoke to I found and attempted to recruit.  They weren’t actively seeking other opportunities. BUT, if there was a nagging thought in the back of their mind about the job, company or their role they would be open to listening to me.  I couldn’t recruit someone who was genuinely satisfied with their employment

Remote employees are less likely to share a concern with you about their role or anything else.  It won’t come up in an email, text or chat.  Employees working remotely can easily feel like they are the last to know company news, because they are.  They aren’t having lunch with team members or able to sit across the desk from you and get to know how you think. Interactions with others outside the team is nil, and others outside the team don’t get to know them.

All this can easily have remote employees questioning how others see their value. 

Another risk is you won’t know if they are interviewing, or talking to recruiters or prospective employers.  In the office, with others around they are less likely to have conversations or interviews during working hours.  When they work off site, wherever it is that barrier is taken away.  The ease of having those conversations means you should be concerned.

Many managers tell me they sense when someone is interviewing.  It’s more than they are using more PTO, it’s a feeling they get.  The employee walks into their office less frequently for quick conversations, during meetings they are less engaged, they don’t look others in the eye and some intangibles.  Easily to notice these signs when you see them all the time.

If you don’t pay attention to your team that works remotely you may find that you don’t have a team to pay attention to.  Recently one of my clients had a group of four guys from the same department leave and go to a competitor.  The manager wasn’t paying enough attention.

Your remote team members need at least as much, probably more attention and interactions with you and each other than those who are all together in one location.  The reason most people leave companies is because they don’t believe there is a long-term opportunity.  They feel less connected to other team members, you the manager and the company’s mission and goals.  It doesn’t have to be this way but often is.

This puts you at risk for retention problems.  Period!

Building a great team is challenging under the best of conditions.  When you add in people working remotely, in different countries and in different time zones it is even more challenging. 

It takes thoughtfulness and commitment to the individuals to stay connected. 

All extraordinary teams and poor teams have common characteristics. 

Learn what they are and how to use them to take your team from poor to good, good to great or great to extraordinary.