Overcoming Barriers to Employee Connection During COVID-19

COVID-19 is challenging employee connection

As the COVID-19 virus spreads rapidly around the world, businesses and industries have struggled to quickly adapt to shifts in the global supply chain and the new reality of a remote workforce. As restrictions sway back and forth and certainty dwindles, one thing that is clear is that ‘business as usual’ is a concept that will continue to be redefined and inherently challenged by the basic human need of social connection.
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Businesses have been tasked with not only ensuring all employees have the technology and tools needed to continue operations on a remote basis, but also with maintaining employee connection, engagement and morale through this period.

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While some employees may thrive in a remote working environment, others struggle to stay focused and connected. Igloo’s 2019 State of the Digital Workspace report revealed that 70 per cent of remote employees are experiencing feelings of seclusion and loneliness while working remotely. A lack of workplace knowledge-sharing opportunities and communication practices while working remotely were the top reasons workers listed for their feelings of social disconnection.

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Importance of social connection

The workplace is a central and important part of many people’s lives. It provides the perfect opportunity for individuals to interact with customers, peers, subordinates, and supervisors in ways that provide meaning and fulfilment. Research supports the notion that strong social connections at work create employees who are more engaged, loyal, and productive.

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When employees feel secluded and separated from social connection with their co-workers, it not only impacts their morale, it also affects their productivity and quality of work. Remote workers who are unhappy slow down a company’s overall operations.

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Enhance employee connection with Rec Room

These unique challenges presented make the need for an interactive engagement solution all the more pressing to ensure dispersed workforces are emotionally, socially and digitally connected.

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EonX’s Rec Room delivers an all-in-one employee engagement, recognition and communication platform, designed for businesses to recognise and inspire their people, no matter their location.

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Rec Room’s key features can be harnessed to ensure businesses move through physical disconnection whilst fostering emotional and social connection and encouraging engagement and productivity.

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Centralised Communications (News Feed)

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Successfully redefine operations with our News Feed feature that allows all employees of a business to ‘Share’ posts, ‘Like’ and ‘Comment.’ It can be used to ‘Post’ announcements, updates, small success stories, resources, or even fun memes. The News Feed function helps foster connectivity among remote workers by providing the opportunity to engage one another and enjoy interactions, boosting the collective mood, productivity, and work quality.

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Live Chat

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Harness the power of successfully redefining operations with Rec Room’s Live Chat feature. Its core function allows employees to chat and can be used for either social or professional purposes. Live Chat includes the ability to engage in real-time sharing of attachments, GIFS, and emojis.

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Providing remote workers with the ability to seamlessly interact with one another helps to quell feelings of isolation, which has added social and professional benefits. Offering a remote team an easy and convenient way to share and receive files boosts productivity and encourages collaboration and creativity, allowing each team member to provide and receive valuable feedback.

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Live Chat provides a sense of camaraderie that often is missing with remote work, which is an important social component of any remote working team.

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Q&A

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Create and manage Quizzes on an ad-hoc basis with the Q&A function of Rec Room. This feature is especially useful for remote on-boarding of new employees and the professional development of existing employees. Rec Room drives exceptional engagement as employees are incentivised to achieve amazing results on Quizzes taken through the platform. Tokens are provided to employees who meet or exceed the desired outcome which can be used to redeem company-specific work Perks.

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Ready to take the next step?

Get in touch with our team of specialists today to learn how Rec Room can boost your remote workforce productivity and connection.