It’s no surprise that working remotely can, over time, lead to people feeling isolated and disconnected from the organisation. It’s also no surprise that this can have huge potential negative impact on the individual, the team and the organisation. This webinar will provide you with functional communication advice on how to connect with employees and increase motivation and engagement remotely.

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2. 6
How you act during the crisis will set the tone for what comes
after. The actions of each phase will spill over into the next.
THE ANATOMY
OF A CRISIS
Pre-phase Acute phase After-phase
Symptoms
Eruption
Escalation
Rebuilding

3. 7
STAYING ENGAGED
WHILE WORKING
FROM HOME IS OUR
TOP CONCERN
RIGHT NOW
Working from home 29.955399
Working remotely 25.161972
Home office 24.749609
Crisis management 24.525822
Recession 21.961659
Crisis 18.811424
Global economy 14.906103
Productivity 9.750391
Supplier 9.201878
Mental health 8.936620
Remote management 3.399844
Solitude 2.361502
According to Google Trends, the
highest risers among search topics
of Danes during the past three
months centre around working
remotely and staying engaged.

4. 8
What are the greatest challenges to keep employees
engaged in your organisation?
Lack of focus due to
distractions in the home
No sense of
urgency
Lack of contact to
immediate leader
Lack of contact to
colleagues
Lack of clearly
defined roles and
responsibilities
Disengaged due to
fear and uncertainty
POLL
8

5. Be visible
Create a shared
focus
.
Share
successes
Build
commitment
Listen with empathy
STEPS TO
5
1 2
4
5
REMOTE
EMPLOYEES
3
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BE VISIBLE AND
SHOW THAT YOU
ARE TAKING ACTION
10
1

7. 1111
Find occasions
… to communicate what you are
doing to tackle problems and take
charge.
Build a weekly plan
… with fixed and reliable touchpoints
– both formal and informal. The
main topics should be the health of
our people and our business.
IT’S LIKE WATCHING
THE NEWS … WE NEED
REASSURANCE

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CREATE A SHARED
THAT EVERYONE
CAN RALLY AROUND
12
2

9. 13
Stakeholder
interview and
exploration
Prototypes and
selection of
focus mission
Mission statement/one-liner
Accelerated mission process
13
Define a “short term” mission
It should be:
Concrete Obtainable Inclusive
Example: #WeGoFor100
Marry business rationale
with human motivation
Understand the business objectives
and priorities and how they can be
combined with the motivations of
your employees.
IT’S ALL ABOUT FEELING A
SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

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BUILD COMMITMENT
– EVERYONE NEEDS TO
FEEL IMPORTANT
14
3

11. 15
1
Mission statement:
__________________________
2
What it means to our team:
___________________________
3.1
Targeted message – employees sent home:
___________________________
3.2
Targeted message – employees busy:
___________________________
3.3
Targeted message – employees not busy:
___________________________
4 Remind them about the ongoing touchpoints
where you meet and align as a team
15Leader message script template
Make contribution clear to everyone
Each individual’s situation is different.
Make sure you talk to each individual
so everyone feels important and link it
to the team’s mission.
Have peers working together
Group work is more engaging and more
fun and enables bonding over mutual
obligations – and it keeps productivity
high.
SUCCESS DEPENDS
ON HOW THE TEAM FEELS

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LISTEN WITH EMPATHY
TO UNDERSTAND
YOUR EMPLOYEES
4

13. 17
Team meeting technique
Ask these three questions regularly:
1. What are your concerns and doubts?
2. How are you handling it?
3. What are you hopeful about?
Alternative:
- Ask groups of three to discuss and share
thoughts with you in writing.
Formal techniques
- Q/A
- Pulse check (engagement survey)
17
Facilitate a safe space
Make sure you facilitate a space for open
and honest dialogue. A space where
employees feel safe when sharing fears,
uncertainty and doubts.
Lead the way, but then listen, listen, listen
Start by opening up yourself. Then listen
actively. You don’t have to agree or comment
on everything. Just listen and acknowledge.
WE ARE MORE ENGAGED
WHEN WE FEEL SAFE

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CELEBRATE SUCCESSES
TO SHOW PROGRESS
TOWARDS THE MISSION
5

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Share successes, recognise, reward
Highlight great individual and team efforts
alongside other positive perspectives that
show progress towards the mission.
Optimism is contagious
… especially when coming from your
leader. Optimism helps mitigate the
feeling of crisis and gives people hope
about the future.
Organisational level
• Virtual town hall meetings
• Newsletters, intranet, app
• Rewards and call-outs
Team level
• Team work
• Team meetings
• Virtual Friday bars/social events
Individual level
• 1:1
• Daily work
Overview of occasions on different levels
AN OPTIMISTIC TEAM WILL
HELP YOU GET THROUGH
19

16. Be visible
Create a shared
focus
.
Share
successes
Build
commitment
Listen with empathy
STEPS TO
5
1 2
4
5
REMOTE
EMPLOYEES
3
20