And this begins at recruitment.
We screen all our candidates to find the right people who then go through an intensive on-boarding program that outlines our core values and provides them with what they need to succeed in their role.
We also make sure every communication to our team members, whether email or phone, reinforces our values. Every employee, remote or not, needs to understand the greater purpose of their role in relation to the business to be engaged.
The result? 84% of our online teachers are engaged with their work and workplace.
Provide an online workspace
Just like you would have an office building, it is essential to dedicate a space online for employees to work – a place to access colleagues, professional tools and general office administration.
At Swinburne Online we have an online portal where our teachers can access everything from FAQs, how to videos, payroll, and a social network. This may seem extensive, but with the majority of our employees working remotely, it was necessary to go all out.
This doesn’t happen overnight, so where do you start?
There are many free tools available to create a virtual workplace such as Yammer, Evernote or Trello. You may find several online tools are needed to connect with remote staff or just one or two. Just make sure they are relevant to the work being done and help foster a community.