The ability to work remotely is a powerful recruiting and retention tool for many companies, and over 43 percent of the U.S. workforce is comprised of remote workers. This arrangement helps employers lower costs by saving on office-related expenses, allows them to hire workers who bring the right skills but are not located in the same geographical area and provides a boost in productivity as employees no longer have to commute.

However, companies who employ remote workers must have firm procedures in place. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these five key guidelines from executive coach and speaker, Jan Makela, to bring out the best in remote employees.

1. Set Clear Expectations. Many managers worry that remote employees won't work as hard without supervision, but studies consistently show that remote employees are more productive than their office-based counterparts. When there are productivity problems, it's most often due to unclear expectations, rather than slacking off.

Properly define what success looks like in the operational context of your organization. Have a frank conversation and discuss the definition of "success" for a particular project. Be sure that you and your remote staff have a shared vision. Set firm goals and identify the required outcome, and establish a timeline for specific milestones.

Regularly check-in with your remote staff to monitor their progress and ensure they are moving toward their goal in a timely fashion. Investing time in the planning stage will pay off in productivity.

2. Relationships Matter. People are social creatures and need interaction to stay engaged. Building a good relationship with your remote employees ensures they don't feel isolated from the team. It also sets the foundation for good management. In a shared environment, relationship-building happens around the break room, in hallways, and before and after meetings. Without the benefit of physical proximity, managers need to create new avenues for relationship building with remote workers. Here are a few ideas:

Use instant messaging for the types of interactions you have in the hallways with office-based staff. Ask how their day is going, send a link to a helpful article or share a joke. Since you're not going to accidentally encounter your remote employees, making those connections requires deliberate effort. Set reminders in your calendar to make sure informal check-ins don't get overlooked. Encourage a couple of minutes of personal chit-chat at the beginning of calls. Ask about their weekend, family or hobbies. Follow up on their personal comments made on previous calls.

3. Be Available. Remote employees can't stop by your desk when they need a quick answer, so it's important to set aside time to be available to them. Respond to messages promptly so you don't hinder their productivity. If you can't fully address a question right away, let them know you're working on it.

Share your online calendar so remote staff can see when they have the best chance of catching you between meetings. Schedule regular check-in times. Your remote staff can save their non-urgent questions for your regular meeting rather than sending multiple emails or instant messages.

Another avenue is video calls, which can build rapport by allowing colleagues to visually connect. It's more personal than a voice on the phone or text in an email. Video calls offer another advantage—callers are more engaged and less likely to be distracted by emails or social media. Many video-calling programs have polling options, too.

Add a personal touch by starting each meeting with a question such as: What method of communication do you prefer (email, IM, phone, video call)? It's also helpful to add a non-business touch, which will jump-start a personal connection-which has distinct business value. For example, ask: What are your weekend plans? We also learn a lot about each other visually. Create a shared picture folder. Invite team members to post an image of their family or activities they have been involved in.

4. Communicate. Communication takes extra effort when working remotely. To be effective, you must communicate clearly, often and well. When talking with someone in person, there are many subtle cues that add to the message. Facial expressions, gestures, body language and tone of voice all help to interpret the speaker's meaning. Those cues are often missing when communicating remotely. Be direct. Clearly state what you need and when you need it.

This eliminates follow-up messages to clarify the request. Be warm and personable, but not overly familiar. Without nonverbal cues, jokes and casual comments can be easily misinterpreted. Share your progress. When you're not in the same office, your colleagues don't know what you're working on. Let them know how projects are progressing. Share your barriers. Likewise, let your colleagues know what barriers you're encountering and what help you need to address those barriers.

5. Create A Connection To The Organization. You may find that remote employees lack buy-in, and that engagement with those workers is not as high as employees who work in the home office. If your employee works from home full-time, consider bringing them in for home office training events and to meet people they may interact with but never see face to face. You may find that relationships improve and turnover of remote works decreases.

Employees who work remotely can bring many strengths to their employers and find their own satisfaction with the benefits remote work offers. Developing ways for these workers to connect and feel a part of the organization is the key to a successful remote employee arrangement.

Source: Jan Makela is an executive coach, highly-sought after speaker and best-selling author of Cracking the Code to Success and Be the Manager People Won't Leave, for which he received the 2017 Quilly Award. Makela has a long and successful history of working with companies to ensure quality hiring and training practices. His specialty revolves around strength-based leadership development, with a particular focus on working with senior and mid-level executives, business owners and professionals.