Currently, 82 per cent of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” already have virtual employees and policies in place. This number is expected to rise as time and technology advance.

Renowned human resources consultant, Kevin Sheridan has spent more than 20 years advising some of the top corporations on issues involving human capital management. In his latest book, The Virtual Manager: Cutting-Edge Solutions for Hiring, Managing, Motivating, and Engaging Mobile Employees, Sheridan tackles the challenges that many companies are facing when it comes to the virtual workplace, a new way of doing business in the modern world.

Sheridan defines the top employee engagement drivers and how to maximize them for virtual workers:

1. Recognition – it’s harder to recognize virtual employees because there aren’t as many chances to slip in a thank-you. Set a reminder, daily, weekly, monthly to consider their accomplishments and determine the correct means to recognize them.

2. Career Development – To help virtual employees advance within the organization it is important for senior leaders to get to know them. Set up informal mentorships between these seniors people and virtual workers and be sure to consider them for raises and new positions.

3. Direct Supervisor/Manager Leadership Abilities – Because so much of our interaction and messaging with each other is non-verbal or interpreted through tone, use video chat whenever possible to best pick-up on any ‘virtual sensitivity’.

4. Strategy and Mission (Especially the freedom and autonomy to succeed and contribute to the organization’s success)- Be sure to put into words the significance and importance of any job up front, the same holds true virtually. Be more than a manager, be a coach as well.

5. Job Content (the ability to do what I do best) – Some parts of the job aren’t the reason we choose to go into a field but they have to be done. Try to accommodate individuals’ preferences for job content as a team.

6. Senior Management’s Relationship with Employees – Strong relationships help to increase the level of trust that employees have in their leaders. Try to be visible, visit, offer video conferencing, and respond quickly to communications.

7. Open and Effective Communication – Communicate, communicate, communicate. Employees who are not kept informed think the worst. Fill the communication gap between the head office and the virtual workplace.

8. Coworker Satisfaction/Cooperation (the unsung hero of retention) – Coworker relationships is one of the most difficult drivers of employee engagement on which to influence improvement. Alter team-building activities to include remote workers, add small talk to email communications, assign an on-site job buddy who is responsible for keeping the remote worker in the loop.

9. Avialability of Resources to Perform the Job Effectively – Determine the resources needed up front for virtual workers, including the tools they “need to have” or are “nice to have.” Ensuring that employees have a good understanding of the resources they need, and supporting them in obtaining them is essential for engagement.

10. Organizational Culture and Core/Shared Values – Defining culture for those who work offsite can be difficult. Think of values as being the compass of the working world. When your employees have the same core values as your organization, they will already be headed down the path on which you are travelling.

Kevin Sheridan is senior vice president of HR optimization and former chief engagement officer (CEO) of HR Solutions, Inc., a human capital management consulting firm specializing in employee engagement surveys. Sheridan pioneered the idea of duel-ownership of employee engagement and was the first in his field to address the imbalance that an entire industry overlooked. His work and research have appeared in a myriad of national and international publications. Sheridan earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School.