Promoting the Engagement and Retention of Higher Education Remote Employees through Emerging Practices: A Qualitative Study

Remote work significantly impacted higher education institutions (HEIs) and the world during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, it became the new normal for organizations and how they operate their workforces. The pandemic created the need to identify emerging practices in remote work that respond to changing circumstances and embrace unforeseen benefits as HEIs changed approaches to work more collaboratively. The general problem is that HEI leaders could face significant challenges keeping remote employees engaged and retained without emerging practices in remote work. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify emerging practices in HEIs and how implementation impacts remote employee engagement and retention. The research data were derived from four research questions designed to detail the importance of leaders identifying and implementing emerging practices to benefit their university's organizational culture. The study data was collected through semistructured interviews with 23 participants. Those participants included HEI leaders, remote work industry experts, and full-time remote employees (academic/nonacademic) in nonprofit universities in select regions within the United States. The thematic analysis process was used to code and determine the themes from the study data. The study findings revealed the importance of embracing emerging practices in remote work and implementing executive and mid-level management coaching and training specifically for remote work environments. Streamlining the human resources employment practices to include flexible work schedules, hybrid work options, and contracts that accommodate the remote employees' specific work needs were also revealed as emerging practices. Additionally, setting meeting norms that eliminate back-to-back meetings, allow for comfort breaks between sessions, reduction of long sessions, and the implementation of one day a week with no meetings scheduled were themes. HEI and other organizational leaders could use the results of this study to implement new practices, protocols, and standards that support engagement, retention, and a healthy organizational culture for remote employees. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]