7 Ways to Build a Positive Company Culture with a Remote Team
Building a positive work environment and a thriving company culture should be one of your main aims as a leader. This becomes even more important when you’re dealing with a remote team and want to make sure everyone is still included.
Creating a positive work environment and a strong team can mean many things. It could include giving your team regular breaks (to let them play a cheeky round of lucky pharaoh) or organizing social activities.
Improving work morale is also great for your business. Creating a positive work culture can help boost productivity and help you retain talented staff members. Good communication between staff can also help streamline efficiency within your company.
Many companies made the switch to remote working at the beginning of the pandemic and have found it hard to keep a good company culture alive throughout this shift. However, building strong teams doesn’t have to be done in-office alone. In fact, there are many ways to foster a great work culture with your remote teams.
7 Ways to Promote a Positive Company Culture While Working Remotely
1. Set New Policies for Remote Work
Many studies show that remote work is an undervalued resource (Miles Burke (2019). How to Grow a Positive Company Culture with a Remote Team). This undervaluation led many company leaders to despair when work-from-home orders were announced during the height of the pandemic. However, as Mike Burke’s GQ essay points out, this attitude may be a mistake.
In fact, contrary to industry fears, remote work has many positive benefits for employees. It can increase individual productivity, decrease stress, and allow employees to find a better work-life balance. Remote work also doesn’t need to spell the end of team culture for your workplace.
One way to cope with this change is to set policies specifically for remote work. This helps employees understand what is expected of them and allows them to bring up any problems within a professional framework. It also lets employees fit their home life around their new remote work schedule and helps ensure that employees aren’t overworked in this new setting.
2. Make Sure No One Stays Isolated
The quickest way to drive away valuable staff is to neglect social culture in the office. Offices used to be the definition of company culture, with social spaces, chats around the water cooler, and regular work get-togethers. Social zoom meet-ups are a great alternative to the office night out and can help get everyone involved. Make sure everyone is invited so that no one feels left out.
3. Encourage Employees to Video-Call Each Other
When it comes to company culture, remote working can pose some challenges. For instance, employees may fall into the habit of relying on email, rather than checking in face-to-face. Managers should be proactive about this and encourage employees to schedule video calls. This will help reduce isolation and improve work culture.
4. Give Everyone an Opportunity to Communicate with Management
Employees shouldn’t feel that they can only video-call each other. Instead, encourage employees to check in regularly with management as well. Remote work is a new experience for many people (employees and employers alike) and can throw up unexpected issues. Keeping a policy of open communication between all levels can help with this.
5. Celebrate Your Successes
When you describe company culture, most people think of a team that works together and wins together. Working remotely can make some employees feel cut off, so celebrating successes is even more important. You can organize Zoom nights, virtual quizzes, or online messaging chats.
6. Initiate Cross-Department Collaborations
Office culture allows different departments to mingle and exchange ideas at social events or during breaks. However, remote work can bring an end to this collaboration. By scheduling meetings between different departments, you can encourage the best of company cultures, which fosters collaboration and communication. This can help boost creative thinking among your team and help team members see things from new angles.
7. Get Frequent Feedback and Build from That
If you’re wondering how to improve company culture, feedback is something you should pay close attention to. Great leaders value feedback from their teams and take constructive criticism on board. Don’t just wait for employees to come to you, either. Encourage frequent feedback sessions where employees can speak their minds and air any grievances.
The Future of Building a Positive Company Culture
More of us than ever before are now working from home. To keep company culture alive, managers must rethink their approaches and view this as a potentially useful and productive change. Luckily, in today’s world, we have plenty of resources available for strong team building. Implement these seven steps in your office today and enjoy the positive changes.
About the author:
Thomas is a perpetual expat who eventually settled down in Miami after living in 6 other countries. When not surfing at the beach, he can be usually found in his home office, writing about the perks of working remotely and what remote work is all about.
