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7 Ways to Strategically Improve Your Remote Work Culture
In this digital age it has never been easier to access the internet, make a call, or connect with others no matter where in the world you are. This has opened up all the bonuses of creating remote working teams. Not only do you and they get the benefit of working from the safety of your choosing, you eliminate commute, real estate costs, utility costs, and so many other disadvantages. But just because you work remotely doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about having a positive work culture. Loneliness and communication are two of the top struggles that people who work from home say they deal with. It is incredibly important to the productivity and well being of a company that you understand and follow these SEVEN important steps to fostering a successful team culture.
1) Build Community
It is absolutely crucial to have an open and transparent community of people. This means making sure everyone is properly introduced, that there is a place to understand everyone's roles, and that older members are connecting with the new. 17% of remote workers say that one of their biggest struggles is proper communication/collaboration. To build a strong work culture this is the most important key. Once you have this locked down the other steps will become 100 times easier.
2) Create and Express your Company Values
Having a company message that everyone understands and knows their role within will significantly increase the success of a remote working team. When someone comes to work for your company you want them to be on board with your mission and not just be there for the paycheck especially with remote workers.
Start thinking about how your company helps your customer/client to achieve a goal. Now why do your employees want to help guide that customer through their journey? Possibly for a sense of achievement, possibly for simply doing what is right, just, helpful. Whatever it is, communicate these values to your team members so they can live and express those values to your customer/clients.
3) Embrace the “Watercooler” Effect
We all know the inevitable watercooler effect. At some point in the work day your team will need a brain break and to feel connection to those they work alongside. The meeting at the watercooler becomes a place to talk about the weather, sports news, news news, or maybe personal dilemmas. At first glance this might seem like slacking but it is a SIGN that your team wants to connect more. Create this effect digitally by having a separate messaging board where people can discuss such things.Start the conversation yourself and maybe send a conversation prompt once a day, every other day or maybe once a week. For example send in get-to-know-you questions like, “What is our favourite animal?”, or simpler a this-or-that question, “Do you like the beach or forest more?”. See what fun and unique conversations and friendships might bud from sharing more personal information. When your team stops feeling like strangers they will be more likely to be able to freely communicate with each other making work tasks more of a team effort.
4) Have Clear Expectations & Be Open with Feedback
Just like expressing your values you should respectively make your expectations very clear. Meaning dues dates, time involved, standards, etc. As you create expectations though build the foundations of constructive feedback for both you and your team members. Have daily scrum meetings that will inform you and others of what everyone's daily tasks are, the due dates on those tasks, and what they will be working on next. Creating this transparency is effective in keeping a positive company culture in general but especially for remote teams.
5) Participate
As a leader you are the connecting point between all the relationships within your community. Therefore lead by example in participating in group discussions, scrum meetings, and get-to-know-you conversations. This ensures your team has just as much trust in you as every other team member.
6) Publicize your Values
Sharing your values with your current team members is important to instilling the kind of drive you want them to have but getting them in the door for that message is just as important. Spread the word of your values by expressing it in your website or social media accounts. Show people who could be potential team members why they would want to join your message. Now this doesn’t need to be the first and foremost point on these platforms but just make sure it is available and easily understandable. Having a community of people who want to work for you is central to having a positive work culture
7) Choose the Right Tools
Being able to use all these steps means you will have to choose the right platform for your company. There are many options out there such as Monday, Slack, or Skype and many articles and videos comparing those platforms to each other but that takes a huge time investment. If you could have a platform that is built specifically for your company wouldn’t you take the most custom option? At ISU corp we are offering “Strategic Remote Team Building Consulting '' so we can best offer the tools and steps your company needs to take to create a successful remote team culture.
BONUS
Meetups!
Have team meetups or share places for those in the same city to get together at coworking spaces. Just because you are all a part of a remote working team doesn’t mean you can’t schedule a once a year get-together. Having an opportunity to actually meet face to face can be a great bonding experience and also a fresh break from digital communication. If your community of a team is a little too sparse and spread out to all get together, just setting up meetings between those in the same city or country can be enough.
If you prioritize and focus on these seven steps there is no question that your company culture will be thriving and successful. Remote work is a highly essential system, especially in a global climate like the one we are living in 2020. Don’t wait too long to boost the happiness and progress of your team and company.
