Does a remote workforce spell the end of your corporate culture?
Your team has been working remotely for weeks possibly months and after those first few initial wobbles you feel like you’ve conquered this remote work model. As restrictions are lifted you may be pondering whether you should adopt this business model as your company’s new norm, after all, you will be saving the cost of maintaining offices and fixtures.
Remote is tempting.
While you might save on the cost of office space you may lose in other areas. What will happen to your corporate culture, the collaboration, the chit chat that often spawns great ideas? Can you maintain the morale, comradery and the sense of “belonging” to a team or a company? What about the satisfaction that comes with working together towards a common cause? And how will you integrate new people into your company culture?
5 easy tips to fostering a
corporate culture, remotely.
1
Plan chit-chat
Start meetings with a set time for participants to simply chat and catch up. This provides an opportunity to share, encourage and build relationships before jumping into the meeting. By allowing your staff to connect first you will see a more productive meeting and a sense of common purpose and goals.
2
Encourage virtual coffee breaks
Encourage your people to set up weekly virtual coffee breaks with a colleague they have not connected with as often as a result of working remotely. They will enjoy seeing a “fresh” face on Zoom and talking about things other than the current workload.
3
Organize “virtual” company events
Working remotely erects sensory barriers as well as isolation. It is important for individuals to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves or the team they work with daily. This could be as simple as a pub-style trivia quiz that gets everyone participating and laughing.
4
Keep your virtual door open
Let people “drop in to see you” just like they did when you were physically available in your office. Working remotely can make some individuals feel disconnected and insecure and it will do them a world of good to be able to just “pop” in to talk to you.
5
Express gratitude
You can’t say thank you often enough whether you are in the office or working remotely. Let your people know that you truly appreciate them and the work they are doing, not just in these very atypical days, but always. Drop them a note, send them a gift card or another token of your appreciation.
Keeping it real & remote. 4/10
As a company we have embraced working remotely but we have also come to realize that we miss working together. As businesses begin to re-open we have decided to test a 4/10 rotation.
Here’s how it works
We divided the company into two teams. Each team works alternating Monday to Thursday in the office and from home the remaining days.
Benefits of this schedule:
- Creates team bubbles and allows for distanced work stations and limited use of common spaces.
- Offers each team 10 days away from the office between “shifts”. This will help identify any health concerns.
- Facilitates a quick return to fully remote or fully on site without skipping a beat.
Additionally, we have protocols re lunch and coffee breaks, meetings, designated entry and egress doors etc. Happy to share our ideas with you and hear about your plans.
