As laws, regulations and social mandates have been keeping everyone at home for a while, it has been a few years since many people have returned to the office. Recently, companies are beginning their return to office, with some taking a hybrid approach and some are remaining 100% remote.
Even with mandates lifting, many companies are continuing to be faced with the challenge of having a remote team. The online landscape has many employees feeling distant from their managers and coworkers, making it difficult to develop and maintain strong working cultures and relationships. This blog will outline exactly how you can foster a powerful culture, despite the challenges of working remotely!
A precondition for a strong remote culture is engaged and motivated employees, as working remotely eliminates in person interactions. That is why it is important to maintain constant communication and interaction with your employees; doing so motivates them and keeps them engaged. Some easy ways to begin include: daily meetings/standups, communication channels outside of emails, and “wins of the week” meetings. Keep in mind that these communications should be constant and consistent.
It is important to interact with intention; consider the intended culture and shape the way you communicate with your team accordingly. As work culture is entirely made up of the relationships between coworkers, setting a precedent as a leader within the workplace will help shape how your employees communicate. For example, turning your camera on during virtual meetings will help encourage members of your team to do the same.
Keeping your employees in the loop is super important to set a strong remote work culture, as most employees feel disconnected and distant from their company. Being transparent with your workers will help strengthen the connection you have with your employees and make them feel like they are trusted members of the community. By showing your employees that you trust them, goodwill, motivation and feelings of belonging are generated within the workplace.
The benefits of consulting employees for feedback are threefold. The first benefit is that their feedback is extremely valuable for improving company leadership, management and much more. Furthermore, soliciting feedback means that you give employees a sense of control and purpose, which helps to better motivate them. These two impacts lead to a stronger work culture, as it bridges the gap often present between employees and employers; a gap widened by remote work. Additionally, this creates learning opportunities for all parties and gives employees a sense of reason within the workplace.
The best way to instill a sense of belonging in your workplace is to show your employees that you appreciate and care for them. While this may seem like a given, employee appreciation can be especially difficult to implement remotely. You need to show, not just tell; some good ways of doing this virtually can include delegating team awards, offering more benefits/services and hosting employee appreciation days. Happy employees become more focused, engaged and motivated, which contributes to a stronger and healthier workplace.
By communicating, interacting with intention, informing, consulting and appreciating your employee base, you can effectively establish a strong, remote working culture. By providing your team with a purpose, direction and strong leadership, the challenges of remote work can be overcome. See this article for some remote event ideas that you and your team can try as the weather starts to warm up!
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