As more and more companies have gone remote, one thing has been thrown by the wayside. That thing is company culture, and it is what organizations need the most right now to succeed. When foster a company culture, organizations need to understand the unique circumstances of each person who is working remotely, and how this shift has altered their lives. Many people have young children at home or old relatives they need to take care of, or may suddenly find themselves sharing a small living space with a partner where they both need to work from. It is that paradigm that companies struggling to adjust to, patricianly when it comes to maintain or expanding their company culture.
Because of these circumstances, it is more important than ever that employees feel that the organizations they work for are welcoming, supportive, and inclusive. When managing virtual teams, managers and founders need to live by their values. Slashing benefits or making employees feel isolated does every little to engender employee loyalty. Instead, companies should work to prioritize their employees and make them feel like they matter.
There are various ways to do this. One way is to set up regular social meetings for employees so that they can relax, unwind, and vent about their frustrations. If an organization is run well, hopefully these frustrations are not directed at their employment. However, if they are, you need to emphasize and understand where they are coming from in order to make improvements in the company culture.
While the social aspects of a company culture are important, you need to inject meaningful engagement into company culture as well in order to make remote employees feel valued. Employees are looking for work that helps them feel motivated and inspired, and this needs to be connected to the core values and goals of a company.
Given that employees want to feel like they are making an impact, this can be done with engaging with them personally and collaboratively. When an employee feels intellectually engaged, they’ll be able to use their skills and creativity to solve problems and stretch themselves further, going the extra mile for an organization that they feel values these skills and abilities. This can be emphasized in various ways, from an organization’s structure, workflow, and processes, to modeled behavior by managers and founders to best engage with their fellow virtual team members.
Running an organization that is new to the virtual space can be a challenge. However, when acknowledge and confronting the unique needs of virtual teams, a company can thrive on promoting their team members while allowing them to do the best work possible. Creating a more autonomous and trusting structure can go a long way in creating employee trust, which makes employees feel more connected to their company and ultimately more able to give their best work. In helping to foster this company culture, an organization can great a community and keep their best talent around for years to come, which will help boost both their profitability and team morale.
