A strong culture grows from working towards the shared goals, even when one isn’t in the same room.
Company culture without a doubt one of the top job benefits for the employees. Free snacks and good vacation time makes a difference, but how one interacts with the supervisors and the environment that results from that is what can keep an employee on board even when the pay raises and bonuses aren’t a regular thing.
But for the increasing number of professionals who don’t work in an office, a positive culture can be difficult in order to achieve.
Using the tools which are now available, leaders can achieve the company culture virtually. Here are a few ways by which one can create a winning culture for the remote teams.
1. Consider your personalities
Much like the onsite workers, the remote employees and the contractors have varied personalities. One likely have the extroverts who crave regular interaction with others, along with the introverts who could be just fine with going days without any direct communication with another human being.
One must also get to know the workers one on one and determine the type of work environment that works the best for each of them.
Related Read: HELP! Introvert Boss: How To Communicate?
Some of the introverts are perfectly fine with communicating with the others using a chat tool, so that might considered be as the best option for all of you. One can even take it a step further and create fun activities and in-person to get-togethers that works the best for the team as a whole.
2. Honor your talent
If the workers are being creative as part of their daily duties, one must consider that their unique work styles might improve their daily output. Instead of berating the designer for choosing to work late into the night and sleeping until noon the next day, one must consider that it may be just a part of that person’s process.
As long as the team members meet their deadlines and are available for the scheduled meetings, there shouldn’t be an issue with the work hours they keep.
3. Make meetups fun
If the teams are virtual, chances are that one will rarely all meet face to face. Even though it comes with an expense, it’s important in order to try to work in at least one group meeting each year.
One must consider scheduling a fun retreat where one can learn either new skills or make up for the enjoyable activities missed in the office each day.
Related Read: 5 Questions To Ask That Will Reveal The Employee Satisfaction Quotient Of Your Company!
When the day’s meetings are over, one must plan a night out at a local restaurant or either a recreational attraction. One will also likely find those excursions which leads to far better team building than one could ever achieve in a conference room.
4. Encourage play
Also, one does not have to be in the same office to socialize. If one has a small team, encourage the members in order to get to know each other by providing the necessary tools to do so. If one regularly hosts video chats, one will quickly find the employees to initiate those calls on their own.
For the larger teams, one must consider separating the workers into groups. If certain employees live within a close proximity to others, one must schedule regional gatherings or to either encourage them to meet up on their own occasionally.
One can also pair workers by interests and will help them get to know each other. One will likely find they develop a bond that extends beyond that one experience.
5. Reinforce your mission
For the remote teams, it can be even more difficult in order to remain constantly focused on the goal. One must be clear on the company’s mission and communicate that with every salaried and the contract worker.
One should regularly reinforce the company’s mission. The words likely won’t have as much meaning if one does not walk the walk.
Related Read: Building Startup Culture From Foundation To Finishing !
One must also demonstrate as to how the work impacts the customers which one serves. One must share the videos and the images through the company’s internal communication tools or either collaboration software that demonstrate the hard work that’s being done in the office and also in the field.
If one has the testimonials from the customers about how the business has changed their lives, this can be especially powerful. It will help the remote teams stay focused on what’s important.
Company culture isn’t necessarily dependent upon a physical workspace. It’s especially important for the virtual teams in order to find a way to instill that culture in other ways, such as through video chats and online collaboration.
Employers also have to create opportunities for the salaried and contract employees in order to get to know each other when they’re remote, since they won’t have the benefits of daily face-to-face interaction.
Despite that extra effort, many of the entrepreneurs say hiring remote is still worth it, since it often brings greater flexibility, cheaper talent, and also the varied perspectives.
Also Read: Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Remote Development Team
(Disclaimer: This is a guest post submitted on Techstory by the mentioned authors.All the contents and images in the article have been provided to Techstory by the authors of the article. Techstory is not responsible or liable for any content in this article.)
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This article has been contributed by Simran Setia, Content Manager, LegalRaasta- an online platform for GST Return Filing & GST Registration.
