Working remotely is becoming very popular today. But one of the most significant challenges that come with it is creating a good organizational culture. If you can't establish it from the start, you can be sure problems are going to arise. The working environment can become stilted, employees less productive, and business owners can end up losing money.
So how do you create a good culture with remote teams?
Something important to realize is that you can't expect that everything that works in your brick and mortar office is going to translate to remote employees easily. You can work to resolve a lot of potential issues from the get-go by understanding this and being proactive from the start.
We've compiled a list of some best practices your company can put in place to help build a thriving culture for your remote employees.
Open Communication
When building any kind of company culture it's important to put a big focus on communication. In a virtual environment, it is very easy for miscommunications to occur. Small issues that could be solved in seconds can suddenly become big problems that end up derailing projects.
You want to avoid that by encouraging lots of communication at all times. Invest in productivity and communication tools to help. Trello and Slack are examples, both are cloud-based tools that are easy to set up and frequently used by remote teams. You should encourage team members to use these tools to help them in communication and collaboration.
Encouraging Teamwork
Working in a remote team can often hurt teamwork efforts. You can't just pop over to your co-worker's desk for a brainstorming session. But, that doesn't mean that teamwork is a pipe dream. Managers should work to encourage it as much as possible.
You can start by creating a culture where your remote employees function as a team. Help them understand they aren't competing against each other, and a win for one is a win for all. Build a positive and team focused atmosphere that will help employees forge strong positive relationships, both in and out of the office.
Meeting Offline
Our virtual world makes connecting online more accessible than ever. But, there are still few things that can replace true in-person connections. So, it's a good idea to consider facilitating these throughout the year.
One simple solution is having teams meet during the year for a few days in the office. Trello is one company that brings remote teams to the office. Some organizations, such as Buffer, will go as far as shutting the office down for a week for a retreat where everyone in the company can hang out and forge connections.
Offering Praise
Both in and out of the office, employees love to know when they've done an excellent job. While it's easy to make a positive passing comment to someone in the break room, it takes a bit more effort to highlight a job well done to remote team members.
Don't fall into this trap. Take the time to connect with employees, no matter where they are in the world, and let them know when they've done great work. Also, work on fostering this among team members as well, create a culture where great work is always celebrated.
Personalized Management
Just because part of your team isn't in the office, it doesn't mean you shouldn't work to forge connections with employees on a one to one basis. You can try one of many quizzes and assessment tools to understand not only own strengths and weaknesses but those of your employees too.
Managers should work on understanding the specific needs of employees and try to meet with them. For example, knowing which employees love having weekly Skype check-ins or which are happy to connect via chat during the day can make building relationships much easier.
These small efforts into building a positive remote culture can make a big difference with employees over the long run.
Remote workers are everywhere, and Colorado is no exception. If any of your team members are living and working here, even remotely, you'll need Colorado workers' comp insurance.
If you'd like to find out more information on getting the right Colorado workers' compensation insurance for your remote team, get a quote with Cake today.
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