Keeping your company culture alive while working virtually
It’s likely that you’ve spent a number of years building up a company culture of trust, honesty, open communications, and fun. The last thing you want to happen is for this to become lost in the remote working world we find ourselves living in. Having a constant workplace to go to can lead us to take certain aspects of work for granted. With many of us now working remotely full-time and not being able to see people every day, keeping your company culture alive can be a challenge – but it’s not an impossible task, and so we’ve put together our best ideas to help.
Routine is key
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of maintaining routine but doing so will help make the transition to remote working a little easier. Try to mimic your usual workplace as much as possible by sticking to company traditions. For example, if you’d usually have a Monday morning meeting, keep that in the diary as a video call instead. Welcome new starters and complete the onboarding process as you normally would and hold after-work drinks on a Friday via video chat for everyone to wind down.
Establish a sense of community
Regardless of whether you’re seeing people face-to-face or online, community is essential in maintaining company culture. Make use of messaging applications like Slack in order to start different conversations within the organisation such as break the ice, company updates, celebrate success, family life, etc. These are great ways to start conversations about things you might not usually talk about but create a sense of inclusion and belonging.
Be flexible and acknowledge individual circumstances
Caregivers, in particular, may be going through a hard time trying to adjust to these unprecedented circumstances, whilst balancing care for their children and/or older relatives, as well as work. Acknowledge this by scheduling regular breaks or offering flexible hours that work to different people’s circumstances.
Recognise hard work and achievements
When team members are working remotely, they may feel overwhelmed, undervalued, and overlooked at times. Recognising accomplishments and celebrating the good times are absolutely key. Have fun with it with a ‘shout out’ on internal messaging systems or maybe even create internal staff awards to recognise those who have gone above and beyond. People will enjoy the positivity and will feel valued and appreciated too.
Prioritise feedback
You can build a better picture of your culture remotely with feedback. Have an open Q&A session with your leadership team and schedule one-to-ones with individual team members specifically to listen to their views or any concerns. Send out anonymous custom surveys to allow everyone to participate and voice how they’re getting on or suggest any improvements.
Promote wellness and self-care
Many companies were offering wellness programs for their employees prior to lockdown and these don’t have to stop. Encourage your wellness providers to offer online sessions if they aren’t already. There are also a number of free online wellness classes including meditation, yoga, and other fitness classes which you can sign up to. Outside of this, encourage team members to take care of themselves and to reach out if they’re not feeling okay. Schedule specific non-work-related breaks to relieve any work or home-related stress.
Keep learning and growing
Just because our working life has significantly changed, this doesn’t mean we have to put things on hold. In fact, we should be pushing forward more now than ever. Learning and developing new skills which the business might need to utilise in the future is a great way to continue career growth and keep your business on track. Plus, it gives your team members a focus and something to work towards.
Have fun
Now is the time to encourage everyone to be creative, innovative, and have fun. Launch small competitions, play games, show off your pets on video calls, ask for new ideas, and have virtual happy hours to keep the fun going and your workers as relaxed as possible during this difficult time. This is the perfect opportunity to bring your team together and celebrate getting through this ‘new normal’. Ultimately, this will make your company stronger and ready to face the challenges ahead.
Wherever you may be, we’re here to help grow your business.
Call us on 020 3021 0503, or email info@blueumbrella.co.uk
“Being a great place to work is the difference between being a good company and a great company.”