Approximately 88% of job seekers say workplace culture has a relative importance on whether they even apply at a business. A total of 46% say workplace culture is very important. If an employee doesn’t like their company’s culture, they are 24% more likely to quit.
It’s human nature to feel happier and more engaged when you fit in with an organization’s culture. As project managers and business owners, creating a strong organizational culture is an important way to attract and retrain the right kind of candidates.
Unfortunately, creating a remote workplace culture can be challenging because of the nature of remote work. You can’t rely on serendipity and informal chats over the water cooler.
Worse still, remote workers tend to be more lonely than in-person employees. In one 2019 study, full-time telework increased loneliness levels by 67% over in-office work. The pandemic merely reaffirmed this study and showed working remotely can make people feel isolated.
Because of this, it’s important to build a good remote work culture. To do so, there are a few simple things your organization can do.
Why is a Strong Remote Workplace Culture Important?
A strong remote workplace culture matters because it helps you retain workers, improve employee morale, encourage team collaboration, attract the right applicants, encourage a feeling of belonging, and build trust. Basically, a strong work culture allows you to build a more productive, profitable team.
You don’t have to already have a strong company culture in order to build a remote culture. Even if your company culture is a mess right now, you can take steps to boost your remote company culture. If your company already has a great culture, there are also things you can do to make it even better.
Creating a Remote Company Culture that Stands the Test of Time
Whether you want to create a company culture from scratch or simply need ideas for improving your remote team culture, there are a few key steps you can use.
1. Make Socialization Spaces
In an office, workers can congregate around coffee pots, water coolers, and break rooms. When everyone works remotely, there are fewer opportunities for getting together. To counteract this effect, you have to create socialization spaces online.
Fortunately, there are a few ways you can do this. You can create channels on Slack about different hobbies and interests. Another option is to set up weekly group chats for virtual coffee hours and other activities.
2. Be Intentional
You can’t rely on mentors to just step up and welcome new team members to your company. When your team operates remotely, every aspect of your company’s culture needs to be intentional. From choosing what your culture is to mentoring, you need to deliberately choose the traits and relationships you want your team to have.
- What processes or platforms do workers need to communicate?
- Who is in charge of mentoring new team members?
- Where do remote workers go to relax and informally chat with their co-workers?
- What qualities should your team members strive for?
- What methods will you use to help team members build relationships?
- How will you teach employees about your company culture during the onboarding process?
3. Use a Time Tracker
When you use eBillity’s Time Tracker, you can do more than just simplify your scheduling process and boost productivity. Time trackers help to simplify communication, so everyone knows exactly what they are doing and when their project will be due. Because the time tracker can be used remotely, workers can log in from wherever they happen to be in the world.
The scheduling features also make it easier to plan for training, remote coffee hours, and mentoring sessions. Plus, this feature can also help you with setting clear expectations and goals.
4. Retrain Team Leaders and Employees
If your team leaders are used to an in-person environment, retrain them on remote management techniques. For example, leaders should all be trained to ask team members about their needs before listening and acting. In a remote environment, this ask-listen-act process has to be done deliberately, so team members have a chance to speak up if they need extra help.
The Best Tools for a Good Remote Work Culture
Building a remote workplace culture is about more than investing in a set of online tools. At the same time, the tools you use can really make life easier for your team and the development of your organization’s culture. If you need some help working remotely, these tools can help.
Slack
Slack is one of the best ways to encourage socialization among your team members. You can make channels for weekly group chats, specific hobbies, or any other topic you want.
Time Tracker by eBillity
Whether you want to make a decision matrix, build a schedule, or plan for team happy hours, time trackers can help. Plus, Time Tracker can help you create invoices, manage payroll, and approve time-off requests.
Tettra
With a remote company culture, you have to be deliberate about sharing your company’s vision, norms, mentoring opportunities, and policies. Tettra allows you to compile all of your company’s information in one place. Then, you can give all of your team members access to a repository of organizational knowledge.
Zoom or Google Hangouts
Whether you want to create a virtual water cooler or an after-work happy hour, Zoom and Google Hangouts are both great options. These video chat options can be used for training programs or to offer fun classes for team members to do after work. You can use video chat for an endless list of classes, coffee hours, painting sessions, or other team-building ideas.
Start Building a Good Remote Workplace Culture Now
If you want to improve your team’s productivity and profitability, you need a strong remote workplace culture. The right tools can make this goal a little easier. To learn more about Time Tracker’s features, sign up for a free 14-day trial today!
