Prioritising culture is good business - But does it work in a remote setup?

No matter what business you are in or how big of a team you are, a culture where people thrive will lift your business. This is true whether you are running your business as a remote team, or in a more traditional manner with a physical office space. 

For businesses who are used to a more traditional set up, it might be hard to transition and become more remote friendly. Especially when it comes to culture. The tools for communication and production are definitely out there, but how do you work on culture and social aspects? 

There is no one structure that fits all, after all, culture is defined by the people in it, but there are of course methods that can help facilitate the nurturing of a remote culture. Most importantly, the team should all together define what kind of culture they want so they can build this together. 

Tips on how to work on culture in a remote team

Trust and accountability

Letting go of controlling behaviours might be the one most important thing you can do when managing a team. When people feel trusted, most people will want to live up to that. Let the team plan, create projects, execute and feel ownership.

Tune into needs

Make sure to understand what the team needs, and wants so you can provide that. Really listening to this both on an individual level and group level can make the whole difference.

Create a manifesto

Creating a manifesto simply means to define what you believe in and how you “live” as a team. Set values and define what those values mean to create a common foundation, and a guide. Knowing that the rest of the team has the same basic values creates trust, and the force to build together. It is very important that everyone is involved in the creation process of the manifesto. There are techniques for this. Communicate the values internally, externally, make the manifesto visible. 

Make on-boarding count

Hiring new people to an already remote team may not be the easiest, but not impossible. Have documents in place, create a clear structure and process for this. Let someone be a mentor for the first period of time. Welcome the person in front of the whole team, or begin with one on ones - and then move to the whole team. It can be uncomfortable to meet a whole new team at once, even with a screen in between .

Make sure everyone in the team knows each other

Let everyone make clear digital profiles, including skills, knowledge, tasks, “ask me about”, “I can help you with” and more so cross collaborations and finding the support you need becomes easy and enjoyable. Teams that are good at remote work actually have an advantage in building cross collaborations throughout departments. 

Have regular video meetups and online activities

You already have your work meetings online. Add another dimension by having regular after work sessions. You can make use of funny filters, have specific themes, music quizzes, play digital board games and more. Also make sure to have scheduled virtual coffee-breaks, or why not a room that is open all the time so people can jump in for random breaks and hang outs. 

Define channels for hobbies and interests

Having somewhere to goof around and talk about something else than work is important. Define channels where people can chat  share gifs, articles, memes and chat about their weekends. 

Have regular and structured feedback sessions

Feedback is the base for growth. Feedback from management is good, but regular peer to peer feedback is even better. Feedback creates value for an employee. It means being seen and appreciated and helps us develop as human beings. There are ways to do this, and in the beginning, it might be a good idea to grab help from an external facilitator. There should also be a system in place so each employee can keep track of the feedback she receives. 

Check in and check outs 

You can set this up in various different ways so it all depends on what brings value to the team. The idea is to start and finish the day together and be aware of the situation, it can for example be by stating a feeling, by stating a goal, current challenge or task for the day. 

A remote setup is as you can read not a trade off on the culture. The tools, techniques and processes are there so it will be up to you to be brave enough to prioritise it, up to the team to believe. Many successful companies and teams are 100% remote and still has a thriving culture because they prioritised it, actually that may have been what  made them successful. 

If you want support with your remote culture, defining values, creating a manifesto, facilitating your check-ins or feedback sessions, reach out and let me know. That is my jam!