7 Tips on Developing a Strong Remote Culture
When you work with a team face to face, day after day, culture tends to happen naturally, or so you are led to believe. If your team is 100% remote or incorporates remote workers, you will need to be even more intentional about developing your culture. Here are seven tips that will help you build your remote team culture.
Build your culture around vision and values
Your team needs to know what the company vision states. Your values explain how you will reach your vision. Values become reality only when leadership is caught living them out daily. It’s up to leadership to continually be speaking, living, and leading according to your team’s values so that that team culture can develop and thrive.
Culture is about HOW you work, not where you work
How do we treat customers? How do we treat each other? Make it evident that clients and team members are valuable. Always have an attitude of gratitude when communicating privately and publicly so that leadership is demonstrating how your team works.
Use tools not only for collaboration but for social interaction
Zoom, Slack, and a myriad of other digital tools make remote work collaborative. These tools can also help your remote team with social interaction. Have a dedicated Slack channel for topics such as the latest Netflix show that’s binge-worthy or one for those team members who are fitness junkies. Help your team build camaraderie and relationships. Once a month host an optional Zoom Happy Hour and engage with team members!
Plan intentional in-person meetings
When you work with a remote team distributed over multiple time zones, states, and cities, you must plan one in-person meeting every year. Plan two to three days for the event. This gives your team time to hang out with one another, play organized and casual games, participate in meetings and brainstorming sessions giving them time to develop relationships. During these in-person events, leadership must take an active role in developing relationships with all team members. Remember, always be living out your vision and values, consistently demonstrating your culture.
In cases of miscommunication, assume the best
We’ve all received a text or email and thought, “Well, that was rude!” When your team is remote, it is crucial to remember that you can’t always hear the tone in an email or text message. When is doubt, assume the best. Don’t jump to conclusions about what you think a team member meant when they sent the message. If you have doubts, questions, or concerns, pick up the phone and call. Have a real conversation so that you can understand what the message was intended to convey.
Repeat your why and tell your story
Make sure everyone knows your company’s “WHY.” Don’t assume they know because they’ve heard or read it once or twice. Repeat it often in conversation, on your website, and in emails and texts. Tell the story of how your company came to be and tell it often. Team members want to know where you came from as much as they care about where you are going.
Set clear expectations and TRUST your team
Setting expectations is exceedingly essential for a remote team. In order to get things done. people need to know what and how to do things. Communicate what each team member is responsible for and offer guidelines for accomplishing things. Processes and manuals need to be readily accessible, and leaders and managers need to have open doors when questions and roadblocks occur. Setting clear expectations leads to the ability to trust your teams. Give team members tools, space, and trust, then enjoy watching them get the work done.
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