Top tips to promote company culture for remote teams

Remote work is on the rise. A working style that allows professionals to work outside of a traditional office environment, the idea behind this employment trend is that work does not need to be done in a specific place in order to be executed successfully.

Here’s the proof:

• Organisations that embrace remote working will increase retention rates by 10%, according to Gartner research.
• A 2017 study by IT solutions company Softchoice revealed that 74% of workers surveyed said they would leave their job were they given the option to work remotely.
• A Workforce Futures report found that 83% of employees do not need an office to be productive.
• According to Silicon Republic, remote working will rival fixed office locations by 2025.
• In 2016, Dell announced that it planned to expand its remote work initiatives, with $12 million in annual savings from reduced office space costs acting as an incentive.
• Two thirds of respondents in a survey conducted by Polycom Inc noted that they were more productive working remotely than they were when they worked in a traditional office.

The benefits of remote working for employees and employers are obvious. From greater flexibility and renewed passion for their jobs to greater productivity and cost savings. But when most of your workforce is outside of the office, how does this affect the company culture? And communication between distributed teams can also prove a challenge. We’ve rounded up a few tips to help you ensure that the remote working trend doesn’t have a negative impact on your company culture.

Make communication easy: All team communication channels must be clear and open at all time. It’s important to create an environment where everyone is comfortable contributing their thoughts and opinions, even though they’re not in the same room. It is also critical to have set guidelines around which communication channels are to be used for which tasks – casual conversations can be had via instant messaging platforms while more formal communication should be conducted over email.

Build smaller communities: Remote working is great but your employees can sometimes feel isolated. One way to prevent employees from feeling out on their own, is to ensure that people who are working in the same area have their own community or subgroup and encourage them to meet up and get to know each other.

Promote culture through training: Even though your team aren’t in the office doesn’t mean that you can forget about training. Unify employees from different teams and across different locations by providing well organised, engaging training that gives remote teammates the chance to work together.

Overcome the challenges of team building when most of your team works remotely can be hard work but the benefits of doing so speak for themselves. If you’re keen to learn more about all things digital transformation, mobility and business strategy, our monthly newsletter is the resource you need. Subscribe below.