Founded in 2012, Quartz is a global news organization providing insights that help people navigate topics important to business professionals. Their Quartz at Work edition offers stories and information on becoming a better manager, navigating the workplace, and building careers.
In a recent online workshop, Quartz at Work spoke with remote work experts, including FlexJobs Founder and CEO Sara Sutton, about how companies can build and sustain a healthy company culture when everyone is working remotely. Check out these three takeaways.
1. Be Intentional
In a recent Quartz survey, 37% of respondents reported that their company’s culture improved during the pandemic, and 15% said it got worse.
According to Sutton, “Culture happens no matter what, whether you’re conscientious about it or not.” Business leaders can choose to deliberately create and foster company culture, or just let it happen—which can easily lead to low morale and other workplace issues.
For companies used to working in the office, Sutton advises taking what worked in an office and figuring out how to translate that to the remote workplace. To help bring back some of that “water cooler” environment that can be so integral to relationship building and informal work connections, she suggests implementing virtual team-building activities, like trivia nights or coffee breaks.
To create your company’s unique culture, Sutton says it’s important to define the heart of the company, and how you run your business when people aren’t looking. What’s core to your value system? When business leaders focus on viewing people as whole people, having heart, and practicing extra grace (especially during tough times), the culture will fall in line.
2. Make It Transparent
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Phil Burgess, Chief People and Operating Officer at branding agency C Space, talks about the importance of building a transparent culture that reflects the company’s values. When his company underwent a culture audit pre-pandemic, they found they lacked some of the aspects of their culture they wanted to emphasize.
Defining those three key values in terms of how they impacted employees made all the difference:
- I Got This: Accountability
- Show the Love: Celebrating successes
- Only Accept Awesome: Avoiding complacency
Burgess explains that when everyone moved to remote work during the pandemic, the culture began to falter a bit. Falling back on the values employees were already familiar with, encouraging staff to take care of themselves, and talking about challenges people are facing got them back on track. As a result, 75% of C Space employees report seeing positive changes in colleagues, and 70% feel the culture has improved.
3. Actively Manage Culture
Quartz’s Deputy Membership Editor, Jackie Bischof, explains that leaders of remote teams should spend nearly as much time setting up team structure and culture as they do on other work. Strong virtual teams embrace everyone’s differences and perspectives but, says Bischof, that can only happen when managers are purposely building trust and establishing a sense of purpose for their teams.
In a remote work environment, and especially during the challenges of the pandemic, Bischof emphasizes that leaders need to really understand what each team member needs. Remote work is not a one-size-fits-all arrangement, and everyone has their own roadblocks. Talking to each team member about their unique situation builds a culture of trust and understanding.
Make Culture a Priority
There’s no doubt that creating a successful remote company culture can be challenging, but it’s well worth the effort. By intentionally building a company culture, being transparent about your values, and taking an active role in culture management, you’ll be giving your remote team the tools they need to find meaning and success in their work.
FlexJobs has been a leader in remote work for over 13 years, and we’ve been consistently recognized for our company culture. If you’re looking for advice and tips on remote work management, get in touch with us today.
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