Healthy and strong company culture is vital whether your team is in-person or remote. A positive workplace environment leads to improved communication, increased accountability, increased productivity, higher employee retention, and better outcomes.

A Gallup 2020 analysis found that “developing highly engaged teams results in fewer negative outcomes, more positive outcomes and greater success for your organization.” Additionally, ADP’s Global Survey of Engagement found that individuals that were part of a team were 2.3 times more likely to be fully engaged than those that were not.

While the benefits of a strong culture are well known, it’s easy to think that this matters less with remote teams than it does with in-person teams. However, the reality is that it’s just as important - if not more important - than remote teams have a strong and healthy team culture. And, data suggests that proximity is not required to create a sense of team and a positive working environment.

Creating a strong culture in remote teams isn’t always easy, but being proactive about building one leads to better outcomes. Here are four ways to ensure your remote team has a positive and healthy ethos.

Prioritize Communication

Efficient and respectful communication leads to increased productivity, collaboration, employee satisfaction, and overall success. Communication can be difficult with remote teams, so it’s vital for leaders to prioritize it, establishing systems and procedures that result in good communication.

Offering different channels of communication, such as emails, messaging platforms, video chats, and phone calls can help to keep teams connected. However, it’s a good idea to have clear expectations about when to use each channel.

For example, team updates are sent via email, quick questions can be done through the messaging platform, and brainstorming and collaboration are done during video calls. This will make it easy for team members to feel connected and supported while also ensuring efficient communication.

Many tools are available to make communication easy. Be thoughtful about selecting the tools your team needs to stay connected while providing them with guidelines about how to effectively utilize these tools. Finally, make sure team leaders are accessible and model good communication skills.

Make Meetings Productive and Efficient

It’s easy to get in the habit of not preparing for video chats in the same way that you’d prepare for in-person meetings. However, a key part of building a healthy culture is respecting the time of all members of your team, and poorly planned meetings send the message that you don’t value your team’s time.

Avoid this by being thoughtful about the scheduling and execution of virtual meetings and video chats. Specifically:

• Only include team members that need to be on the call; over-inviting is sometimes easier when you’re scheduling, but take the time to think through who really needs to be in the meeting, only inviting those employees.
• Start and end the meeting on time, resisting the temptation to run over if there are additional items to address.
• Have a well-thought-out agenda for all meetings and stick to it.
• Leave every meeting with clear action items and next steps.

Schedule Informal Catch Ups, Check-ins, and Celebrations

While meetings should be well structured and efficient, it’s also necessary for virtual teams to have informal gatherings. Without the chance to chat at lunch or in the elevator, teams lose the opportunity for casual interactions.

And, according to a Forbes 2020 article, “the reality is that there’s incredible value in our casual office encounters, both from a mental health standpoint and a workplace productivity standpoint.”  While remote teams don’t have the benefit of water coolers and break rooms, leaders should be intentional about scheduling informal interactions.

Here are some ways to effectively do this:

• Schedule a “water cooler” meeting where the entire team comes together on a video call to catch up.
• Start a water cooler Slack Channel to encourage informal communication.
• Celebrate employees with weekly spotlights.
• Come together for birthday celebrations and even send a slice of cake or a treat to team members on their birthday.
• Start a team book club.
• Schedule optional lunch and learn to bring the team together for informal development. For additional engagement, let team members suggest topics for these sessions.
• Consistently check in individually with each team member. This is a chance to address any concerns, show each member that you recognize and value their contribution, and build relationships with all team members.

Unify on Team Vision and Values

Finally, it’s easy for remote employees to forget about the “why” behind their work. When working from home, there are fewer opportunities to see and be reminded of the team’s vision and values.

To avoid this, leaders should work to regularly remind team members about the company’s mission and values. This could be done in video chats, emails, or individual check-ins. The more you can connect all team members to your team’s vision, the more focused and connected they’ll be. Ariel Rosenfeld of 3d Signals suggests storytelling to help share your values: “When operating in a remote mode, managers need to keep repeating the company’s story—its values, vision and mission—and share how every individual is contributing to the success of the company and, more importantly, creating value for its customers.”

There are numerous ways to make sure your team is focused and unified on your organization's vision and values. Leaders that prioritize this will build connected and engaged teams, leading to stronger company culture and better outcomes, whether the employees work remotely or on-site.

Conclusion

While it’s not always easy, leaders can build a healthy company culture with remote teams. Doing so leads to more productive teams, more engaged employees, and better organizational outcomes.

If you’re looking to grow your remote team, Upstack can help. We have a pool of vetted professionals ready to start working with your team. Contact us to learn more or to start the hiring process.

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