Although technology, namely faster internet bandwidth speeds and sophisticated communication tools, has endowed businesses with greater flexibility – and allows them to continue operating, company culture usually suffers as a result.
A distributed workforce, which refers to teams spread across different locations and time zones, is becoming increasingly common in remote work environments and brings unique challenges and opportunities.
The ability to work remotely keeps employees productive (and better still, employed) but remote teams can’t collaborate or even communicate in the same way as in a conventional workplace. It’s difficult to replicate the built-in sense of community that comes from an office, making it challenging to build company culture in remote settings.
In an effort to combat this, this post explores how to develop company culture with a remote workforce, with a particular focus on remote company culture.
Introduction to Remote Work
Remote work has rapidly evolved from a niche perk to a standard practice for businesses worldwide. As more organizations embrace distributed teams, the benefits are clear: remote workers enjoy greater flexibility, improved work life balance, and companies can tap into a global talent pool unconstrained by physical location. However, this shift also introduces unique challenges, especially when it comes to maintaining a strong company culture. Without the daily face to face interactions of a traditional office, remote teams can struggle with communication, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. Building a strong company culture in a remote work environment is essential for overcoming these common challenges and ensuring that every team member feels connected, engaged, and motivated—no matter where they are in the world.
Why is Building a Company Culture Important?
A strong company culture is the backbone of any successful organization, but its importance is magnified in a remote work setting. When employees are spread across different locations and time zones, a well-defined company culture acts as the glue that holds the team together. It fosters employee engagement, boosts job satisfaction, and helps team members feel part of something bigger than themselves, despite the physical distance. In remote teams, a strong company culture bridges gaps, builds trust, and encourages collaboration, making it easier for everyone to stay aligned with the company’s mission and values. Prioritizing company culture not only enhances employee retention and productivity but also creates a positive work environment where remote workers can thrive.
Building a Distributed Team
Successfully building a distributed team starts with establishing clear and effective communication channels. Investing in digital communication platforms—such as instant messaging, project management tools, and video conferencing—ensures that remote workers can easily collaborate and stay on the same page. Tools like Slack channels, Microsoft Teams, and other collaboration tools help streamline workflows and keep everyone connected, regardless of their physical location. In addition to robust communication, regular team building activities are vital for nurturing relationships and fostering a sense of community. Virtual team building activities, such as online games, collaborative workshops, or themed challenges, can break down barriers and help team members bond. By combining the right technology with intentional team building, organizations can create a distributed team that is both productive and closely connected.
Company Values
Company values are the building blocks of a strong company culture, especially in a remote work environment. These core values guide decision-making, shape communication styles, and set expectations for behavior across the entire company. For distributed teams, it’s crucial to clearly define and communicate company values from the outset. This can be achieved through onboarding materials, regular team meetings, and visible reminders in digital workspaces. Embedding company values into daily operations—such as recognizing employees who exemplify these values or aligning performance reviews with them—helps ensure that every team member, regardless of location, feels a shared sense of purpose. By making company values a central part of remote work culture, organizations can unite their teams and drive a strong company culture that stands the test of distance.
Why is building a company culture is important
A company’s culture lies at its heart; it’s in its DNA. It’s born from a company’s values, goals, and beliefs, serving as the foundation of culture, and can then be seen in the regard managers hold their staff (and vice-versa), how employees treat each other, and the company’s attitude towards its customers or clients.
Company culture is important because it plays a significant role in a business’ long-term success. The company’s core values guide behavior and decision-making throughout the organization. Companies with healthy cultures have happier, motivated, and more productive employees and consequently, tadays off, positive culture, ve lower rates of staff turnover. A strong culture also leads to higher employee satisfaction and improved employee productivity. Sure, an employee might be offered a position elsewhere that pays more or offers more annual leave – but will they get along with their colleagues as well as before? Will they derive as much meaning and purpose from their work?
When a company has a thriving culture, its employees are less willing to take the risk on potentially greener pastures when they’re stimulated and appreciated where they are.
How to develop a positive culture when your staff is working remotely
Even though a distributed team misses out on the banter, jokes, and spontaneous human interactions that an office naturally provides, remote work also lacks face to face interaction, casual conversations, and the ability to read body language, all of which are important for building trust and understanding. Additionally, managing teams across remote locations, multiple time zones, and cultural differences presents unique challenges for maintaining a cohesive company culture.
Set regular meetings
Schedule meetings at the same time each week. Not only will your employees benefit from the sense of community a meeting brings, but the routine helps maintain a healthy work life balance while they’re working from home. Incorporating regular video calls is an effective way to maintain connection and facilitate communication. It’s also important to set clear working hours and offer flexible hours to accommodate different needs and support effective team collaboration. If you need to hold several meetings, one for team leaders, particular departments, etc., make sure those are scheduled for the same time each week.
Also, as well as weekly meetings, it could be a good idea to hold monthly ‘town hall’ style meetings where staff can offer their opinions and share their challenges.
Organize Fun, Non-Work Events
For remote workers, fun, non-work events are more than just a break from routine—they’re a vital way to build camaraderie and strengthen relationships among team members. Consider hosting virtual happy hours, online escape rooms, or themed trivia nights to bring everyone together in a relaxed setting. For distributed teams with members in different locations, rotating the responsibility for planning these events can help ensure everyone’s interests are represented and keep things fresh. These shared experiences foster a sense of belonging and help remote workers connect on a personal level, making it easier to collaborate and support each other in their day-to-day work.
Schedule Time for One-on-Ones
Regular one-on-one meetings are a cornerstone of effective remote work management. Using video conferencing tools or other digital communication platforms, managers can create a private space for team members to discuss their progress, share feedback, and talk about their professional development. These meetings are an opportunity to address challenges, celebrate achievements, and set clear goals, all while building trust and rapport. To get the most out of one-on-ones, encourage open dialogue, actively listen, and tailor the conversation to each remote employee’s needs. By prioritizing these personal check-ins, organizations can ensure that every team member feels supported, valued, and connected—no matter where they’re working from.
Organise fun, non-work events
Try your best to replicate the social aspect of a conventional work environment by organising regular virtual events. This could include lunches (where the company arranges for food to be delivered to everyone by a certain time), quizzes, post-work drinks, small birthday celebrations, etc. It provides a slice of normalcy and allows staff to enjoy each other’s company in a non-work capacity, helping to maintain a healthy separation between work and personal life.
Schedule time for one on ones
Pencil in a one-on-one with each of your employees once a week. They’ll allow you to determine how each person on your team is doing, with less chance of them putting on a brave face – as is the temptation in meetings with their colleagues. You can reassure them these are confidential conversations so they can open up as much as they’re comfortable with. One-on-ones also help foster psychological safety, making employees feel secure to share their thoughts and concerns without fear of negative repercussions.
By finding out if and how they’re struggling, you can come up with ways to best support them. Sometimes, small changes, such as better organising their home workspace, can make all the difference to their state of mind and overall wellbeing. Prioritizing well being and mental health in these conversations is essential for supporting your team, especially in challenging times.
On a similar note, if you need to communicate something important and/or sensitive arrange to have a conversation about it rather than typing out a message. This ensures the communication is delivered and received as intended and nothing is lost in translation. Continuous feedback and constructive feedback during one-on-ones are crucial for maintaining engagement, building trust, and supporting employee growth.
Encourage days off
Working at home can blur the lines between work and leisure time, so stress the importance of taking annual leave. This is especially important for the remote employee, who may find it harder to separate work from personal life. More importantly, create a clear demarcation for when someone is working and when they’re off to prevent an always-on culture from developing; establish a rule that employees who are off are unavailable and not to be contacted. A great way of making sure everyone is aware of who’s off on any given is with a centralised staff holiday planner. Everyone can have access to the calendar to see who’s unavailable that day – as well as to book their own time off. Additionally, use employee surveys and key performance indicators to monitor time off, engagement, and reduce absence and support overall well-being, ensuring that both in-office and remote employees are supported.
Similarly, if an employee who’s supposed to be on holiday appears to be engaging in work-related activities – gently remind them they’re not working that day.
Celebrate wins and express public appreciation
Make a special effort to celebrate wins for the company, such as landing a big contract or finishing a significant project. Better still, pair these wins with celebratory virtual events such as a lunch or drinks so everyone can share in the success and feel they’re a part of it. Also, be sure to publicly recognise individual contributions and successes. The leadership team and HR leaders play a crucial role in recognizing achievements and fostering motivation across the organization. This will make your employees feel ‘seen’ and that their hard work is noticed. This is a great way to motivate staff when motivation is harder to come by and reminds them of why they choose to work for the company, when they may have started to forget.
Celebrating wins is especially important for remote employees, fully remote teams, and software developers working from different locations, as it helps them feel connected and valued despite the distance. Using digital tools to facilitate recognition and gather valuable insights on team engagement ensures that everyone, regardless of location, is included in the celebration and feedback process.
These practices not only boost morale but also contribute to career progression, help build a strong culture, and are essential for achieving a great company culture.
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