Whether you transitioned to a remote-work environment because of the COVID-19 pandemic or you have been in the digital space for a long time, a strong culture is essential to your bottom line. For starters, it helps employees develop healthy relationships with one another, makes them to want to show up for work, and improves productivity.
However, remote employees might not place much emphasis on corporate culture. Because they
are not working in their employer’s office, they may not even understand how culture affects the organization as a whole. But it’s important that they do understand it.
Following are four tips to help employees recognize the value of a positive remote-work culture.
1. Define the elements of a strong remote-work culture
While the specifics vary by employer, below are some fundamentals of a healthy remote-work culture.
- Promote open communication.
- Provide clear expectations.
- Offer opportunities for collaboration.
- Lead by example.
- Expect accountability.
- Encourage an Inclusive and supportive workplace.
- Develop trust, fairness and respect between employees and management.
- Demonstrate flexibility when needed.
- Recognize employee achievement.
- Increase employee work commitment.
- Align values of employees and employer.
2. Refine your remote onboarding practices
To reduce new-hire turnover, you will need to make a great impression right off the bat. And remote onboarding is your chance to do just that.
The key is to set up your remote new hires for success from day one. This means solidifying your onboarding procedures and leveraging modern technology to accelerate and simplify the process.
Go beyond the onboarding norms by highlighting aspects of your remote-work culture. For example:
- Give employees a digital employee handbook that illustrates your culture.
- Use reliable digital tools to encourage a collaborative work environment.
- Make regular check-ins (e.g., via video conferencing) a priority from the start.
- Promote professional development from early on.
- Display your flexibility by having benefits for parents or caregivers who work from home or having flexible work hours.
3. Explain the benefits of maintaining a strong remote-work culture
Demonstrate how a strong remote-work culture helps decrease employee isolation and increase engagement and productivity. This will help your remote employees see that they will not be left adrift while working from home.
In addition, illustrate how a thriving remote-work culture contributes to your employer brand, from both external and internal perspectives.
4. Keep culture in mind when hiring
At the end of the day, whether you have a healthy remote-work culture or a toxic one comes down to the people you hire. After all, their conduct is largely what will determine the state of your culture. For instance, if disrespectful behavior permeates your culture, your remote employees may be disrespectful to your customers. This will cause your customer retention rate to plummet.
So, when hiring for remote positions, make sure you choose people who are likely to best represent your company’s core values.