How To Drive Culture At Work, Remotely.
Hello,
We’re halfway through the year, with another edition of Your Workplace Culture Guide! This month, we are talking Culture! In particular, how to create and maintain a positive culture in a remote environment.
An easy way to describe culture is to think of it as the "personality" of the company. Just like how your personality influences how you interact with others and how you even respond to situations, a company's culture shapes how its employees work together, make work decisions, and especially how they feel about their workplace. Like they say, when you are in Rome, act like the Romans. Culture is the values and behaviours that each employee portrays or embodies in a workplace.
Creating and maintaining a work culture is more challenging, but important to do, in a fully remote environment. The saying "out of sight is out of mind" often applies in this case, making it harder to instil and sustain the company's culture. Understanding that it will require deliberate efforts from the leadership and employees in the company is crucial.
First of all, leaders play an essential role in setting the tone and shaping the everyday behaviours that define the workplace. They (should) have a clear vision of the values and behaviours they want to cultivate and those they don’t. Therefore, the first step is for leaders to identify and clearly articulate the desired culture in a Culture Creedbook. This way, there is a consistent and clear introduction to the company’s values and expectations, ensuring that even in a remote system, every employee feels connected to, and aligned with the company culture.
When employees see their leaders consistently demonstrating these values, they are more likely to align with these practices - “People mirror their leaders”. From my experience working remotely with my boss, I quickly learned that she values getting things done ASAP. She would tag me in her Slack sum-ups and remind me during stand-up calls if tasks were still pending. Initially, this was challenging because I was used to an "I'll do it when it’s convenient" approach for non-urgent tasks. However, her consistent reinforcement of our value - ‘Move and make changes quickly’ - brought me up to speed. This shows how effective leadership can maintain workplace culture, even remotely.
Secondly, as an employee, how do you contribute to maintaining a positive work culture even in a remote system?
Live the values daily.
Consciously embody your company’s core values in your behaviours and actions.
Also, to make work seamless in remote seeings;
Communicate REGULARLY with colleagues and managers through video conferencing, phone calls, or instant messaging.
Be responsive and reliable in their work, meeting deadlines, and following through on commitments.
Participate in virtual team-building activities like virtual happy hours, or online game sessions.
Stay connected with company news, updates, and values through internal communication channels.
Offer support, feedback, and recognition to colleagues.
By following these practices, both leaders and employees can contribute to a strong, inclusive, and supportive remote work culture.
Remember, a strong work culture starts with and is maintained by each one of us.
As always, here are our job openings in June.
Until July, happy cultur-ing.
Hikmah
with
Your Workplace Culture Guide