Three tips for building a strong company culture remotely

It's good news for NZ employers

BY Jess Bell 26 Aug 2021

More than two-thirds of New Zealand workers say their company culture has improved as a result of the pandemic, according to new research.

The survey of 369 employees by Frog Recruitment highlights the strong desire for flexibility and that in a time of remote working, culture doesn’t have to suffer. Of the respondents, 77% said increased remote working options have changed the culture of their organisation - for the better - since March last year.

Shannon Barlow, Frog Recruitment’s managing director said COVID-19 has forced businesses to rethink how to maintain the organisation’s culture while employees cannot be in the same building.

“Company culture is the vital hum of your organisation – it’s the what, why, who and how of your business,” she told HRD. “The other W is ‘where’ and when this is absent, how do you maintain the shared experiences of your workforce while working apart?

“Maintaining a solid company culture during the lockdowns helped organisations keep their workforce engaged, which went a long way to overcome challenges the pandemic presented and those that did, were more likely to have achieved business success. A savvy employer knows that a well-defined and an embraced company culture can help them recruit and retain the best talent for their business. It can also help to prevent any potential performance problems amongst the team.

“Conversely, a weak virtual culture can cause employees who work remotely to feel less connected to their colleagues. In those cases, we have seen employees’ work performances suffer.”

Losing a strong sense of culture is one of the biggest worries for business leaders around hybrid or remote working in the future. It’s the reason some people don’t believe hybrid working will be successful long term. But there are a number of ways organisations can foster a resilient culture virtually.

Barlow said there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to culture. Each organisation will have different needs based on the diversity of their employees. But these three tips are a great place to start.

Three tips to building a strong company culture virtually

Take time to understand what makes each team member tick. Everyone has their own challenges working from home and checking in with each person builds a culture of understanding and trust.
Let everyone in your team know they matter to you and the company, and show it. It could be a gesture such as a small gift for their desk at home that connects them with their remote colleagues – a plant to green-up their desk space, some lovely stationery or ear pods. Create a company playlist of favourite tunes with the whole team’s input, for people to listen to while they work. Share any positive feedback you receive with your remote workforce, and not just at review time. And create virtual events or gatherings so your team can stay connected outside of work. These could be a coffee over Zoom or the always popular quiz night.
As a manager, it’s important that you always act with intention so that everyone in your business knows how to communicate with each other to create the culture your company is striving for. For those working remotely, it’s important that they receive regular feedback.