With working from home arrangements in full swing during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic regular contact with employees is even more necessary. In this blog post we discuss some tips on how tokeep a remote workforce culture strong.
Organisations worldwide have swiftly gone from hustling office floors with full cubicles, to operating with the majority of their workforce at home. Once the logistics have been confirmed, HR and the leadership teams may feel the need to have ‘a minute silence’ for their workplace culture – but that doesn’t have to be the case.
It is possible to keep company culture strong during uncertain times when some or even all of your employees are working from home.
COVID-19 has changed the way we interact with each other for the foreseeable future, so it makes sense to devise a strategy to virtually ‘rally the troops’, find the heartbeat of the organisation and nurture it to ensure that the employee group remain the united, collaborative, productive and engaged.
For many employees, remote working can be isolating and can cause unnecessary barriers to connect to the organisation’s goals and values.
Without a strong engagement strategy, employees can feel forgotten and disconnected which will ultimately impact the bottom line. On the other hand, some employees thrive remotely and the ability to work in this way is a positive.
The following are some tips to help keep the organisation’s culture strong remotely:
If you are the sort of business that puts your core values and goals on posters in the lunchroom – it may be time to bring these to life as there is no better time to share what makes your business special with the team.
When employees can connect to the ‘why’ behind an organisation, they are reminded how and why it aligns to their own values and motivators and this is likely to translate to productivity and collaboration.
Consider how you would like to reconnect employees to the values and mission of the business.This could be via an email or Skype session – or it may be through an engaging and fun video from the leadership team.
Authenticity in leadership builds connection and there has never been a better time to show passion and purpose.
Remote may be our new normal but it doesn’t have to be a disruptor.
The first step to nurturing and building a successful culture is for the leadership team to look for the positives and embrace change. For some leaders, teamwork is something that you can only do when physically together, however technology is actually more suited to remote teams.
Challenge yourself to see remote working as a new opportunity to connect in unique, interesting ways that engage team members with a multi-sensory approach.
There may be nothing at all normal about the Coronavirus and social distancing, but it is important for the long term viability of businesses that all employees adopt a ‘business as usual’ mindset.
When leaders are carrying the burden of fear and uncertainty, this can transfer to employees.There is no question that every business will be tested over the coming months, however this is exactly why employees need positivity, teamwork and a plan to help navigate the storm.
Connecting with employees in their home environments is what keeps them engaged and involved in the bigger picture. Employers are encouraged to consider their communication strategy and approach to remote meetings and 1 on 1s to allow employees to know what to expect.The key is to retain routines as much as possible.
Consider adopting a virtual ‘face to face’ communication policy where employees can only contact each other via video. When employees can visually connect, rapport builds and the room for misinterpreting words decreases. It may be tempting to hide behind emails, but a quick video chat will go a long way to building positive collaboration with the side benefit of employees being motivated to get out of their pyjamas!
A workplace culture is a precious commodity that requires constant nurturing. Whilst some employers may see the recent work from home requirements as a hurdle to a healthy culture, the uniqueness of the current climate may just be the secret ingredient to success.
Ultimately, culture is not defined by the physical walls that surrounds us, but rather by the walls that we are able to break down across various barriers to bring us together.
Ai Group Members can access the full 'How to keep a remote workforce culture strong' summary with extended tips on keeping your remote workforce culture strong here.
For further assistance please contact us or call the Workplace Advice Line on 1300 55 66 77.
Further working from home resources available:
More Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and resources can also be found at Ai Group'sdedicated webpage. Specific COVID-19 HR Resource Centre and Health & Safety Resource Centre content to assist members can be found here.
Georgina is Senior HR Content Editor – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
