The pandemic has driven most organisations around the world into remote working. Working from home, or working from anywhere, has proven to be effective at increasing productivity. Many people find remote working more convenient as it avoids incremental costs on outside meals, car fuel, or commuting costs, saves time spent on hours of travel, and helps to balance time for personal and family life.
However, remote working can also entail certain consequences that may have an adverse effect on the organisation. One of these potential adverse effects includes the impact on the company’s culture. Being away from everyone else in the company might derail an organisation’s efforts of cultivating the desired culture. How can an organisation maintain its culture even while employees are remotely working? Here are 5 tips:
Remind them of your company’s vision and goals.
Constantly aligning your organisations purposes and what you want your team to achieve will keep them on the right track. Being determined to reach your goals despite challenging situations will convey the organisation’s resilience and perseverance. This way, your employees will absorb the same enthusiasm and diligence, ultimately advancing towards the organisation’s success.
Foster trust in your employees.
Making your team members feel that you trust them while they work remotely will motivate them to contribute even more to your organisation. More importantly, they will feel that the company’s culture prioritises and supports the well-being of their employees. The feeling of being trusted and empowered will make employees go the extra mile in their efforts for the company.
Reiterate your culture even from afar.
Conducting regular catch-up sessions discussing non-work topics will help break down any social barriers preventing more natural communication. This may remind them of pre-pandemic interactions. Virtual coffee or beer sessions at least once a week, as well as online technical or special knowledge training, etc will help gain traction for team engagement. Thus nurturing work relationships and rapport, resulting in better collaborations. Engagements done online can be as effective as face-to-face.
Take care of their mental health.
Remote work can potentially impact mental health, thus it is important that employees’ mental health is given top priority. Providing resources for 24/7 online mental health therapists or psychiatrists, online sources of motivational readings on mental wellness, and engaging actively through 1-on-1 conversations will help to inspire a better state of mental health. Using options such as bots where employees are asked how they are doing mentally – as well as physically – will help to track their wellness daily. When employees feel their mental well-being is important, they will be primed for better performance
Offer flexibilities that remote working affords.
Flexibility is one of the best features of remote working. This allows the employee a balance of time for work and personal while at home. Productivity will increase, as the transition from work to personal and back becomes fluid. Thus, the employee can switch easily, as well as manage their time between what is urgent between work and personal matters. Supporting this flexibility, especially while we are getting back to the “new normal”, will further enhance general well-being and cultivate the desired culture of openness and adaptability.
Team Focus Plus can help you in setting up your company to create and maintain its culture even while employees are working remotely. Send them a message today to learn more.
