There have been some fascinating terms bandied about recently. The “before-times”, “remote work”, the “new normal”, the catalyst for “digital transformation” – everything is pointing to change. Especially in the way we work. Maintaining your company culture might have not been your top priority during these wild work-from-home (WFH) transitions, but in reality it is absolutely crucial for these turbulent times and the longer-term.
Why does company culture matter?
Your company’s culture is reflected in the way you communicate, work, and play as a team. When people click with the company’s culture, there’s less turnover and more engagement.
A good company culture can determine whether an employee is happy in their position within a company. It’s what makes them feel like they fit in as individuals with significant contributions to the organization.
So, how do you construct your remote, digital environment while maintaining company culture and morale? There are a few steps:
1. Choose tools that match your goals
When trying to maintain communication, choosing the right tool can be difficult. Consider the slew of chat/messaging apps available for business. A workspace like Microsoft Team is for corporate, and it shows. It has a straightforward UI for team and personal messages and little else. In a similar vein, applications like Slack and Discord offer the same services, but with a friendlier undertone and more user friendly UIs.
There are also other considerations for your choices: pricing, ease of creation and access, and features among them. And believe it or not, whether the platform is gif- or emoji-friendly or not is a strong determination for fostering company culture, which brings us to our next step.
2. Encourage fun channels
For messaging apps, there’s the option to create channels. These are designated spaces within a team server where employees can discuss things unrelated to work.
Think. What do people often talk about by the water cooler?
Do you need a #pets or #wholesome channel to post pictures of cute animals? Would it lighten up the mood to have a #quaranthings channel to talk about anecdotes from isolation? Are there enough jokers in the team for a dedicated memes channel.
3. Play a game together
In place of after-work hangouts and the canceled retreat, try playing a remote game together to break the ice.
Consider a friendly game of Uno while you talk about the weather. Or, the quarantine favorite, Jackbox, offers games by the bundle, all of which have the option of being played remotely.
Alternatively, you can host movie nights where one person shares their screen (and movie picks) to the rest of the team while in chat. The possibilities are endless.
4. Host regular catch-ups
Checking in on what everyone’s doing and how they are is especially vital when trying to maintain a positive workplace culture in remote, WFH set-ups. Strategic meetings are one thing, but setting up a weekly Skype call for a casual conversation with the team is another.
Additionally, you can take the initiative to pair up workers in a buddy system or on a project to foster conversation between them.
Ultimately, the goal of maintaining your company culture is to keep up a strong sense of community alive. One that’s more necessary now that everyone’s in isolation than ever before. Whether you’re a large corporate firm or a smaller, laid back start-up, a strong collaborative culture can help keep you and your employees together during these troubling times.