Managing Company Culture In A Remote-Only Startup

Is it possible to set and advance company culture in a remote-only startup?

Yes, managing the attitudes and behaviors of your staff has little to do with where their work location. You can manage company culture just as well with all remote staff as with all your team working under the same roof!

However, fostering company culture in a remote workplace is a different challenge from doing so in the workplace. For example, scheduling an impromptu video conference meeting takes more effort than just walking out to the floor and announcing to everyone there’s a meeting in the boardroom in 5 minutes.

However, tackling the need for improvements or changes in worker behavior,, is no less challenging in person than via a Zoom call. It may be easier to deliver the unwelcome news that change is needed via video as you’re not being eyeballed nearby.

Only 16% of companies are fully remote, meaning the vast majority of organizational culture issues arise from hybrid or in-office work arrangements.

Furthermore, according to Gallup’s 2021 State of the Global Workplace report, only 20% of employees are actively engaged in their work.

Therefore remote work may be a factor in a drop in communication, but it is unlikely to be the only reason there is a lack of company cohesion. There are plenty of toxic workspaces, so embrace remote work, as it can be the answer to getting everyone in your business on the same page!

The Value of Remote Work

Harvard Business Review examined a study where participants at a Chinese call center were allowed to work from home for nine months. The study concluded that their remote employees were happier, more productive, and less likely to quit than in-office workers.

Global Workplace Analytics’ Agile Work study found remote work:

• Saves employers money
• Reduces unscheduled absences
• Improves employee satisfaction
• Reduces unimportant meetings
• Greatly expands skills and talent
• Increases teamwork and collaboration

While these benefits are impressive, employers must encourage team communication to see them come into effect. If your culture could use some improvement, read on.

Improving Remote Start-Up Company Culture

Maximizing cohesion and worker satisfaction will require acknowledging what to improve on at work. Starting out as your business means to carry on requires clear and concise direction.

1. Live Your Company’s Values

Employers don’t always know their company culture is not as it should be.

The warning signs may not be evident until productivity takes a dive. It’s feasible for owners and senior managers keen to attract long-term hires to oversell their company environment and togetherness.

When this happens, management loses touch with staff sentiment. Your company mission and vision can be revisited, rewritten, and communicated with staff at any time.

Take ownership of your company culture and regularly reiterate the reasoning for your company values which should include diversity and inclusion.

2. Collaboration

Support bottom-up collaboration, i.e., all staff gets a say in what values make the business special and meaningful to them. While it’s great to end up with a list of values, remote teams must document what they get from the business beyond their salary.

Distributed team means relying more on written communication due to little face-to-face time.

Your culture document should be clear, concise, and articulate changes made to the company. It should state your expectations, discuss how you’ll evaluate and assess your team, and declare how you’ll measure performance. Refer to this document and constantly reassess it.

3. Onboarding Remote Staff

A challenge for remote teams is a lack of everyday familiarity. There is less small talk and light banter. Go further with your onboarding to personalize the staff introductions. The welcome email can include some light humor and sharing of personal preferences, e.g., likes, dislikes, etc.

Plus, host social video team meetings with the business paying for each worker’s drinks and snacks. If your team can not meet in person, you can create almost the same ambiance with online events. Introducing a new team member can be a fun experience.

Being aware that communication is limited in remote teams will make the need for these meetings more apparent. Not only will these brief introductions help new team members feel more comfortable, but they’ll also establish familiarity and company-wide team bonding.

4. Encourage Feedback

Employees are afraid to speak up because they don’t think their opinion will be heard or fear it may backfire. However, if their employers encourage feedback, they’re more likely to give it. At the same time, employers can’t just praise the loud extroverts or force introverts to contribute.

Startup owners can encourage participation from all employees by putting the more opinionated speakers in a note-taking role because it encourages them to listen. A casual, laid-back meeting approach will help quieter employees become more open and transparent.

5. Set Expectations

Specific communication methods, like email, are meant for professional communication, whereas Zoom and Slack are typically assigned for casual conversations. That doesn’t have to be how you separate communication channels, but you’ll still need a space for both.

Your employees will talk about their days in a regular office setting and indulge in light gossip. If you put rules in place that discuss tools for collaborating and communicating, your team members can create their own social culture that inspires teamwork.

6. Measure Engagement

Startup owners can’t create a collaborative environment and take their hands off the steering wheel. You have to take the time to monitor and measure engagement every quarter. By using anonymous surveys, you’ll have an easier time acknowledging the team’s overall sentiments.

Don’t focus on work-related topics in your survey. Asking about general happiness and mood encourages openness and can alleviate feelings of isolation. Plus, your employees will feel more connected to you and your business because they’ll feel you care about them.

Summary

Startups already have a lot going for them in the employee engagement department, which makes developing a solid company culture a less intimidating endeavor for business owners.

At the same time, startups have to overcome challenges with distance, like communication and consistency. It may be hard for startup owners to keep their employees engaged without a document describing their company values and follow-through.

If startup owners can live their company values, they’ll attract more top talent and increase trust throughout their business. When trust is established, employees will be happy to speak up about their grievances, befriend their co-workers, and accept feedback.

To ensure your employee engagement strategy is working, hand out anonymous questionnaire surveys about individual happiness and motivation. With this data, your organization can adjust its strategy or continue fostering workplace excellence.