5 Tips for Building an Engaging Office Culture for Remote Employees

n today’s globalized and interconnected world, businesses can be located anywhere, which means that you don’t have to be in the same physical location as your co-workers in order to do your job well. This presents some interesting challenges, though; being remote is more difficult than having everyone work from an office together. How can you build office culture when you aren’t all at the same place? Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make this happen, so long as your company has the right mindset and willingness to try new things.

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1) Define the culture you want

What attributes do you want in your company culture? What are you looking to achieve from creating an office culture that’s going to engage employees? Write these things down, get input from and communicate them with your employees. For instance, if you want your employees to feel happy and engaged, work together as a team to discover what behaviors and practices will lead to happiness. Workplace atmosphere is vital for happy employees. Showing appreciation and giving opportunities for growth can help make employees happier at their jobs. Happy remote workers means happy company culture!

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2) Welcome everyone into the family

Sometimes, companies have a hard time maintaining culture when they scale quickly. To build a more inclusive and inviting office culture, find ways to welcome every new hire into your family by sending a welcome gift, assigning an orientation ambassador and making it easy for employees to connect with one another outside of work. This helps create relationships between co-workers that people look forward to spending more time with—when they do spend time together, in real life and not just through technology.

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3) Create traditions

There are so many possibilities for fun traditions.  Celebrate successes together, big or small.  This can be done virtually by sharing photos, sending e-cards, or giving shout-outs on social channels.  Or get creative and theme your Friday's, like crazy hat or Hawaiian shirt day.  Whatever you do, make it personal and meaningful to your company and/or team.  

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4) Have regular gatherings with your coworkers

Even if your team is remote, it's important to have regular gatherings, whether that's virtually or in person. This helps everyone feel connected and engaged with the company culture. Plus, it's a great opportunity to bond with your coworkers and build an efficient team. For instance, host a virtual happy hour or coffee chat at the same time every week. This is a great way to stay connected and build relationships with your team members.  

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5) Run contests, trivia nights, and other team building activities

Run Contests.  Who doesn't love some healthy competition?  Start a contest to see who can log the most steps in a month, or see who can guess the most Wordle's in a month.

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Trivia Nights.  It's always fun to discover the brainiacs in the group.  Keep your minds sharp with some fun, themed trivia nights.  Be sure to mix up the teams so the same people don't win every time.

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Team Building Activities.  Encourage employees to take breaks throughout the day to move their bodies and get some fresh air.  Make it a walking or yoga group that meets virtually at the same time every week.  

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Interested in bringing your team into alignment with a next-generation approach?  Let’s chat and take your all-hands to the next level!  

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