Work culture is vital for both workers and employers as it helps to strengthen and shape
everything in regards to a certain business. It is also an important factor which dictates whether a business will be a success or a failure thus it includes team member’s ability to handle attitude and beliefs on a workplace. But the question is, how can you handle work culture if your company or business is a remote-based in nature? It is surely an extra-challenging task in building and improving the work culture that you’ve wanted. Unlike in co-located, the virtual team has no opportunity for an informal banters or a quick chat. So, how will you build a positive work culture with this kind of concept?
Virtual teams are potentially more toxic than those in the co-located workplace, as you
need to ensure that members will work as a team rather than individual units.
Here are some useful tips in promoting online teamwork that will help you with a better
strategy of building a remote-based culture.
1. Leadership is the Key
Guiding or leading an individual or organization is one of the practical skills that
one should possess in dealing with online teamwork. The way you lead has the biggest
impact, especially on your particular workplace culture. In a virtual work environment,
you might certainly rely on people to take definite ownership of their action with their
own level of independence which is dissimilar to a co-located workplace that you can
look over their shoulders.
But before anything else, hiring people that can satisfy the vision and values of
your business is extremely important. Have you heard about the saying, a good leader is
a good follower? It states that a leader should be open to suggestions and
recommendations from the team. Though it was online teamwork, the value of positive
criticism should be shown. You should trust your team to build a better work culture
while providing a good outlook in the field of work.
2. Strong Team Environment
According to Jim Mullaney, CEO and Founder of Edoc Sevice, Inc, as cited in the
article of Forbes, remote employees that have a strong team environment will stay
connected with one another and to the business.
Building a positive environment is a big contributor to overall work culture while
creating trust between team members may influence the outcome of work.
It was also stated that most of the business or companies follows the sales
environment. It is a situation where salespeople are competing with one another and
they're not interested in other members' success.
On the other hand, a team environment value the needs of a team. A win for the
team is the win for everyone. It is a one for all, all for one value.
3. Balance Communication
Learning how to effectively communicate remotely is an effective way to ensure
productiveness in a team.
Some employees tend to be overlooked just because they are out of sight that’s
why it is suggested that a team leader or owner must at least talk with the members. In
some instances, overcommunicating with the employees should be avoided to not
distract works.
4. Culture of Trust and Openness
Leaders need to take the first step in extending trust to those they lead. A
culture of trust and openness to a certain business creates systems for high involvement
in discussing decision-making, giving and receiving feedback and ensuring organizational
procedures for the purpose of transparency.
Moreover, once there is a sharing of information about employees and the
organization, it can build credibility and trust within the environment.
An open environment that encourages honesty adds to a positive culture that
allows everyone to have a voice in giving viewpoints to discover.
There are lots of strategies or tips to better enhance virtual work culture as it was
definitely a challenging point as a remote-based team. Physical distance strongly affects the
mental and emotional aspects of a work that needs to be avoided.