Just keeping a remote workforce on target with a company’s mission is hard enough, so we were curious how the most forward-thinking companies were dealing with the issue of sowing culture among the staff in a situation where more and more employees have never met each other in person and are having to split their focus between work and home life. Here’s how these brilliant companies are doing it.
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
Through online educational opportunities like UDEMY for Business, employee resource groups, and its Culture Committee, Chipotle is providing a purposeful remote work experience for its employees. “Our employees are seeking real connection more than ever before, and it’s our responsibility to cultivate an environment where they can continue to thrive and pursue their passions with like-minded co-workers, even in a virtual setting,” said Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and People Officer.
Check Out Chipotle’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate its culture among a remote workforce?
As explained by Beacon Hill Associates and HR Managing Director Charlie Cain, “Our company leadership is visible, accessible, and in the trenches with our teams. Our communication is consistent, honest, and transparent. The core values of our company are very well defined and do not change based on where an employee sits. Our leaders consistently engage the people on their teams to see how they are doing, solicit feedback and listen carefully to what their employees have to say. The #1 priority of our company has always been the health, safety, and well-being of our employees and their families. We were fortunate to have a strong company culture built around this priority over 20+ years so when our employees went remote at the start of the pandemic, they knew we would continue to provide them with the resources, technology, flexibility, and support required for all employees to do their job at a high level whether they were in the office, at home or on the road.”
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
“When it comes to company culture, words will only get you so far, said Cain. “With more employees working remote, you have to effectively communicate your values and reinforce your commitment to these ideals with your actions. Our clients with fully remote or largely remote workforces don’t struggle to attract talent nearly as much as they struggle to retain talent and turnover is the mortal enemy of any good company culture. The employee experience from a first interview through onboarding, training, and then on the job has to be carefully planned and prioritized. Impersonal interviews, choppy onboarding, poor training, unclear expectations, lack of role clarity, and limited proximity to company leadership all contribute to turnover, even more so in largely remote workforces. Employees are leaving jobs and turning down job offers in record numbers, mostly because they don’t agree with the social values of their employer or feel connected to the company culture or their colleagues. Higher turnover marginalizes the environment for ALL employees and makes a big problem even worse very quickly. Companies have to find ways to connect their employees with each other and with the leadership of their company. People want to have friends at work as well as people who can help them learn and develop. Many of the most successful clients we work with invest considerable resources to support the mental health of their employees, especially those who work remote.”
Check Out Beacon Hill’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
Virbela employees are immersed in an inclusive culture on a daily basis, which begins at their first interview and continues as they work within our virtual world. We host weekly all-hands meetings, monthly company-wide round tables, and monthly social events to allow staff across the organization to connect and build relationships. Feedback about the company, leadership, and processes are encouraged through a company-wide Employee Net Promoter Score survey (ENPS) that is circulated every other month. As Virbela has grown rapidly in the last year, from 20 in March of 2020 to over 170 today, new committees have been formed to ensure all staff are represented and included.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
Unless company leaders are deliberate about establishing a connected remote culture, employees can fall into silos and feel isolated. At Virbela, we have learned that creating chances for spontaneous connections, like those that happen around the water cooler in physical office spaces, is an important part of keeping employees engaged and gives staff time to think, share inspo, and socialize with their colleagues. Using software can do a lot to replace face-to-face interactions and build remote culture.
Check Out Virbela’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
Over the next ten years, we’ll continue to see job seekers gain the ability to work in roles that align with their work style and values. Right now, over half of Americans are looking for, or considering new work. After over a year of working through Covid conditions, employees want to work for employers who support their desired ways to work, whether it’s remotely, a hybrid model, flexible hours, or in-office. We may see employees with the same work preferences gravitate towards companies that focus on a specific type of setup. They’re also looking for companies with a mission statement and core values that align with their personal beliefs. As more jobs open, many job seekers have the leisure of choosing what best suits them. On the employer side, we’ll see job descriptions change to include more diverse experience. Instead of requiring a Bachelor’s Degree, employers will also consider online courses, specialty classes, and real-world experience that keep employees up to date with relevant skills. We are already seeing a variety of job postings switch to “no experience needed” or “Bachelor’s Degree not required,” as employers scramble to retain talent.
Check Out ZipRecruiter’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
There are always things to do for our employees while working from home. Dance classes, cooking parties, or workshops, we create opportunities for our employees to build community and support systems in a remote environment. There’s also no shortage of volunteerism opportunities to do from your home/neighborhood to give back to the communities we live and work in.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
It’s important that culture is managed and preserved. Keeping an ear to the ground and having people who are true cultural ambassadors is key to ensuring that we mutually agree upon the ways we work best together. It’s important to help hiring managers and teams find strategies to assess employees for alignment to our values and culture. We’ve found this does an incredible amount for employee turnover too.
Check Out RingCentral’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
At Carbon, we’re not afraid to pivot and adapt to an ever-changing environment. As a portion of our workforce shifted to working remotely amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we endeavored to support each other and rise to the challenge of making employees feel connected and cared for. Part of our workforce also remained working in the office throughout the pandemic, starting with a core crew who worked on face shields and nasal swabs, then increasing to those who needed to be in the office to perform their work. Rather than fully shut down, we figured out how to manage through this hybrid environment while maintaining a safe and secure environment for employees. The ability to pivot and support our community during the pandemic gave our employees purpose and is core to our company mission – to enable creators everywhere to make what the world needs right now.Carbon introduced new initiatives to promote healthy remote working habits and company benefits to ensure employees feel supported and connected. For example, Carbon implemented self-help and healing circle sessions through a partnership with Modern Health to specifically tackle emotional well-being during the pandemic. We are also providing guidance to our managers on how to best manage a remote and hybrid workforce through a series of workshops. In addition, Carbon hosted six-week-long virtual fitness challenges to help keep our employees connected. Employees participated individually or created teams and activities were hosted by employees and experts in the areas of physical fitness, mental well-being, nutrition, and ergonomics. Weekly internal newsletters profiled employees opting into the challenges, highlighting their personal goals and achievements, while updating employees on Carbon’s progress towards our company-wide goal of 350,000 steps over the six-week period. Carbon also implemented fun, virtual events that allow employees to demonstrate their unique talents outside of work – cooking classes, brewing kombucha, growing food, feng shui, and journaling, just to name a few.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
At Carbon, employees are our culture and supporting their mental and physical health while working remotely is a top priority. Even with all the advantages of remote work, there are some potential difficulties that need to be overcome in supporting a remote workforce. Many employees may be overwhelmed by the number of meetings on their schedule as companies tack on Zoom meetings in an effort to stay connected. To offset this, we implemented specific ‘no-meeting’ days, providing employees with the flexibility to manage their days as they see fit. This gives employees the opportunity to tackle both professional and personal tasks without the interruption of meetings. Carbon is dedicated to fostering a purpose-driven company culture that allows the business to prosper while supporting employees in achieving their goals and promoting a healthy work-life balance. As we transitioned to a hybrid work culture, we implemented flexible schedules so, wherever possible, employees can choose their own work hours based on their own individual needs. We also recognize that there is the potential for professional development to become stagnant in hybrid work environments. To combat this, we implemented virtual development workshops for employees and managers as well as regular check-ins between all managers and employees to cover progress on goals, offer support, and provide feedback and coaching. We also shifted our intern program to remote internships to continue investing in high-potential university students to apply and harness their skills to real life experience.
Check Out Carbon’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
As a leading national insurer and employer, Farmers Insurance® continuously strives to build and nurture a dynamic, engaging, and inclusive workplace culture. Since transitioning the majority of Farmers® employees to a virtual environment in March of 2020, the organization has adapted to help our colleagues stay connected, engaged, and empowered to thrive in their roles. One of the ways Farmers continues to help cultivate a strong workplace culture with remote employees is by leveraging technology. Farmers has a dedicated intranet service that acts as a central hub for sharing information, resources, and support, as well as an internal communications platform that connects employees and encourages robust dialogue with senior leaders. Leaders frequently host organization or department-wide virtual town halls, coffee chats, and informal office hours, and make efforts to gather direct employee feedback through regular surveys that help Farmers track real-time engagement and sentiment. Farmers’ diverse network of Employee Resource Groups or ERGs also plays a role by hosting webinars, offering tools, and providing resources and support.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
Community involvement and volunteerism are proud traditions at Farmers. As the organization has transitioned to a virtual working environment, we have adapted our community giving and volunteer opportunities as well. Farmers has found creative ways to engage employees through virtual volunteer events and activities such as participating in the National First Responders Fund Stair Climb, which helps bring awareness and support to first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI). Adapting to a virtual environment, participants have the option to choose from a variety of physical activities like running, walking, swimming, or “design their own program” for an inclusive, adaptable option to complete the stair climb challenge and commemorate the anniversary of 9/11.
Check Out Farmer Insurance’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
At CIVIC, we have an entire team whose sole responsibility is the health, well-being, and happiness of our people. Over the last year and a half, our People & Culture team completely pivoted CIVIC’s culture initiatives to include virtual events and activities so all team members – whether onsite or remote – feel connected, supported, and appreciated. From birthday celebrations to the graduation of our “Top Gun” sales training class, we live stream events like these from our Corp HQ so that everyone working remotely can tune in, enjoy the event and feel like they have a front-row seat to all the fun at CIVIC. Fun surprises add to the team spirit here – for example, our People & Culture team sent all team members a cool pair of CIVIC branded socks along with a card saying “We appreciate you from head to toe!” With our CIVIC ANYWHERE mindset, our culture is very much alive and we are always finding ways for everyone to stay connected, near or far.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
As we’ve shifted our processes and created new ones, we knew we would face challenges along the way. This includes shipping delays or inconsistencies in getting things mailed to team members for special events. We sometimes run into connectivity, streaming problems, and other technical difficulties with our live streams. For our People & Culture team, the increased workload proved to be a challenge initially based on bandwidth and existing workloads. We added several new People & Culture team members, adapted to the new workflow, anticipate delays and create workarounds for technical challenges. As a result of everyone’s commitment, we have gotten into a really good rhythm and the team is all in to make CIVIC Anywhere our new normal.
Check Out CIVIC’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
At the start of 2021, our leaders recognized how fortunate we were to have a team that was quick to adapt as the pandemic forced us all to quarantine and stay home to reduce the spread. Our north star was keeping our employees safe, and quarantining required us to transition overnight to a fully remote workforce. We remained nimble and observant of the impact it had on our team and noticed a decline in team members requesting time off. The pandemic made it easy to work more and forget to take a break. As a company, we have always prioritized our employees’ well-being, and have long implemented a flexible PTO policy in recognition of the importance of time away to refresh. To address the decline in time-off requests, we instituted Recharge Fridays giving everyone a couple of extra Fridays off each month to focus on themselves and their life away from work. We’ve also pivoted existing programs and events to nurture our culture and team including; an onboarding buddy program, an evolved wellness package for physical and mental wellbeing, and increasing the frequency of consistent, broad, and intimate communication to keep the team connected to each other and the pulse of the business.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
In our new world, the lines between personal and work have blurred. At Syapse, we lead with understanding and communication first; whether it’s addressing the national events that have unfolded over the past year and a half, the pulse of the business, or personal matters that are impacting our teammates. The pandemic required us to appreciate and take into consideration how what was happening “at home” and in our communities could impact our ability to show up at our best to work. The greatest learning over the last year is how critical it is to always be ruthlessly focused on your culture and creating a place that brings out the best in your team. Our engagement levels and employer brand have continued to trend up throughout the pandemic because of the purposeful effort we put into growing our mission-driven culture pre-pandemic. Culture didn’t become a priority because of the pandemic – it was always a priority. Because of this philosophy, we entered into 2020 from a position of strength. You need to listen as you’ve never listened before. You need to lead with your heart as much (if not more so) as you do with your head. Whether it’s a weekly email from our CEO to the team on what’s happening in the business (and our lives) that week, more transparency on all things business-related, routine feedback on how clients are engaging with our products and its impact on the lives of patients – we don’t shy away from sharing and over-communicating. It isn’t just our leaders, every team member feels safe and able to communicate more broadly in this new environment.
Check Out Syapse’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
At GR0, we work every day to effectively define, cultivate, and instill a unique culture for our remote employees. We recently started using a Slack App called “Donut” where new hires are paired up with experienced employees for a weekly chat to talk about all things GR0. With the app, we also host weekly virtual coffee chats where everyone at the company is randomly paired into groups to meet with different department members so we can ensure no one ever feels like a stranger.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
Over the last year, we have learned how important it is to constantly keep morale up. We understand that working remotely can make it difficult for employees to feel a sense of true belonging. Therefore, we have learned how to master internal communication, and have realized how important it is for the leaders at our company to fuel energy and culture within.
Check Out GR0’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
We hold virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, lunches, cross-team social meetings, and use Teams break-out rooms to facilitate social connection. We’ve increased the frequency of communication and have used different methods to stay in touch, such as departmental monthly videos from leadership and virtual all-hands meetings. Our Managed Services team also recently held a virtual Olympics competition to encourage team building and camaraderie. We just implemented a global digital headquarters where teammates can discover, connect, and share insights and resources with each other on a continual basis.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
Some employees took to remote work very easily and productively while others have needed more interaction and are eager for a more varied experience split between remote and office time. We’ve learned that it’s important to offer both to give our employees the work experience they’re looking for. In a remote environment, it is harder to keep a pulse on the culture and detect problems than if we were in person. We’ve found it’s important to increase surveying efforts to pick up on a variety of issues, including a lack of connection, before they escalate. Remote onboarding has also been a challenge. To make sure that our new employees feel fully ingrained in our culture, we’ve doubled down on our onboarding activities with a set of sessions and classes. We make sure that we have mentors who are well prepared to welcome new employees to Nordic. New employees also get 30-minute one-on-one sessions with a few members of our leadership team to learn about our background, our culture, and to make our leaders more approachable.
Check Out Nordic’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
Cultivating our culture among our remote workforce is all about keeping face-to-face interaction high. That means we have taken a “cameras on” approach since we started working from home last year. We use MS Teams daily for our morning team focus call, ad-hoc conversations, and any meeting that was once held over a bridge line (remember those?). Moving to a remote workforce hasn’t been all work and no play for Genesis10. Sometimes our morning calls have a theme like “Crazy Hat Day” or we have themed virtual happy hours with trivia (one of our favorites!) We even put on a virtual talent show, Genesis10’s Got Talent, that we hoped would encourage more personal interaction among our team. It was a ton of fun! And we uncovered some hidden talent among us. Celebrating wins and shooting the breeze over MS Teams has become the norm. It’s funny how this simple directive has put us all in a mode of “while we can’t get together, we can still be together.”
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
Team building and client meetings are more challenging as we all work remotely. We sorely miss those things we once took for granted—catching up over coffee in the morning, having a beer with a colleague after work to celebrate a win, taking clients out to lunch! For new hires, it’s more difficult to build relationships with co-workers or pop over the cube wall to ask a quick question. Without the personal connection and not feeling loyalty to co-workers or employer, it becomes easier for an employee to leave his/her job, making employee retention more challenging.
Check Out Genesis10’s Careers Page Here!
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
Being remote-first, we know that interactive communications are critical, so an important ritual we maintain is holding weekly all-hands meetings where our global team is encouraged to keep cameras on. We use this time to welcome new team members and give them an opportunity to introduce themselves through personal stories. During this time, our CEO transparently shares progress on company goals, and we rotate fireside chat sessions across each member of the exec team. Ambassador Labs is anchored around open source and building community. Internally, we foster this culture by working in teams rather than by function and encouraging each person to surface their concerns and points of friction on dedicated Slack channels so that others can help (and they do!)
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
When team members are both remote and geographically distributed, a company’s norms and “how we do things around here” can be more difficult to pick up. We are acutely aware of this and creatively deliver new ways to more quickly ingrain these norms, especially with our new hires. Cues and behaviors take longer to detect over Slack and calls, so we’ve documented it, including guides on our operating model, the working styles of our leaders, and clear guidance on how we communicate. Since our products are built to solve problems that developers are facing today, making speed a habit is one of our core values. To help embed this into our culture, our development cycle is loosely based on the principles of Shape-Up, in which teams zero in on shipping solutions within 6 weeks followed by a 2 week cooldown period to work on tech debt and interesting projects. We’ve also learned that even veteran remote-workers enjoy the opportunity to connect in person, so where it’s been safe to do so, we’ve begun organizing small group social gatherings which have been celebrated by our people.
Check Out Ambassador Labs’ Careers Page Here!
MAXConnect is our global employee platform. It involves our people in the future of the organization, giving them a voice as well as a seat at the table. We use it for crowdsourcing and testing ideas, and for providing support to employees across the organization. We also have a dedicated health program called SitelFit, which guides and encourages people within the organization to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Because it leverages gamification, it encourages people to challenge and motivate each other. Through SitelFit, we offer prizes as well as opportunities to give back to the community through earning points that we convert into a financial donation.
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
What are some of the things your company does to cultivate culture among a remote workforce?
We’ve recently moved to a Flexible Work Program which allows our Hippos to decide where they’d like to work (Depending on the role)… Whether that’s fully in the office, hybrid, or fully remote. Cultivating and fostering our unique company culture for our hybrid workforce has been an exciting process. From virtual events like Drag Queen Bingo, Paint Nights, cooking lessons, to Diversity events, to recurring meetings like our weekly All-Hands meeting, and our monthly company newsletter… We make sure that our events and communications are focused on bringing all of our employees together, no matter how far away they might be!
What are the major difficulties that need to be overcome in transmitting culture to remote employees? What have you learned over the last year?
Translating our unique culture to a hybrid environment wasn’t too difficult but we did learn a few lessons along the way. It’s very important to clearly communicate when the event is happening and why the event is happening. Sharing this information on different platforms like e-mail, calendar invites, Slack messages, and verbal reminders allows employees to be prepared for the event. It’s not as simple as putting a flyer up in the hallway of the office anymore! Also, communicating on different platforms ensures that all employees receive the message. It’s also very important to test everything and survey! Sending surveys for ideas and feedback ensures that all Hippo voices are heard and we’re able to implement those ideas and suggestions in the future. Our unique culture continues to grow and thrive in our new Flexible Work Program!