What do you do if your remote team is struggling to maintain a positive company culture?

I am lucky to work in a tightly bonded team, who are super productive in the wfh space. If we see someone is struggling, we talk individually or as a team to reenergise them. We help them solve a problem, organise a face to face meet up (casual) and we continue to support each other and promote our achievements and call out great work to create a positive culture.

My team and I all work remotely and our scheduled weekly calls, both one-on-one and as a team, are the most protected times in my diary. The last things I will cancel if I'm in a crunch. I try to ensure everyone has a chance to air their stresses, share whether their workload is overwhelming or if they have capacity to help someone else, and make decisions together as a team. We have a permanent chat open and share thoughts, questions and observations throughout each day.

Nowadays hybrid or remote working is available in every company. Due to this employees have the flexibility to work from anywhere. If my team is struggling to maintain a positive company culture. I will keep them posted with every update thrice a week and keep them motivated to work hard and deliver results timely through effective communication mode. Communication plays a key role in our lives in every aspect.

Start with managers ‘Trickle-down’ is real. When management isn’t espousing the values, you can’t expect employees to. Culture always starts at the top, and is shaped and reinforced by observed behaviour, perceptions and feelings. This is also why when (some) mergers and acquisitions happen, the negative ripple effects of the new leadership are unmistakable. Employees who were (un)lucky enough to remain can go from ‘I love working here’ to ‘All good things come to an end, and now I need to get out of here’ in no time at all.

Double-edged this question. People working from home are not really remote. They get much the same comms as folks in the office. They still get invited to weekly Town Halls and huddles because they're expected to be in the office around two days a week. But they do miss out on being with colleagues. The real 'remote' team members are those working at off-site locations with little access to a laptop. Unless they have company phones, don't even think about sending them email newsletters - they won't read them. Take the comms to them. They may well have weekly meetings at different sites. Train their managers how to communicate and use those folks as your comms extension.

A menudo, la distancia física puede hacer que los logros pasen desapercibidos. Es importante que como equipo nos esforcemos por destacar y celebrar los éxitos, ya sea a través de mensajes de agradecimiento, menciones en reuniones online o incluso premios simbólicos. Reconocer el arduo trabajo y los logros de los demás no solo aumenta la moral, sino que también fomenta un ambiente de colaboración y apoyo mutuo.

Take a step back. How do you know that your remote teams are struggling to maintain a positive company culture? Honestly - is this something they develop from working remotely? My hunch is no. Remote working is fine if you can get folks into the office at least 2 days a week - 3 ideally. Anything less than that and it starts to affect their focus. I believe people who struggle to maintain a positive company culture are impacted by other issues - such as pay, pressures of work, 'psycho' managers, and colleagues who don't communicate well, or are poor performers. These type of conditions will lead to all kinds of problems. And, the solution has a little to do with improving communications generally, more to do with better leadership.

Have a remote team solve a challenge together to improve team culture. It helps a lot if everyone can contribute their experiences.

Throw in some digital coffee breaks. It's like, instead of always talking shop, you just hang out and chat about anything else under the sun. I feel this has worked for me, for getting everyone more connected and keeping the team spirit up. Just a chill way to break the routine and remember we're all human :)

To maintain a positive company culture remotely, ensure regular communication through video and messaging platforms. Foster team bonding with virtual events and recognize employee achievements to boost morale. Support professional development and provide autonomy, showing trust in your team. Promote inclusivity and respect diversity to create a welcoming environment. Implement well-being initiatives to encourage a healthy work-life balance. Transparent leadership is crucial—be open about company decisions and goals. These steps help sustain engagement, productivity, and a sense of belonging among remote workers.

As an internal communications consultant with many years' experience working with top global brands - in banking, automotive, aerospace, defence, energy and healthcare - I have found that developing colleague involvement groups to be one of the most effective ways of keeping all internal stakeholders energised, impactful, respected, resourceful and involved. I have developed, trained and nurtured many communication champions groups, change agency networks and IT influencer groups. They were all created simply by asking for volunteers from different departments, even different countries. The key rule is that they come together to represent their respective teams. This way you get a more authentic two-way flow of information. A game changer!