How to Build Community in a Remote Working World

In a remote working world, “digital distance” sets in and makes it challenging to connect with colleagues at a deeper level. Having grown up in a small town, I’ve noticed a lot of parallels with working at a small company.?

While “good culture” is a frequent corporate buzzword - I don’t hear as much about “strong community” - so I thought it would be fun to share some of my observations here for simple things we can do to create community at work.

• Keeping it real. In a small town - everybody knows your personal business. Now I’m not suggesting that at a company we publish every detail about our lives - but I do like to ask people “how they are doing” and care about the answer. Not only does it ensure you care about your team beyond their tasks, but it builds a trust and credibility that shows you are invested in their person. One of our new investors, Mark Grovic from New Markets Venture Partners, recently asked me and Nimesh Shah, who leads our Learning team, if we wanted to go for a hike for our meeting. Not only was it a more productive meeting - we got to know each other personally - and it was awesome.

• Get to know your neighbors and have fun. As a kid, I remember learning everything from gardening to crafting from my neighbors. You’d be surprised what you can learn from your colleagues too. Hang around before and after the official agenda in your meetings to leave some space to share ideas, listen to others ideas, and discuss them. I’ve gained a lot of new knowledge on things I’m not as familiar with ranging from legal and accounting to VR. And I've also learned about all things non-work - for example, Harry Kunz who manages our post team and has worked with us for five years, is also an amazing drummer. And have fun with each other - Somebody might even make you a JibJab video...

• Make the space to see each other and talk about life outside of work. One of the first things I noticed when I got to NYC ten years ago for our accelerator program was how transactional buying things at the shops tended to be. Put your order in, and pick your order up. Nothing in between. At the shops in my town, the transaction was often secondary to the greeting and conversation. At our company - we started doing weekly team virtual coffees where we see each other and share company and personal updates where we recognize all of the great work our colleagues are doing with “shout outs” and then do breakouts to talk about everything from favorite books to new movies and shows. It’s my favorite part of the week. Not to mention the fun conversations that happen on set - one of the most community driven experiences you can imagine - where everybody is working together to get the shot! Below is Michelle Kramer our Head of Production, posing for her headshot with Alex Tarfreshi, one of our talented filmmakers, at his studio space.

• Remember people’s birthdays and recognize their talents. You would be surprised how much people appreciate having their special day remembered. Not everyone wants to have it broadcasted - but just a simple “Happy birthday” on somebody’s birthday means you care enough about their person to remember that they are more than just someone who works at your company. They are a person in your community - and with their permission - it may make sense to celebrate that person’s birthday at your company by recognizing them. Erik Merkow who sent me cupcakes for my birthday, is our VP Partnerships, and he is an absolutely incredible photographer - his work below.

• Bring food. I remember one of my first internships in Los Angeles at a major entertainment company - and I wouldn’t say it was a warm welcome. I walked in, sat at my desk, worked until the clock struck 5, and then left to go home. Nobody spoke a word to me. Then one time - my grandma had sent me some cookies - so I brought them to work. I put them in the kitchen. The next thing I knew - everybody was asking “Who brought the cookies”? I would confess one by one to everyone who asked, and it wasn’t long until I had become best friends with my co-workers.? While you can’t bring food to the office in a remote work environment - we have been known to send cheese or pies to people’s doorstep. Why not? It’s another way to show you care about their person beyond their daily tasks.?We sent pies to our team for the holidays.

Why does community matter at your company right now? The lines between work and home in a remote work environment are blurring - so why not embrace the relationships you can build by getting to know your co-workers as people? Also - as we are spending more and more time at home, cut off from the outside world in the pandemic - it’s even more important that we watch out for each other and take care of each other remotely.? Sophia Flot-Warner, who has worked for us for six years and was recently promoted to Sr. Global Director of Learning & Development, shared her grand-daughter's first day of Pre-K in our "Just for Fun" slack channel.

When somebody gets sick - do you care? When somebody’s family member passes away - do you care? When somebody is having a hard time, or doing great things outside of work, does it matter to you? If the answer is no to any of these questions - the chances that your colleagues are invested in their company and your company’s community is also probably low. Natalia Iragorri-Espinosa who leads our digital marketing strategy initiatives, shared that her son Martin has "today completely under control" in our "Just for Fun" Channel.

Take care of each other - and take care of yourself. Create a strong community to build a good culture at work - and I promise - you’ll see the rewards daily when you look forward to - instead of dread, turning on the camera for your next meeting.