Using Internal Communications to Include, Build Trust with Remote Employees

You can introduce all the strategies you want, but without execution through effective communication, you won't actually engage employees with said strategies.         

With the number of remote workers constantly on the rise, companies are having to think outside the box, creating new ways of building their company culture among employees that aren't physically present with each other. A strong internal communications strategy is critical to shaping and maintaining a company culture among remote workers.

What is company culture, and why does it matter?

Strong company culture should give workers a shared vision, goals, values, and priorities, uniting them around a common purpose. Workers who feel more connected to their company and co-workers will be happier, more productive and stay longer at their jobs.?

How is culture shaped?

Workplace culture is always being shaped. The question is: Are company leaders actively and strategically doing the shaping? Or is the culture being passively shaped by the interactions of the workers??

Different offices of the same company could have different workplace cultures if the leaders take differing approaches to culture. This also applies to the culture of a company's remote teams. To maintain a consistent culture across all employees of an organization, the culture must be shaped by the leaders, as well as buy-in from the managers and influencers so that it is knit into every fiber of the organization.

Why is company culture important for remote workers?

Culture is built through employees feeling connected to their work and each other. Remote workers are more likely to feel disconnected from their work and their co-workers since they aren't physically present for meetings, to hear office chatter, to give and receive smiles and high-fives, and they often miss out on important company communications.

How to build a strong culture for remote workers.

A lot of the traditional culture-building methods can be shifted to virtual platforms to engage remote workers. Here are a few options:

1. Virtual meetings:?Hold regular live-streamed virtual meetings in which workers can see each other's faces and interact. Make sure that every remote employee is looped in with a team that hosts this type of meeting. Be sure to reinforce the company vision and team goals at each meeting. It is not enough to say these things once and expect everyone to know them. You need to continually revisit them. Get the workers involved in these meetings. Ask them to share what they're working on, any recent wins, and any questions they have - holding space for two-way communication.
2. Employee chat:?In an office, employees will congregate at the water cooler and catch up on personal and company news. Office workers can easily pop over to each other's desks to ask a question. Introducing an employee chat platform can provide opportunities for remote workers to engage in similar behaviors virtually.
3. Virtual hangouts:?Managers can host an optional weekly virtual lunch for the teams where everyone eats their lunch and catches up. Companies can use platforms such as Google Hangout for remote managers and workers to hold virtual office hours a few times a week, making themselves available and facilitating any conversations that come up.?
4. Virtual teambuilding:?Companies use teambuilding events to strengthen bonds between workers and facilitate interactions about something other than work. Remote teams can host a virtual team-building event such as a trivia game or meditation session to bring remote workers together.

What part do internal communications play in shaping employee culture with remote employees?

It is not possible to build and maintain a strong employee culture without internal communications. You can introduce all the strategies you want, but without execution through effective communication, you won't actually engage employees with said strategies. Furthermore, without engagement, you will not impact culture. This is why you need to clearly communicate all of the initiatives you introduce. But, simply including them as points in an email will not be enough. Employees miss some emails and don't always absorb every point made in each one. You will need to use a multi-channel approach to get the information out and measure employee buy-in.

At Tentpole Strategies, we can handle your internal communications for you. Starting with strategy followed by execution and finalized by measuring the results. DM us to learn more about what we can offer you.

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