Creative ideas for maintaining and improving corporate culture when teams telework

Covid-19 has posed enormous challenges to sustaining the life and soul of business, especially when, according to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) at the close of 2019, around 8.3% of employed Spaniards work from home, and many face severe restrictions in the way they serve customers face-to-face in business centers, coffee shops, restaurants and small businesses nationwide.

That's why we've put together some must-have tips based on our experience on how to maintaining the culture when teams work from home, especially during these difficult times.

It's the culture in your workplace that makes your business special.

Creating and maintaining culture at work during the Covid-19 pandemic should not be a challenge. Follow these tips for success.

1. Develop a new strategy for corporate culture

While many if not all of your employees are currently working from home or in a completely different environment, it is clear that a new cultural approach is needed to adapt to this new reality (at least for a while).

As a business owner, it is imperative to design a new cultural strategy focused on the following:

• Communicate frequently with employees who work from home.
• Maintain and improve team morale.
• Pay attention to the mental well-being of your employees.
• Encourage innovation within the teams.
• Create initiatives to maintain employee engagement.

Implementing a customized strategy can reinforce the message about your company's original mission and show that you realize that things have changed for everyone.

«A thriving culture can help improve teamwork, performance and results.»

2. Schedule a weekly team meeting via videoconference.

When we start to working from home in March 2020, teams were reluctant to turn on their cameras during meetings via Teams, Zoom or Skype.

However, now are twice as likely to be prepared to do it, according to a survey of telework trends conducted by Microsoft.

One of the factors that could influence this change is that they feel more of a need for face-to-face interactions. This is especially true for people who live alone or who may not see anyone else during the day.

If you are unable to organize face-to-face meetings with your teams, it is a good idea to organize them through virtual calls and encourage their employees to activate your cameras at the beginning of the meeting.

3. Share your colleagues' successes

Working remotely over a long period of time or serving customers in a stressful environment can negatively affect the well-being of your employees, especially in the current situation. This further underlines the importance of praise those who do a good job.

You can set a employee recognition program that allows people to recognize each other and appreciate the great successes of others.

What achievements deserve to be recognized? In fact, any achievement deserves to be appreciated. For example, you can recognize employees who:

• They have completed training.
• They received positive feedback from customers.
• They met their sales targets for the month.

«Give your co-workers the opportunity to compliment each other and spread positive emotions and camaraderie.»

4. Organize social gatherings and team building events.

Informal one-to-one business meetings or events may have been interrupted due to meeting restrictions. But that does not mean that these events should stop completely. After all, they make a vital contribution to corporate culture and give your employees the opportunity to interact in an informal setting.

You can also convert them into online meetings. The contests through Teams, Zoom or Skype, the virtual lunches and other fun events can encourage your employees to speak up, motivate each other and maintain the corporate culture.

5. Provide more frequent feedback

All teams can feel a little more anxious at this point, especially when it comes to telecommuting. This can hurt your employees' morale and corporate culture. Communicating with them on a regular basis can help to eliminate the uncertainties and assumptions associated with remote work life.

Encourage the feedback and set an example yourself:

• Organizing regular follow-up calls with team members.
• Providing email updates on their performance.
• Reminding colleagues how important it is to keep up to date.

This will give your employees the tools they need to make progress, as well as the trust that the work they perform meets their objectives.

6. Be honest with your team

Honesty is always a good thing. This virtue The uncertainty prevailing in the different sectors of activity is even more noticeable today.

It is natural for your employees to worry about what the future will bring. Therefore, being the most transparent possible on your business can help alleviate that pressure.

Keeping everyone informed about what's going on behind the scenes can help create an inclusive environment in which everyone feels involved in the decisions made by the company.

7. Adopt a positive approach when communicating with your team.

Your teams need a good dose of positivity right now.

Convey this sentiment in your business interactions and create a positive corporate culture.

Try to maintain an optimistic attitude and promote it among your employees.

It may not be easy, but the Positive energy can energize and motivate your team., This will help them overcome their own challenges.

At Zemsania we take care of our talent by providing a positive and humane remote work and management environment.

Contact us, get to know our solutions and our culture.