5 ways to maintain your workplace culture remotely

While most businesses have resumed their normal operations, the current world of work in China is still operating more remotely than it ever has before. Remote working began as a crucial measure to maintain the health and safety of employees, but carries with it some obstacles that employers may find challenging. This includes work place culture, which is impacted when communication, collaboration, relationship building and accessibility becomes remote.  

Simon Lance, Managing Director at Hays Greater China, shares 5 ways employers can maintain their workplace culture remotely and successfully manage from afar.

Establish communication methods

When managing your team remotely, effective communication is crucial, according to Simon. “As a priority, you should establish frequent communication to your team via the right platforms. Take advantage of the variety of channels available to help your team stay in touch and collaborate, but bear in mind that using too many different channels can overwhelming.”

“The next best thing to talking face-to-face is to communicating over video”, says Simon. “As you would with a physical meeting, set an agenda prior to the call and make sure this is visible to everyone. This should help your video call to run smoothly and efficiently.”

“As these calls are now your equivalent to team meetings, you need to stress the importance of your team attending. This ensures that every remote worker is kept in the loop and can contribute to your team’s progress.”

Build rapport

“Working remotely means that you don’t have those impromptu interactions in the office which go a long way to building rapport and fostering working relationships between employees”, says Simon. “Whether it’s working collaboratively on a project or catching up on your weekend, these moments are essential for team bonding.”

“Therefore in addition to making sure your communication is transparent, it’s also worth factoring in time on conference calls for your team to make small talk and build or maintain their relationships. If you don’t video call regularly, you could still facilitate this by using instant messaging apps.” 

“Taking these measures is particularly important for newer members of staff to get to know their colleagues.”

Share knowledge

When it comes to sharing knowledge and collaborating, Simon reminds employers that “many of your team possess specialist knowledge about their area or subject. This is easily shared in an office compared to when your team are working remotely.”

“You could encourage your employees to create guides, host webinars or record podcasts on their specialist subjects to provide opportunities to share their knowledge and appreciate what others in the team are working on. Ensure that this is followed up with praise and recognition.”

Proactively engage

“While you’re probably used to reading your team’s emotions and reactions when you’re with them in person, but obviously remotely this is more difficult”, says Simon. “Where possible, use video calls where at least your team are able to see each other and engage more than they would simply over the phone.”

“If you still feel disconnected or aren’t using video, try to place more attention to tone of voice and identifying changes in pitch to gauge how your employees are getting on. It also helps to encourage inclusive language such as ‘we’ and ‘our’ to foster cohesion and unity,” Simon suggests.

Trust your team 

While remote working may pose challenges at first, particularly to those who don’t have experience working or managing in this way, by trusting your team there is a lot to gain. 

Simon concludes by saying, “While remote working may still be a necessity for some employers and employees in China, the flexibility it offers can be empowering. Apart from building their resilience and adaptability to change, it also allows them to have better work-life balance. According to the results of our 2020 Hays Asia Salary Guide, 44 per cent of employees in China said ‘work-life balance’ was the top reason why they would stay with their current employers. If employees can reap these benefits and still feel trusted and empowered to work in the interests of your organization then location no longer matters – you will be able to manage your team while still maintaining your company culture.”