Your companys culture was created by your founders and senior leadership team in an enlightened moment.
Like a babbling brook, it slowly trickled down through management until every employee just got it.
Are you resisting the urge to laugh?
We dont blame you.
The stories weve all read about the cultures of well-known companies often have a mythic quality.
But the truth rarely resembles the plot from an episode of Game of Thrones.
Its true: culture is often taken for granted when leaders and employees are co-located.
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But culture isnt automatically distributed especially when it comes to distributed teams.
So what can remote managers do to create and sustain a culture from afar?
For us, it starts with trust.
So how does this apply to remote teams?
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Transparency
One of Zapiers core values is default to transparency.
When a team isnt co-located, it increases the potential for unwelcome surprises.
And these surprises are often associated with a lack of information-sharing.
Obviously, there are times where an issue needs to be discussed between individuals.
Accountability
Managers unfamiliar with remote work often come from a place of seeing is believing.
In other words, they wonder if remote workers… well, actually work.
This is why establishing team-wide accountability is so important for remote teams.
More importantly: this needs to be a continuous process.
Abide by them, and let your team know how their individual contributions fit into the overall picture.
Familiarity
Its true: remote teams dont have the same opportunities for organic socializing.
But its no less important that we develop personal connections with our teammates.
Buffersapproach to building trustincludes efforts to intentionally get to know each other.
Sometimes theyll have little quizzes to see how much their team knows about each other.
There are lots of ways to integrate getting to know you time.
It can be as simple as setting aside some personal time in internal meetings.
you might also add channels to your chat apps specifically designed for conversations about employees hobbies and personal interests.
Thisarticlewas originally published on theWhereby blog.
Did you knowIngrid degaard, Wherebys Founder & CPTO, is speaking atTNW2020this year?
Check out their session on How to compete with tech giantshere.
