Can you imagine a time when people actually left their houses to go to work? A time where people didn’t work in their sweatpants and lounge around in their bean bags all day?
Believe it or not, this is really how things used to be. When people went to work they were actually surrounded by other human beings, and, together, these humans came together to form what was called ‘company culture.’
There’s no denying that remote working can have lots of positive effects on people’s productivity, happiness, and general well-being.
However, there’s also no denying that transitioning from a shared working environment to a remote one can undo much of the work you put into creating an awesome corporate culture for your employees to grow.
Of course, your employees now save a ton of money on gas and only have to shower once a week, but they lose out on those fantastic relationships with their co-workers and that sense of community that comes from the workplace.
Alas, all hope is not lost!
It is possible to retain an excellent company culture when all your employees are working from home, and we’re going to help you do it!
How to Improve Company Culture in a Remote Working Environment
Improving your culture when all of your team members are sitting at home is certainly a difficult task, but here are some creative ways to promote face to face (well… video call to video call) interaction amongst your team members and keep up a great workplace culture!
Schedule Consistent Team Meetings
One of the most important ways you can cultivate strong relationships amongst your team members is by keeping everyone familiar with one another. Arranging day to day meetings between teams is a great way to promote communication and employee engagement.
This helps keep people on the same page at all times, especially if they are going to be working together on a regular basis. Plus, this can be a fun way to inject a little fun into the monotony of a typical workday.
Everybody already loves Fridays (at least we hope they do!), so why not give them another reason to look forward to the end of the week?
Every Friday, schedule a meeting where your team members are not allowed to talk business and have to answer fun questions about themselves, such as:
- What three objects would you bring to a deserted island? (No computers or smartphones! That’s boring!)
- What ingredients would you use to make the perfect sandwich? (Yum…)
- What are your three favorite comedy movies?
You could even have everyone put on a show-and-tell for their pets.
You already know that your employees’ cats like to come and lay on their keyboards because their weekly reports end up looking something like this: in20qfS_)Jhp qfb56!33b[apow-hubJABu. Why not let them introduce their furry (or slimy) little friends?
Invest in Some Bondys!
Our team here at Bondy has created several different experiences designed specifically for employers who want to keep their company culture alive and well while everybody is stuck at home.
We currently offer four categories of Bondys:
BondyTEAM is perfect for cultivating those awesome work relationships and promoting team building while everyone is stuck at home. Play these fun games with your employees to show them that even bosses can have a good time too.
Our BondyWFH line was designed with those who work from home in mind! These Bondys come with a variety of quirky little doodads that put the fun in functional and add a little spice to the work day.
One of your employees having a rough week? Got tasks, reports, and projects to complete up the wazoo? Thank them for their hard work with some BondyCARE. These are filled with little knick-knacks to help them have a refreshing evening and re-energize that fighting spirit.
Last but not least, BondyYUM! comes filled with tasty little morsels to keep your team members energized and in good spirits throughout the day. We’ve even created gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly alternatives so that no team member is left behind!
Start a Friday Newsletter
Releasing a weekly newsletter is an excellent way to keep the morale in your company high going into the weekend and get your employees excited about the upcoming work week.
At the start of every week assign one team member the Friday newsletter responsibilities. That way they have the entire week to collect information and stories to include in the newsletter. Encourage them to put whatever they want in it!
Of course it should include company-wide or individual team member success stories, but it can also be a way to promote non-work-related news as well. Is Katelyn from accounting having a baby? Does Tom’s band have an upcoming concert at a local bar? This can be a great way for people to share what’s going on in their lives outside of work.
The newsletter can even include a “funnies” section where people can submit their favorite memes, jokes, and co-worker quotables from the last week.
Arrange Backyard Get-Togethers and Parties
Just because you and your employees can’t reside in the same office space, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some time to see each other!
Arranging a little outdoor barbecue or get together is a great way for your team members to let loose and have some fun as a community. People can bring their own foldable chairs and sit at a safe distance from each other.
If you have hired new employees since transitioning to remote working, this provides a perfect opportunity for them to meet everybody in person and get to know their co-workers on a more personal level.
Encourage people to bring their significant others, lay down a little game of cornhole or some horseshoes (pick cornhole! Cornhole is way better!), grill up some burgers and hot dogs, and, of course, just have a good time.
Organizing these kinds of fun events once every couple of months will give your employees something to look forward to.
At Bondy, we place a ton of emphasis on maintaining an interactive and enjoyable atmosphere for our team. People love working for a company that cares about them as individuals and promotes a thriving organizational culture.
We completely understand how hard it can be to keep that culture going when all of your employees are stuck at home in their pajamas. Luckily for you, we’re here to help! Send some Bondys straight to their doorsteps and inject a little team bonding and excitement into their workday.