Five ways to evolve company culture in a hybrid world

One of the major changes that companies have had to come to terms with is the fact that businesses have moved from dynamic office bound environments to a combination of office bound and remote working environments. It is not uncommon to find companies scaling their whole business towards embracing the digital marketplace.

Unless your company is scaled to be fully digital, most companies face the challenge of evolving their company to manage both office bound and remote employees. A recent article by Forbes provides a how to guide to achieving this.

Document and communicate values
When you have a distributed workforce, it is even more critical to record and communicate company values.

Develop a set of values that clearly articulate how employees are expected to make decisions. The documentation can take many forms. Some examples could include a handbook or posting a manifesto on the company website. It’s also a good idea to make this information public as a way to attract the right people to your team.

Hire for traits vs. fit
When hiring remote workers, looking for traits that will enhance the culture is crucial. It’s important to avoid selecting candidates based on “fit,” which can be ambiguous and sometimes turn into a popularity contest.

Instead, hire for traits that align with company values. For remote teams where written communication is essential, it’s becoming more common to recruit for communication ability—even for positions that haven’t previously required strength in that area. For example, at Zapier, where their team is 100% remote, writing is one of the skills they explicitly include in job descriptions.

Embrace a remote-first attitude
A remote-first attitude means prioritizing policies that ensure remote employees are as involved in the culture as those in the office. This approach also provides remote workers the necessary information and tools to get their work done efficiently.

Take Mozilla, for example. Because remote employees comprise almost half of Mozilla’s total workforce, the company focuses on making sure they are enmeshed in the company culture. Each full-time employee is flown to company headquarters for a week of cultural onboarding within the first few months. Then they’re paired with an experienced “Remote Buddy” who can help them navigate company culture and processes.

Consider cultural differences
With the recent shift to remote work and the freedom to employ people from across the globe, many managers find themselves in charge of cross-cultural teams for the first time.

This scenario poses unique challenges as organizations begin to factor in cultural differences. One way to manage diverse teams is to ask team members how to best approach a task in their country or culture to gain a deeper perspective on problem-solving.

It’s also vital to document major religious holidays or cultural events in other countries, which may affect workflow and the ability to meet deadlines. One example is the Chinese New Year when factories shut down, and most people in China and Taiwan take at least a week off. Using cultural differences as a means for your team to learn more about one another can go a long way in building a cohesive, inclusive workforce.

Practice transparency
Keeping employees informed is essential when creating a solid company culture. Ensure all workers are kept abreast of new developments—both positive and negative.

Then, if things go sideways, at least your team will know in advance. Another tactic is to collect frequent feedback through employee surveys. Once you identify any issues or concerns, you can address them immediately.

Gitlab, for example, has one of the most comprehensive team handbooks consisting of over 13,804 pages. As part of its commitment to transparency, the company posts it on their website and welcomes suggestions for clarifications or improvements.

Organizations have an incredible opportunity to reshape company culture. And culture goes way beyond perks like foosball tables, free lunches and happy hours. It will also develop whether you pay attention to it or not. But the question is this—will it be intentional?

Charles Phiri is an Associate at Indalo Business Consulting