A strong company culture is important for a variety of reasons. Building and maintaining a strong company culture helps attract and retain top talent. When employees feel as though they belong to an organization, they’re more likely to stick around and opposed to exploring alternative employment opportunities. When your employees feel included, engaged, and appreciated, they are less inclined to leave which means fewer new hires, and better chemistry among your team. 

Unfortunately, building and maintaining culture in a hybrid workplace can be incredibly difficult. In this article, we’ll outline 5 things to consider when building and maintaining a strong company culture in a hybrid workplace so you can create a close-knit workplace that embraces and overcomes challenges together. 

1. How to nurture transparency 

Transparency results in stronger company culture and heightened employee engagement. When employees have a heightened sense of visibility, they are more inclined to trust the organization as well as their managers and counterparts. While nurturing transparency in a hybrid environment may seem difficult, it’s not impossible. The easiest way to nurture transparency in a hybrid workplace is to leverage technology. In today’s day and age there is an endless supply of technological solutions that help centralize information and streamline communication. 

Ways in which you can nurture transparency include: 

• Create a digital directory where company-wide information can be linked and sourced easily. 
• Leverage video conferencing software to host team meetings and check in with any important announcements. 
• Manage workflows and shared projects in a digital system so team members can see each others projects and collaborate on deadlines. 
• Set up employee communication networks and best practices so employees can communicate asynchronously when needed. 

2. How to foster alignment and connect your team

One of the largest challenges amongst hybrid teams is creating a sense of togetherness. The divide between in-person and remote employees continues to present a plethora of challenges that can’t be resolved without determination and effort. In order to build and maintain a solid company culture, you must create a sense of togetherness by unifying your teammates through a strong mission. 

When hybrid teammates are unified, they begin to trust each other and work together more cohesively. This allows them to feel safe and comfortable in the workplace. An increased sense of psychological safety in the workplace helps boost morale and creates a happier, healthier environment for everyone. When employees appreciate their jobs and feel happy, they are more inclined to work more efficiently and stay with the organization longer. 

Additionally, alignment helps build interpersonal relationships. Working remotely can be extremely isolating, even more so if you don’t take the time to foster genuine human-to-human connections or friendships. Encouraging non-formal catch ups, virtual coffee meetups, or weekly watercooler chats helps to build trust and foster connections.

Ways in which you can foster alignment and connect your hybrid team include: 

• Tie everything back to your mission 
• Double down on communicating the big picture 
• Reiterate your purpose during hiring and onboarding 
• Align each individual’s purpose with the organizations 
• Share company wide goals and reward positive outcomes
• Create an open line of communication and diversify communication channels

3. How to support diversity, equity, and inclusion 

Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in a hybrid work environment means that the services you provide for your employees are equally as accessible to everyone. These practices ensure that all employees are treated as equals so everyone can flourish and feel comfortable being true to themselves. Embracing and celebrating a diverse work environment has many benefits with one of the most important being the opportunity to grow and learn from other people. Organizations that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion are more likely to heighten engagement, boost revenue, and retain top talent. 

There are many ways that you can support diversity, equity, and inclusion in a hybrid workplace including hiring candidates with diverse backgrounds that have strong adaptability skills, embracing your teammates' unique differences, and including diverse employees in decision-making. 

4. How to foster autonomy and accountability 

While you may think you know how to foster accountability and autonomy amongst your employees, you may be approaching it with a more traditional mindset. When the world shifted from in-person only work to largely embracing a hybrid model, the way we foster autonomy and accountability changed forever. For leaders that are navigating the present hybrid landscape while simultaneously striving to create and maintain a solid company culture, the challenge may seem daunting; however, the solution is simple. 

At the center of every successful hybrid organization are values and processes that are built with trust and accountability at the core. Organizations that are eager to foster autonomy and accountability in an attempt to create and maintain a solid company culture must prioritize communication, create intentional policies around work/ life balance, and give their employees the freedom necessary to be in control of their own destiny. 

Additional tips to consider include: 

• Leading with transparency. 
• Setting clear goals that foster accountability.
• Setting clear expectations around communication.
• Monitoring employee engagement as opposed to productivity. 
• Setting aside time for regular check-ins and frequent one-on-ones. 

5. Adapt and pivot when necessary

When building and maintaining culture in a hybrid workplace its important to remember that things change. You may need to adapt and make changes as your needs change and evolve with time. It’s natural for the needs of your employees to change as your organization evolves to meet external needs meaning it may be necessary to review your company culture from time to time. If you want your company culture to continue to support your employees, it’s important that you remain flexible in your approach. A certain practice that worked at one time may no longer serve your organization or the employees that help keep things running. 

Strengthen your company culture with Remo 

Remo is an immersive virtual event and meeting platform that empowers you to recreate natural interactions in any type of gathering, from global events to remote work meetings with your peers. Remo makes it possible for you to connect with your peers in real-time by providing you with the tools you need to immerse yourself in an event, host round table discussions, create a workshop, or brainstorm with your teammates. 

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