3 Ways To Maintain Culture In A Virtual Or Hybrid Workplace

Last month at one of my Harvard classes, we got into an intense debate about whether virtual work was here to stay or if we’d quickly revert to the in-person setting typical of pre-pandemic times.

While many of my fellow students and I believe there are benefits to virtual and hybrid work options, especially when it comes to personal productivity or recruiting and retaining younger generations and parents who appreciate the flexibility that remote work offers, some were concerned that the virtual environment would hinder their organization’s culture. This was especially worrisome for organizations who were onboarding new employees who hadn’t experienced their culture before work-from-home became the necessary norm.

I see the benefit to being in physical proximity of other members of your team and leveraging the spontaneous brainstorming and relationship building that can happen around the water cooler, but culture is more than social gatherings, pool tables in the break room, and free pizza on Friday. Culture is made up of the people you hire and retain, the values and mission that drive your organization, and every interaction you have with your team and clients, virtual or in person. Having led a small, but mighty, 100 percent virtual team since I started my coaching and leadership development business in 2017, I’d like to share how we cultivate a culture in our virtual environment.

1. Hire To Core Values And Key Attributes 💜📈👍

Culture is the people who make up your organization. The first and, perhaps, most important step to cultivating a culture you desire in any work environment – virtual or not – is attracting and hiring only those that align with your organization’s core values and the key attributes you desire of your team.

My business, Joy Discovered, has three core values: impact, growth, and excellence. Three is a sweet-spot number because every team member can remember and recite three important values and use them to guide the decisions they make daily.

We have 12 attributes of our team. (You can view them here if you’re curious: www.joydiscovered.com/culture). We interview, hire, measure, train, promote, and fire against these 12 attributes. They weed out people unfit for our culture early in the recruitment process and give our team clear expectations on how we want them to show up for work each day (no matter if they’re wearing yoga pants at home or working in a business suit at a coffee shop).

Click HERE for 2 more ways to create a kickass work culture, virtually – from my most recent article in Brainz Magazine