Build Remote and Hybrid Environments Remote and Hybrid Environments That Thrive

Teams are collaborating in virtual environments more and more. According to a recent survey, a majority of employees work with hybrid and remote team members. As the workplace continues to evolve, leaders will need to get more intentional to create a culture that attracts, engages, and retains top talent.

Leaders have traditionally been successful in building organizational culture in a physical environment. They feel like they are more in control because they can hear, see, and feel that culture daily. Experiencing culture in the physical workplace is immediate and tangible.

A new research shows that culture expands outside of the office walls, but only 28% of employees experience culture in the physical workspace. For those who only come into the office occasionally, the culture they experience can affect employee engagement. To keep employees engaged in an increasingly hybrid world, leaders will need to be more intentional in creating a culture that remote and hybrid employees can enjoy.

According to 83% of employees, leaders are responsible for creating the culture. Managers are responsible for building culture. Organizational cultures and how employees experience those cultures are dependent on leadership.

How Employees Experience Culture

People experience culture in a number of ways. The top three aspects of work where employees experience the most culture are shown in our research.

• Values and mission

• There are celebrations and recognitions.

• An approach to employee performance

Effective communication by leaders and managers is important for shaping culture. Communication should be reinforced by managers and monitored.

Communication should be two-way. Team leaders need to listen as much as they talk. Any culture that has lasting power depends on feedback and input from employees.

In hybrid and remote environments, opportunities for conversations don’t occur as frequently as they do in a physical workspace. Building an engaging organizational culture, regardless of whether the employee is in the office or not, is part of creating opportunities for connection and celebration.

Building a Team Culture that Drives Engagement

How you shape your culture can affect employee engagement. Team cultures that are engaging in any work environment are the key to a strong organizational culture.

What is it that makes a team culture engaging? The team-level drivers of an engaging team culture were found in our research.

• Clear and effective team communication is what it is.

• The goals and responsibilities of the team are clear.

• Highly innovative or creative team members are working with you.

• It is safe to express opinions.

• Building a culture of feedback.

The drivers are true for many teams. Building blocks in virtual and hybrid environments are the same as building blocks in the physical workplace. Managers may need to rethink their approach to drive engagement in remote and hybrid teams

Evolving Your Culture for Remote and Hybrid Workers

Employees gather in the physical workspace to get coffee and chat about their outside work experiences. Critical information is passed throughout the organization as a result of short conversations you have with employees in the office. In a virtual environment, these opportunities are not as plentiful.

Increased communication opportunities for employees who aren’t in the workspace is something team leaders must adapt to. Follow these steps to upgrade your culture.

Increase the amount of feedback. Communication channels will need to be open to ask employees about their experience with hybrid and remote workers. pulse surveys should be sent out at key moments in the employee journey, like after a significant change and before an employee leaves the organization.

Make sure you have continuous one-on-ones for remote and hybrid workers and allow time for those non-work focused conversations in messages or video calls. hybrid and remote workers prefer weekly one-on-ones with their managers It’s a great way to relay information and make employees feel connected.

Continuous feedback is connected with engagement 70% of employees engage in weekly performance conversations. Employees feel supported when they act and make decisions with regular coaching.

Team connections are made deeper. Humans have a deep need for personal connection and this might be especially true with the people they work with the most closely. It’s difficult to build strong cultures if you don’t encourage personal connection.

Six in 10 employees feel connected to their team members on a personal level. Almost half of employees don’t feel close to their team.

One way in which team members build strong personal connections is by working together on shared goals. If the success of a team is on goals that are moderately difficult and critical to organizational success, then team success is one of the strongest indicators of a team’s success.

Building an engaging culture requires taking action. It’s not enough to get feedback. You can take immediate and bold action based on the feedback you get. In order for managers to engage and retain their best, they must make meaningful improvements to the employee experience. Half of departing employees said that the feedback they provided was well-received and followed up on.

Managers should use conversations with employees to remove obstacles. Make sure that everyone is on the same page by increasing communication. Align goals so remote and hybrid employees can achieve together as a team and watch their work contribute to the organization’s success

Great work that is contributing to the organization’s success should be acknowledged. Employees leave their jobs because of a lack of recognition Employees want to know that their manager values them. Creating a culture of recognition ties remote and hybrid employees to their teams and the organization.

Positive organizational cultures are described by employees as caring, supportive, and engaging. If you are more strategic with your employee feedback strategy, you can improve the experience for your employees. It’s possible to build environments for remote and hybrid teams to do their best work anywhere.

Do you want to know more about building an engaging workplace culture? The Organizational Culture Research Report was published in the year 2022.

He is the lead researcher at the workplace. He is a researcher and a psychologist.