Shaping Company Culture In A Remote And Hybrid Workplace

10 strategies for building a strong and engaging culture

Workplace culture has changed considerably, leaving leaders with lots of questions about their approach to culture and employee experience. Quantum Workplace research shows that 35 percent of employees agree that their workplace culture has changed dramatically in the past year. The ongoing mission of leadership is to ensure that this change is for the better.

Many leaders were concerned that remote and hybrid work would be detrimental to workplace culture. But our research shows that remote and hybrid employees are actually more engaged than their in-office counterparts—and they have a better perception of their culture.

It’s important for leaders to adopt practices that keep their remote and hybrid employees engaged for the long haul. And while leaders need to give extra attention to remote and hybrid employee groups, the adaptable mindset needed for these workers can benefit your entire workforce—including your in-person employees.

In order to create an engaging culture, it’s important to understand what “culture” actually means to your employees. Our research shows that these three things have the most powerful impact on an employee's perception of workplace culture:
 

 
When you get these aspects right, you can create an engaging culture with motivated employees that are laser-focused on helping your business succeed. But when you get them wrong, you risk low productivity, decreasing morale, and high turnover rates.

We also asked employees to describe what their ideal workplace culture looks like. They said:
 

Leaders have the ability to create a culture shaped by these principles, and forward-thinking, adaptable leaders need to shape their strategies with remote and hybrid employees in mind. These 10 strategies, backed by our research, will help you build an engaging culture across remote, hybrid, and on-site employees.

Measuring the perceptions of remote and hybrid employees can be tough, as the in-person connection isn’t always possible. Regardless, your employees experience your company culture on a day-to-day basis and have valuable insights to guide your initiatives.

That’s why collecting employee perceptions through surveys is imperative. Employee surveys can help shape strategic, evidence-based action toward creating an engaging, inclusive culture.
With the right survey questions, you can measure whether your current culture meets employee expectations and uncover areas for improvement.

Leaders need to prioritize adaptability and change in today’s business environment, and employee surveys will serve as a valuable tool in taking the right action.

Employees need to be empowered to perform at their best. But many leaders are still using outdated, traditional approaches to performance management. Luckily, with remote and hybrid environments, you can invest company resources in your coaching and development initiatives, rather than the physical workspace.

Managers should leverage systems and technology that help them:
 

The investment you make toward coaching-driven performance management will help you create a culture where employees can thrive and genuinely care about their contributions to the success of your business.

The employee experience has a big impact on how employees perceive company culture, which directly affects their engagement levels. Leaders need to think strategically about their business, what they can offer employees, and how their culture can engage and retain employees. Culture initiatives should not be one-time events but rather woven into the fabric of how you operate.

Ensure your onboarding process outlines your company culture so that employees are immersed in it from the jump. But promoting culture shouldn’t stop there. Leaders should create and track goals based on company culture to regularly adapt, improve, and communicate culture. When you prioritize culture in the employee experience, employees will feel connected to and motivated by a bigger cause, even when they aren’t in the office.  

Connection isn’t always easy across a dispersed workforce. But when you create connection-boosting activities with remote employees in mind, they can build meaningful workplace relationships and work toward common goals.

One way to do this is with employee resource groups. Employee resource groups connect workers based on common interests, experiences, and backgrounds. They help foster inclusivity and create an opportunity for employees to build relationships, discuss values, and establish a sense of community.

Another way to help dispersed employees bond is through virtual events. The right events can engage and connect your employees, even when they’re working miles apart. Ideal events are immersive and fun—like a chocolate-making class or a virtual escape room—to promote participation, active conversation, and genuine connection.  

Employees need to understand that you appreciate and value their work, especially when they aren’t physically connected to their manager and teammates. That’s why intentional employee recognition needs to stay top of mind in remote and hybrid environments.

Leaders should find new ways to show appreciation to keep employees engaged and doing their best work. Intentional and frequent recognition will help keep employees motivated, aligned, and ready to contribute more.

Designate clear channels for all employees to give and elevate recognition to the entire organization so that employees feel seen, valued and ready to drive the outcomes that matter.

Highlighting your mission and values in everyday practices is essential for employees to understand that they are a part of a bigger picture. This connection is key to engagement no matter where employees are working.

From onboarding to recognition and feedback, leaders need to shape their strategies with the company’s mission and values in mind. Leaders should be intentional about how they demonstrate and hold people accountable to company values.

Pro Tip: tie your recognition program to your company values to help all employees share stories about how they see your values being lived out day today!

Your onboarding process should be different depending on where your employees work. You can’t just virtualize your onboarding process for remoters and expect it to work the same way it does for your in-person workers.

Leaders should aim to make onboarding as immersive as possible, just like it would be in the traditional, in-person workplace. With the right technology, you can effectively educate employees on culture, expectations, and norms. Give employees an outlet to ask questions, navigate change, and avoid confusion throughout the onboarding process. To further avoid confusion and set employees up for success, you should leverage online learning tools to educate new hires about the things that are essential to their role.

When you make an investment in your onboarding practices, employees are empowered to perform at their best for the long haul.  

Most managers have little experience coaching remote and hybrid teams. For their entire career, they’ve managed in-person employees and don’t have the right strategies to motivate their virtual workers. But adapting to each employee’s needs is more important than ever in the modern workplace. That’s why you need to empower managers to adapt and improve their coaching with remote and hybrid employees in mind.

Leaders should regularly communicate the importance of effective management in remote environments. With growth opportunities like seminars and training sessions, managers can develop their skills and better support, non-traditional employees.

Communication in the workplace can’t happen the same way that it used to be. Before, most employees reported to a physical workspace and had the opportunity to talk from desk to desk and hold the traditional “water cooler” conversations.

But when your employees are working from home and can’t leverage in-person connection, communication needs to be more intentional. Leaders need to create new vehicles that facilitate collaboration between remote and hybrid employees.

Designate online channels for employees to communicate and connect. Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other communication channels can help facilitate the conversations that would previously happen in the office. Hold regular video chats among teams so that employees can discuss ideas, ask questions, and build connections.

Employee flexibility and autonomy are a huge part of the engagement. Today’s employees want to work in an environment that allows them to decide where and how they work.

Leaders should avoid micromanaging and let employees work in a way that fits their needs. Empower employees to balance their personal and professional life, or else they risk burnout. With the flexibility that allows employees to find balance, they’ll stay engaged and motivated to bring their best to their role and team every day.

While there are many strategies that leaders and HR should adopt when shaping an engaging culture, the weight shouldn’t fall entirely on their shoulders. Everyone should play a part in creating workplace culture, including leaders, HR, and employees themselves.

When you effectively demonstrate company culture on a day-to-day basis, employees have the tools to foster a strong culture in their experience too. Plus, by regularly gathering employee perceptions and feedback, you can shape culture with their ideas in mind.

Culture-shaping should be a team effort, and employees need to be empowered to promote company culture day in and day out. When you have the right approach to modern workplace culture, you can make work better every day for all employees.