Technology to Help Maintain Company Culture

May 7, 2020

How Technology Can Help Maintain Your Company’s Culture

Due to the unexpected shift unexpected of moving from offices to remote work, employers need to make sure the company culture stays intact.  The greatest challenges for remote workers is feeling connected and the need to collaborate to get the work done. We all require social interaction by varying degrees and need to stay in regular contact with our peers. Below are some tips and tricks to maintain your company’s culture through the use to technology.

STAYING CONNECTED

• Encourage employees to “chat” during the day using the available tools to share stories and pictures just like they would if working in the office.
• To foster trust and develop strong individual relationships between employees and managers, continue to have one-on-one conversations with employees on a regular basis.
• Continue to discuss employee goals and objectives providing them with information on online classes and seminars to enhance their career opportunities.
• Continue to emphasize your company culture by posting to a shared site or mailing a note or small item to each employee to remind them they are part of the company.
• Hold a virtual “Happy Hour” with employees to chat with each other. You can also have themes such as trivia contests or “Where I went on my virtual vacation” to get everyone involved.

ENABLING COLLABORATION

• A majority of companies already have email with availability through pc’s and cell phones. Most employees feel there are an overwhelming number of emails to sort through on a daily basis. While this is an important channel of communication, it does not suffice for feeling connected. Instead, consider holding a live event where all employees can join to hear from leadership periodically or a social event to hear what is happening with each employee. There are numerous collaboration tools available such as:
  • Microsoft Teams – most large organizations already have this tool set as part of Office 365
  • Zoom
  • Slack
• Collaboration tools are also great for employee announcements and can be tailored for private or specific groups within your company or externally (with the right security) to conduct meetings and share information. All project teams should have access to an online collaboration tool to avoid rework and keep abreast of project changes.
• Consider using other networking and communication mechanisms for large company meetings such as Facebook Live or YouTube. This could be a significant cost savings tool and result in a better experience for participants.
• Use chat, voice and video more than email. While email is more convenient, it is easier to misinterpret, especially when directing individual activities.  A conversation where people can hear tone and read facial expressions is much harder to misconstrue.
• When using conferencing tools like Zoom or Skype encourage staff to turn the video screen on. Some people may feel uncomfortable showing their home or apartment in the background or the casual way they’re dressed, but more than anything seeing a colleague’s face helps create a connection and seeing company leadership or a client in their home setting helps humanize them to the rest of the team.

If you have any questions on deploying technology for better collaboration with your remote employees, contact Dewpoint for help.