The Future of Work is rapidly progressing, and remote work plays a significant role in it. According to Upwork’s 2021 Future Workforce Report, businesses expect 58% of their workforce to be fully remote within the next five years. In this context, Founders and Leaders who are taking on the exciting challenge of bringing their teams to the next level are often faced with questions about how to keep thriving as they transition towards a remote model.
In this article, our Founder, CEO, and Future of Work Expert, Therese Gedda, shares three actionable “how-tos” to help Leaders spearhead the workplace transformations that will make an impact in the history of their companies.
1. How can you create a sense of belonging when working remotely?
The way we see it, there are multiple layers to this answer. The first one is, it is crucial to invest in your culture. To attract talent who can feel a deep connection to your values and to the things that matter the most to you, a solid cultural foundation always comes first. This will allow you to have a clear path forward that your team can act upon in the day-to-day life of the company and that you can communicate to the world outside — not just in words, but in actions. Through every single thing you do as a company, you are saying, “this is who we are, this is what we believe in, this is the way we do things around here.” So, to be able to attract the talent that you want in your team, it is important to keep your actions and your statements aligned.
Once you have the basis of a thriving culture, your company is going to attract a lot more talent. But not all of that talent is going to be a good fit for your culture. So, secondly, it is essential to have a recruitment process that helps you identify the talent who can truly engage with your culture in a meaningful, positive way. This will help you protect your company from bad cultural fits that are potentially harmful to the organization while ensuring that you are welcoming talent who is aligned with the values you believe in and the way you do things.
Having a thriving culture and people who make a great cultural fit is the basis of cultivating a sense of belonging, whether you are working in-person or remotely. Having team members actively create, participate in, and engage with your culture will help them truly resonate with your values while finding themselves in a community of like-minded individuals. Upon that foundation, you can enhance a sense of belonging by carrying out cultural initiatives that foster meaningful connections between team members and the culture.
2. How can you best nurture and motivate your remote-based talent?
Whether your team is working remotely or in-person, the core of nurturing your talent is connected to setting them up for success. While this can look different for different team members, here are some ideas catered especially to remote-based teams.
- Empowering them to design thriving lifestyles. Hybrid and remote models give companies the opportunity to explore the possibilities that workplace flexibility offers. By supporting your talent in designing schedules in alignment with their internal body clocks and encouraging them to explore working at different locations beyond the office, you can help them peak their fulfillment and productivity.
- Investing in their workplaces. The environment has a great impact on people’s quality of performance. Helping them set up a workstation that compliments their performance style and makes them feel welcome can be a small initiative that brings their delivery to the next level.
- Supporting their development. At Reimaginez, we believe in the value of lifelong learning. Investing in training initiatives for your talent is key to developing a cutting-edge workforce, but that’s not all: it can also boost your talent’s motivation and engagement with your company. In 2019, LinkedIn reported that 94% of professionals said they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development.
- Setting them up with the right tech. Making sure your remote talent has the equipment they need to deliver brilliant results can go a long way, not only in the practical sense but also in nurturing the feeling that they are being cared for and supported to bring out their best. However, keep in mind that your usage of tech devices should always serve a purpose that is in alignment with your culture.
3. How do you sustain a thriving culture without the in-person elements?
Designing and sustaining a thriving culture is a complex, ongoing pursuit that involves a variety of aspects in multiple dimensions. Some of those aspects were addressed in previous questions, like fostering a deep sense of belonging and nurturing your talent through actions spanning all levels, from the big-picture strategy to initiatives in detail. But when it comes to thriving, especially on a remote-based model, it is vital to have a certain cohesiveness, a principle around which you organize everything else. Beyond having an impactful purpose that guides the way: what organizes the way you work, you collaborate, and you interact on an everyday basis?
One of the keys to sustaining a thriving culture in the long run is designing a culture that is centered around performance and achievement. This is a powerful principle that will determine how you do everything: from recruiting and onboarding new talent to setting the pace of the work and celebrating milestones. A high-performing, high-achieving culture will prioritize ways of organizing work that amplify the team’s efforts, enhancing their productivity and creativity, and motivating them to strive for greatness.
The Bottom Line
We are the trailblazers of an unprecedented moment in history. As Leaders, we have the power to leverage the new challenges we are facing and create a positive impact that will outlast generations. Making the decision to design a thriving culture is the first step.
Are you ready to bring your company to the next level? We are here to help.
Do you have a question you would like to see answered from a cultural perspective? Share it with us through LinkedIn or email! We might be picking some for our next Q&A.
Ready to Thrive?
High Achievers outperform the average worker by 10% in productivity, 20% in sales, and 30% in profitability.
We have worked with 1000+ founders and CEOs, and we have experienced first-hand how culture has an impact on everything, from interactions between team members to talent attraction and retention; from customer relationships and profitability to the speed of innovation and your ability to propel revolutionary initiatives that will wow your Dream Persona and leave a print in the history of your industry.
We have built proprietary frameworks proven to deliver transformative change in fast-growing companies. Below is a selection of our custom-designed projects on culture, leadership, and growth that can span from two weeks to a year depending on goals and needs:
Codifying Culture is designed to create a strong cultural foundation to be used for effective leadership initiatives, recruitment, and accountability.
Recruiting on Cultural Fit is a scalable and methodical recruitment model focused on mindset, cultural and value alignment.
Scaling a High Achiever Culture is designed to keep the best people, your High Achievers, performing and thriving.
Strategic Direction and Growth is often delivered as an off-site, followed by an executive coaching program for your management team.
Bespoke Programs are fully customized initiatives that span extensive cultural transformations as well as targeted projects covering culture, leadership, commercialization, recruitment, training, and growth.
