Working from home? Here’s 5 ways to keep your company culture as strong as ever

As we’ve all trudged back to our makeshift home offices for the foreseeable future, returning to normal life now seems that tiny bit further out of reach. If you’re like us and the thousands of others who have sadly said à bientôt to our beloved offices, desk plants, and fave lunch spots, it’s fair to say working from home has tugged on our heartstrings more than expected. So as teams stay physically distanced for the immediate future, it’s important to recreate your company culture in the comfort of your own home. Why? To maintain the soul of your company whilst working from home and to keep connected and feel supported at work - especially during times of uncertainty. 

“So I can hear you asking the million dollar question; how can I maintain a strong company culture from home?

Well, it’s all about communication. 5 months into working from home, it’s safe to say we’re all pretty familiar with our good old friends Slack and Zoom. The circumstance that brought us close is, well, a little unfortunate (thanks Corona), but now what would we do without them? These platforms are here to make communication easy and bring a sense of togetherness to teams despite being apart, which is vital for company culture! Seeing as though we can’t yell an ahoy from one side of the office to the other, or give a friendly tap on the shoulder to seek some advice, or simply say au revoir, we’ve got to reimagine communication. So how can you do this?

Get creative and have some fun! Here are our 5 tips to improve company culture whilst working remotely:

1. MORNING CHECK-INS AND ARVO CHECK-OUTS

This is a super simple way to check in with your team and improve communication. Dropping a ‘Good morning ☀️’ message not only lets your team know that you’re in for the day, but makes them feel welcomed. The power of this small gesture adds a much-needed warmness to working from home.

2. BEING ‘FACE-TO-FACE’

As we can’t see our colleagues in person, the next best thing is ensuring some ‘face-to-face’ communication at least once a day.  Jumping on Zoom and actually seeing a face and a smile fosters positivity for each and every individual. Despite the fact we’ve all experienced a little bit of Zoom overload in the last couple of months, we’re lucky to have this technology to allow us to see some friendly faces to get us through the overwhelming feelings of isolation.

3. KEEPING TRADITIONS (OR MAKING NEW ONES)

Let’s flashback to pre-corona. Seems like a whole lifetime ago, right? What were your team’s daily, weekly or monthly rituals? You think some might be difficult to replicate virtually but we’ve come to learn almost anything done offline can be done just as well online! For the team at Inka, mornings started with barista-made coffee from our local just around the corner from the office.  Now it’s a little less glamorous, but a trusty homemade Nespresso pod or green tea keeps the tradition of having morning coffee together going strong. 

While getting our caffeine hit, we start our daily meetings with a good amount of personal chit-chat. A huge part of socialisation comes from work so, despite working from home, it’s important to continue treating it as a place to share personal stories, experiences, recommendations, and whatever else needs to be shared! Devote the initial 15 minutes of your Zoom call to chat about anything and everything. This is a super easy and great way to stay social and help beat the iso blues.

4. FORMAL INFORMALITIES

Having an official place to be informal is super important whilst working from home. Set up a couple of Slack channels or a Facebook Messenger group where the only rules are no work chat, strictly play. Having a watercooler chat should not be seen as a distraction from daily work, but rather a fundamental player in building trust and bonding outside of the professional sphere. Need some inspo on how to get started? To get through lockdown and bring a little fun to the table, Inka’s partaking in some weekly cooking challenges. We also share books, Netflix shows, 50% off sales, and our furry friends with each other in our ‘non-work’ channels. We’ve been meme queens and played some fun getting to know you games - of which, peanut butter or vegemite? Beach or forest? And more importantly, which is the top end of a dim sim?

5. SHOWING LOVE ❤️

At times during this hullabaloo, we’ve felt disconnected. It’s been a normal reaction to adjusting to the new virtual way of working. To reconnect the disconnect, it’s important to show the love and appreciation of colleagues and the work they’ve been doing from home. Our favourite quick and easy way to do so? Slack reacts or a good old fashioned emoji!

They’re a fun way to congratulate, encourage, and admire the work and ideas of your peers. Emojis are not just cute, smooshy faces but a colourful way to personally engage with the people in your workplace to show a bit of love we all deserve. ❤️👍😍👏😂👌🎉💃✔️

As long as we’re apart during this strange period of time, there are ways to stay connected, have fun and celebrate your team whilst working from home. With the help of open communication, a sprinkle of entertainment, a whole lot of admiration and you’ve got the perfect company culture cocktail!

(Company cocktails…should we add that to this list?)

This post was written by Inka Intern Madeline as part of our 12 week Intern Program. If you're interested in interning with us, keep an eye out for announcements on our social channels to be the first to know.