As most leaders know, creating a strong one does not happen overnight. It takes a concentrated effort to hire the right team members, establish transparency, and create the rituals and traditions that make staff feel connected—both to their work and each other.
But when employees are working remotely, building a company culture that reaches everyone can be even more challenging. Consider all the normal office interactions—morning updates, weekly brainstorms, group activities, happy hours, office chatter, etc.—that happen organically between your team. This is not the reality for remote employees. With team members scattered across different locations, employers need to be intentional in cultivating a culture of connectivity, communication, and belonging.
So, what can employers do to build a strong company culture for remote staff?
Improve communication
With culture more likely to fall through the cracks in a remote environment, leadership needs to take an active role in nurturing engagement and building trust. Since culture goes hand-in-hand with communication, executives should start by setting the standard and embracing virtual tools to keep morale high and help employees feel appreciated. Some easy ways to do this include:
An employee newsletter
In addition to providing company updates, an employee newsletter can be a great platform for highlighting the happenings and achievements of different departments and shouting out specific employees who have hit major milestones.
Sending out surveys
While employees might not physically be in the office, they need to feel “seen.” A survey gives employees an opportunity to share their feedback—just be sure to take it seriously and come up with a plan for better supporting them.
Build peer-to-peer relationships
In a traditional office setting, companies often rely on the physical space to help nurture relationships amongst staff. In a remote setting, however, there are no ping pong tables, cafes, or even water coolers where staff can gather to take a break or chat with colleagues—making it more difficult to build camaraderie. The good news is that leaders can take the following steps to re-create these interactions virtually:

Take "coffee" breaks

Play games

Create fun Slack channels

Make communication visual

Take "coffee" breaks

Play games

Create fun Slack channels

Make communication visual
Establish company-wide initiatives
When employees are working remotely, it’s important to give them the sense of community that they’d most likely get if they were working in the office. Annual or quarterly company-wide initiatives are a great way to bring all your staff together, in-person or virtually, to get to know each other and keep company spirit alive. Here is some inspiration for getting started:
Town halls
These meetings can help ensure every employee, regardless of their location, is informed of important company updates, milestones, and events. They also give staff the opportunity to ask questions and give their feedback.
Friendly contests
Encourage some friendly competition by starting company-wide contests, hosting trivia events, or even having a competition that promotes wellness (like a steps competition!).
Shadow programs
Allowing individuals to shadow employees in different departments is a great way to encourage team collaboration and expose staff to various areas of the company.
Company retreats or events
Bring your employees together for a few days of team bonding and fun!
Volunteering
Hold a bi-annual or annual volunteer event, where employees can volunteer together instead of logging on or going into the office.
Learn More: 6 Virtual Team Building Activities To Boost Morale