Optimizing organizational culture in a virtual environment

Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of remote workers was steadily increasing. In 2018, Forbes Magazine predicted that, in a matter of a few years, up to 50% of U.S. employees would be working from home. However, the pandemic has accelerated that trend dramatically and rapidly.

In January 2020, about 7 million employees worked primarily from home, reflecting a 44% increase over the preceding five years. Since then, the number of new remote staff created by the pandemic is a moving target, but a recent Gallup survey indicated up to two-thirds of the American workforce is now engaged in some variation on work-from-home.

Related: The case against a fully remote workforce

These trends are significantly impacting workplace culture. While some organizations are already ahead of the game in managing a remote workforce, having done so for years, others are playing catch-up. How does an enterprise that relied primarily on in-person interactions and operations as part of its business model suddenly pivot to work-from-home processes without negatively affecting employee morale and engagement?

Well, as is often said, rapid and widespread change has its risks, but also affords opportunities. For some organizations struggling to craft or sustain a culture of well-being and engagement, this dramatic shift in work processes provides a chance to reset some workplace norms, creating a potential fresh start in employee relations. In considering how to make the most of these opportunities, employers may wish to contemplate some of these salient trends among remote workers:

• A Gallup survey found 54% of office workers would leave their jobs for a comparable one providing greater flexibility around hours and telecommuting. This is consistent with earlier findings that flex scheduling is as important to many employees, particularly Millennials, as compensation, reflecting that generation’s commitment to greater work/life balance.
• In kind, almost two-thirds of workers indicated they would leave their current job if the flexibility they now possess was diminished. This may have particular relevance for employers who, in response to the pandemic, moved their employees to remote platforms with the intention of returning them to full in-person work once the contagion comes under control.
• A whopping 83% of employees report that, in deciding between two comparable jobs, they would choose the one offering the opportunity to work remotely, either full- or part-time. These trends are not lost on management. A Future of Work survey found 78% of managers regard flexible schedules and telecommuting as the most powerful non-monetary incentives for increasing employee retention.
• Finally, Gallup research indicates employee engagement peaks when staff spends three to four days of a typical five-day week working remotely, in part because of the impact of this arrangement on morale. An impressive 90% of workers report increased morale when given flexible work schedules.

These data, along with others, make a compelling case for using the pandemic’s disruptions as an opportunity to modify or enhance culture utilizing specific remote working arrangements.

Business impacts

So, we’ve established that many employees favor flexible work schedules, as well as opportunities to work remotely, at least part of the time. Employers offering these options can expect increased engagement, improved retention and better morale. All well and good, but what about the impacts of remote work on bottom-line business outcomes? Well, there’s promising news there, as well. Consider some additional research findings:

• As already mentioned, employee turnover is lower in organizations offering remote work options; in some studies, up to 25% lower. As any HR professional can attest, the costs associated with recruiting, onboarding and training replacement staff can exceed any given position’s annual compensation and benefit costs, sometimes to the tune of 150%.
• Gallup found that moving an employee to a remote platform can save, on average, up to $10,000 per year in facilities-related expenses. Obviously, by shrinking its physical footprint, an organization can reduce a variety of costs, from leased space and office furniture to utilities.
• In an International Working Group survey, 85% of businesses reported increased productivity as a result of flexible scheduling and telecommuting. Much of this uptick was attributed to fewer distractions among remote employees. This is supported by a SHRM study showing that remote workers are up to 25% more productive than their on-site counterparts.

Challenges

While lauding many of the positive impacts of flex scheduling and telecommuting, there are downside risks, as well. Most of these relate to workplace culture, rather than organizational productivity and overall business success. Employees accustomed to face-to-face interaction who transition to remote work may experience some unwelcome disconnects from their colleagues. Social engagement and interaction feel more natural when co-workers are physically present, rather than relying on IT conduits as go-betweens.

Psychological research shows face-to-face communication creates “primary experiences,” which provide interpersonal exchanges rich with sensory inputs and emotional tone. In contrast, the “secondary experiences” generated by online interaction often feel more emotionally, as well as physically distant, and provide a far less sensory-rich environment, which can diminish attention, focus and engagement. One way of looking at this disparity is that primary experiences are in color, while secondary ones are in black-and-white.

Traditionally, the interpersonal ingredients generated by lots of in-person interactions create the social “stew” we call workplace culture. The resulting behaviors, most stemming from primary experiences, coalesce into social norms, the spoken and unspoken rules about how we behave around each other while at work. Remote workers have far less exposure to these interactions and the behavioral norms they support, leaving them feeling less connected to, influenced by, and engaged with the culture of their workplaces.

The challenge, then, for organizations with increasing numbers of remote employees, is to foster and support different kinds of connectedness within the constraints of IT-based communication and the secondary experiences it produces.

Optimizing workplace culture

Obviously, the tool for shaping culture is communication. However, the when, how and why of communicating are the salient factors. Let’s consider what remote employees are telling us about what works and doesn’t.

A Harvard Business Review survey indicates almost half of remote workers appreciate frequent check-ins from their managers. Also, they prefer real-time access to their managers while on duty, such as via an always-on clear communication channel, be that online chat, text messaging, phone or video conferencing.

Takeaway: Availability matters. This sense of interpersonal presence from management is consistent with an affiliative work culture, one where everyone toils together in support of each other and common goals.

What’s more, these same employees appreciated the “personal touch” when interacting online with managers, such as thoughtful inquiries about their wellbeing, that of their family, and even informal back-and-forth about vacation plans, interests, activities, and so on.

Takeaway: The old management adage applies: “Be friendly, but not a friend.” Purely transactional interactions (getting tasks done) sap the relational energy (caring about each other) of an organization’s culture, leaving employees feeling more like things than people. A study by Slack found that 85% of remote workers sometimes struggle to feel more attached to their colleagues.

Takeaway: The use of shared communication channels for the aforementioned check-ins and for celebrating team successes reduces this sense of detachment. Just hearing and seeing one’s co-workers, even virtually, downplays the sense of isolation that stems from being remote.

In addition to management check-ins and team or workgroup events shared online, employees feel more engaged when receiving constructive, purposeful feedback on performance and work processes, as well as recognition for their efforts and successes. Many managers consistently underestimate the motivational power of positive feedback, gratitude and compliments.

Takeaway: Employee recognition is a euphemism for “I care.” When workers are stressed or feel isolated, they want to know if the organization cares about them and their efforts. Most often, they look to their immediate supervisor to answer that question. If one’s supervisor exhibits positive interest, one feels cared about and included. This represents a kind of interpersonal “glue” that binds workers to the organization. Managers should ensure their online interactions with remote employees incorporate “I care” messaging, not just get-it-done communication.

Working remotely can stress what sociologists call “common points of reference,” meaning casual conversations where colleagues share anecdotes, personal happenings, newsy items, jokes, and the like. What’s more, when new hires enter the mix, creating these common points of reference online proves more challenging. This conundrum threatens a sense of belonging and team cohesiveness among co-workers.

Takeaway: In addition to focusing on work-related issues, meetings via shared communication channels should include opportunities to exchange this kind of social currency. Employees should be invited to share what’s happening outside of work, much as they might around the water cooler in the office. Sometimes, this kind of discussion works best by having a non-management team lead or facilitator expedite the exchange.

A Gallup survey shows over 55% of managers and leaders believe they share more than enough information with remote workers about happenings in the organization; everything from financial performance and business goals to structural or operational changes. Predictably, only 18% of workers report receiving enough information from management, often complaining it is too infrequent, lacks sufficient detail or fails to include opportunities to ask questions.

Takeaways: Remote operations necessitate more information sharing with employees by managers and leaders, ideally in an interactive format with plenty of time for questions and answers. In addition to being a sound business practice, this initiative is another “I care” message to workers, helping them feel connected with the larger organization.

Most organizations benefit by asking their employees for constructive feedback and suggestions on work processes. Often, workers on the front lines have lots of ideas about how to make remote work more efficient and less isolating.

Takeaway: Management should actively and frequently solicit input from remote employees on improving the technical and operational aspects of their jobs. This can be done through surveys, team meetings across shared communication channels, or in one-to-one online visits. Asking employees for input shows respect and motivates them to help with process improvements. But remember . . . don’t ask for input unless you intend to use it.

Swept up as most organizations are in getting things done, it’s all too easy to overlook these culture-enhancing initiatives, or to relegate them to a tangential rather than central role during communication events. Business strategies rarely succeed when culture takes a back seat.

Takeaway: Someone or some team needs to assume responsibility for culture-focused efforts with remote workers. Some larger organizations designate a full-time director to this effort, while smaller ones often recruit, train and deploy co-worker champions to sustain these initiatives; or both. Doing so is a tangible demonstration of leadership’s commitment to cultural well-being.

The emerging new normal

Change is often driven by disruptions, and the COVID pandemic is providing plenty of those. The impact of the contagion on workers and work processes has been profound, compelling many organizations to rethink their business models, including approaches to employee relations with remote staff. Thankfully, information technology has proven a powerful asset in this effort, albeit with inherent challenges to employee engagement, productivity and morale. We are already witnessing improvements to online communication platforms, many driven by business necessity. This trend will likely continue, offering new conduits for sustaining culture from a distance.

However, regardless of technological advances, the human element will continue to make or break an organization’s culture. If managers and leaders can support a culture of wellbeing, even from a distance, the dividends for employees and the enterprise as a whole will usually prove substantial. It’s sometimes said that “culture trumps strategy every time.” Often true, but in the world of remote work, culture is strategy.

Philip Chard served as president and CEO for Empathia, Inc. for over 30 years and continues to serve client organizations as a consultant. Empathia has been helping organizations and individuals to be their best for over 35 years. The company began in 1982 as an internal employee assistance program (EAP) for a regional medical center and now provides highly customized and successful behavioral health, student support and crisis management programs to companies across the globe.