Remote workforce has been a hot topic since the pandemic forced many employers to navigate into this unfamiliar territory.  I get asked a lot about how to create culture when people aren’t together.  Although hospitality is an industry that requires many of the positions to be done in person (we can’t really ask our team members to cook in their own kitchen or serve a guest from their couch), there are jobs that can be done from anywhere or on a hybrid schedule such as sales, finance, marketing and even human resources. When companies have different policies for different departments it’s easy for a divide to occur and it becomes even trickier to build a cohesive team that trusts one another. 

While the tech industry has celebrated their ability to allow employees to work from anywhere, it appears they may be changing their tune. By the end of 2022, roughly 26% of Americans were working remotely, just 3.5% above pre-pandemic levels and well below the 42% during the height of the pandemic. And that number may be coming down even further as companies are now starting to mandate that employees return to the office. In this article, David Risher, CEO of Lyft said; “Humans are deeply social: we live longer and are happier when we connect with one another. Lyft helps get people out and about to work, play and have fun together.  We’ve got to walk the walk.”

There are natural interactions when people are working together 
in-person that help to organically build relationships within an organization. It’s not that you can’t build culture remotely, you just have to be very intentional about it and understand that it’s not easy to do. I personally have found that there are a couple of keys to this. The first is consistency. Having regular check-ins or virtual meetings can be very effective as long as everyone commits to them and is present during the call. This means ground rules need to be laid out in advance and enforced. Cameras on, engaged in the discussion and no distractions from kids, pets or email. I personally have built some very strong relationships over Zoom simply by committing to a set time each week or month and being part of the conversation. The second key is being purposeful about your goal. If you want connection you can’t just have everyone call in and expect natural conversation to occur. You have to prompt the team with questions that will foster sharing and encourage vulnerability within the answers.

Culture is largely based on relationships between team members.  When employees work with people they love, trust and respect, they are driven toward higher levels of performance, they have more patience with one another, and are overall happier with their job. Whether in-person, hybrid, or a virtual environment, relationships can be fostered among team members. Most companies don’t do a great job of helping their team members build relationships with one another. Instead of leaving it up to chance, organizations must be intentional about strengthening the bonds between employees and consistent with their efforts.