Since the pandemic, flexible and remote working as company policy has transformed from a rarity into an extremely common feature of jobs in the UK, with 39% of workers in Britain now reporting some element of WFH in their employment.
Startups in particular have been keen to retain flexible working, with many moving to a hybrid approach post-pandemic. Whether hybrid or fully remote, the option for employees to work from home gives smaller and early-stage companies access to a much broader talent pool. It also delivers transformative benefits to staff – supporting greater work-life balance, increasing accessibility and improving flexibility for those with external commitments such as childcare. For teams who opt to go fully remote, these benefits must be carefully balanced with a conscious culture of collaboration to ensure you are able to maintain a strong sense of cohesion and boost team well-being and productivity.
As CEO of an entirely remote startup team at Cinapsis, I’ve learnt some lessons along the way. Here are some of the key steps I’ve found that can help foster collaboration and a tight-knit culture amongst your team.
Define clear work culture and expectations
In every organisation, an established company culture is essential for creating an atmosphere of teamwork and collective purpose, which is key to retaining staff. However, for remote teams without a physical office space, it is especially important to create a sense of camaraderie and shared understanding of the workplace. While working from different locations, every employee should feel part of a clearly defined team. Defining what this means together can help ward off the risk of employees feeling disconnected or disengaged whilst working from home.
At Cinapsis, we make sure to have regular check-ins with our team to ensure everyone is aligned on our shared team culture and to identify anything that we can do better as a team. It is vital for work culture to be a collaborative effort, and to liaise with the wider team to build a culture that works for everyone. By clearly defining your working culture, employee expectations and priorities, you can help create a strong sense of collaborative team identity which in turn can help boost motivation and employee wellbeing.
Offer holistic wellbeing support
Wellbeing support is another key part of facilitating a culture of collaboration in a remote-first startup, helping to prevent feelings of isolation and to make sure that team members feel fully supported in their work. Particularly with remote teams, where staff are spread far and wide, it is essential to provide well-being support to maintain a collaborative culture that seeks to support its employees. For example, you could provide staff with access to an external, certified mental well-being service that provides them with tailored mental health support.
Make sure employees know where they can easily access well-being resources. For example, you could run collaborative team sessions which highlight and discuss the support on offer within your company, or send around regular information detailing external helplines and care services through which they can also access help. This can be invaluable for ensuring that staff feel emotionally supported and listened to, and can resolve any issues that might be affecting them. Training on how to use these tools is also necessary to ensure staff are fully aware of the support available to them and are confident using it.
Encourage your team to check in with each other
Effective communication is especially key when your team isn’t sitting together in an office every day. Just because your team is physically apart, it doesn’t mean that they can’t check in with each other. It’s important that there’s a sense of cooperation and teamwork beyond larger team Zoom calls. Organise for your team to catch up with each other more informally – over a virtual coffee, or an in-person meetup – to provide space outside of work for building team relationships and strengthening communication. As CEO, it’s also vital to set aside some time on a regular basis to check in with each member of your team to discuss how they are doing and run through any feedback they may have.
Create a flexible and supportive atmosphere
There are definitely a number of challenges that come with working fully remotely. Team members might find it hard to create a work-life balance when their living and working spaces are one and the same. Acknowledging this and making sure staff are satisfied with their remote working set-up is key. It is crucial to check in with your employees to see if they have access to a comfortable, productive space in which to work and to see if you can offer any support or advice.
Remote working offers employees more flexibility than ever and offers a wide range of benefits for the employer, such as being able to select from a wider talent pool. However, it is vital to take steps to ensure that staff do not feel isolated. By taking measures to create a strong, cohesive work environment, CEOs of remote companies can create a collaborative work environment that helps promote cohesiveness and a strong sense of teamwork, overcoming any geographical divides between the team.
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- Source: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/10/how-to-maintain-a-culture-of-collaboration-in-your-fully-remote-team/
