5 Actionable Tips to Bridge the Culture Gaps in Remote Workplace

If your company has remote workers, they may represent different cultures. If so, congratulations! A multicultural background provides a broader view, drives innovation, and fosters growth.

Fun facts: A culturally diverse work team also increases productivity and efficiency.

However, cross-cultural communication is difficult, especially when working remotely. Non-verbal cues also cause misunderstanding. For example, giving the OK sign in one culture can lead to a fight in another. Everything depends on culture.

If you want to take your cross-cultural team to the next level, you need to learn how to understand and communicate with each other. That's why we've compiled a list of practical, actionable ways to improve culture with remote working teams.

1. Why is culture influential in a remote work environment?

Creating a positive company culture is one of the primary ways organizations retain and recruit employees.

However, the corporate culture is rarely directly reflected in the remote work environment. It is an important and urgent issue that deserves the company's resources.

A solid remote company culture helps employees stay connected and foster communication and trust. Plus, employees can feel engaged and motivated when working remotely.

Therefore, it allows employees to work effectively with your organization to drive business success.

Salary and benefits are essential when people choose a job. However, a positive environment is vital to maintaining long-term cooperation. High employee morale also helps attract and retain top talents who deliver valuable results.

Every company wants to be a top choice for any employees. Therefore, companies should create a strong culture for remote and hybrid workers. A culture that puts employees first can also increase engagement and alignment.

2. Communication comes first

Communication is always important in any situation because it connects people. Effective communication is the foundation of an effective and dynamic team.

Communication in a remote workplace is more challenging than in a traditional workplace. It requires different types of digital communication to interact with others and get work done. Employees can use email, chat, intranets, video conferencing, and collaboration tools.

Good communication effectively brings remote teams closer together and fosters collaboration.

3. Bring people together with regular video meetings

Most businesses today have at least a few employees working remotely. So how can you build good relationships when your team members don't work in the same office and rarely interact face-to-face?

It can be difficult, but not impossible.

Encouraging employees to communicate more is beneficial. Remote workers should attend regular meetings and brainstorming sessions. Also, colleagues' relationships are essential. They need to know well about each other and increase interaction.

Remember to make your employees feel comfortable. Employees who can't show up at the appointed time can make it up later. They can freely give their opinions and ideas.

4. Promote organizational cohesion between onsite and remote employees

As a remote worker leader, you must maintain a work-life balance while fostering office cohesion for onsite and remote employees.

Whether remote work is a short-term solution or a permanent anchor, use these tactics to strengthen organizational cohesion and minimize organizational disruption.

+ Decide on a weekly team ritual

Teamwork tends to be more successful when each member is equally receptive. We can encourage this through rituals that everyone can participate in, regardless of location or role.

+ Enable the "Virtual Water Cooler" dialog

An office environment helps build cohesion as employees can chat with each other in the break room or at their desks. With remote teams, these “water-cooled” moments don’t come naturally. Therefore, fostering open conversation and social connection is necessary.

+ Invest in collaboration software

Employees must connect and align in real time to increase productivity. It can be difficult for remote teams. However, collaboration software is now available to speed up and streamline the process.

5. Manage Remote Teams with Trust and Transparency

Redefine how you measure productivity and use team visibility to empower your team. In this case, digital work analysis software can provide visibility to leaders.

You need to discuss with your team what works best for them. Then, you may agree to share this information to facilitate collaboration.

Trust and openness go hand in hand to help your employees and your company do great work. Retaining team members also boosts productivity and success.

6. Be Clear about Common Goals

Working towards a common goal helps all employees understand the purpose and importance of their work. Additionally, it ensures that everyone is on the same road. They feel they belong and remember who they are.

Therefore, all team members should clearly understand the company's mission, vision, and values. The corporation is the best way to ensure a company's growth.