Why Remote Teams Have Better Company Culture

Remote companies and company culture usually don’t go hand in hand. When you think company culture, the thoughts usually consist of an open office environment, daily huddles, a nice lunch area to hang with your co-workers, cool boardrooms, and of course the company ping-pong table. When we took our company remote, we didn’t really know what to expect. As with most of our business decisions, we usually use our instinct and do what feels right. This decision was no different. Going remote definitely felt right, but we weren’t entirely clear how it would all play out. Two years into being a fully remote company, and with team members spread across seven countries, I can proudly say that our company’s culture is realer than ever, positive, and much better than it was in a physical office. As surprising as that may seem for a remote company, here are the reasons why: MORE COMMUNICATION Yes, that’s right. We communicate with each other much more than we did in the office. Effective communication quickly becomes very important in a remote setup. In an office, it’s very easy to talk about unnecessary randomness (watercooler talk), just because of the close proximity. Although we have a #general slack channel where team members post random stuff and GIF’s, the random talk is much less. Instead, we communicate much more when it matters, and we do so much more efficiently. TRANSPARENCY To run a successful remote company, you have to be much more transparent. We use Slack to send off event notifications to team members in every department. This means that a lot of the company’s and team members’ wins and losses are visible to everyone. This is a great thing in developing a family-like culture. Just like any family, we’re there to celebrate wins, and pick each other up during losses. I find it much more difficult to be transparent in an office environment without taking everyone away from their work to attend a pointless meeting. ALWAYS AVAILABLE Slack is essentially our virtual office. Each team member has Slack on their mobile device and on their laptop. We’re always available for each other, around the clock. If a team member is putting in some extra work late at night, and sends a Slack message, chances are someone will come online and chime in. Unlike working from a physical office, we’re always available and connected with each other. TRUST When working with teammates all over the world, most of which you’ve never even met in person, trust is essential. Trust is the foundation of every remote company. Remote team members are very autonomous and not micro-managed. Work hours can also be pretty flexible in most cases. At the end of the day, it’s all about showing results, and trusting that your team will produce what’s expected from them. Building that deep level of trust allows you to develop bonds with people that get stronger over time. That trust then leads to solid friendships and respect amongst team members that make the unity in your company even tighter. LIFESTYLE The greatest benefits in working remote are the lifestyle advantages. Having the flexibility to work from wherever you want, not having to drive in traffic, live in different places, and see your family more often have a lot of positive effects. These perks lead to increased happiness, less stress, and more energy, among a whole list of other benefits. All of this translates into a positive work environment. The more people on your team that share these common attributes, leads to extremely positive vibes and vitality in the workplace. What I’ve learned managing a growing company, is that culture is everything. When you’re growing your team and adding employees, of course you want to find people who are more than qualified to carry out their job. However, what’s even more important than that, is finding people who are able to integrate seamlessly into your company culture and get along with the rest of the team. Culture and work environment is something I wouldn’t sacrifice for anything or anyone! Music by sifer2424