Opinion: How to sustain team culture while home working

In a fast-moving, dynamic sector the social interactions that take place in offices and stores up and down the country shape a company’s culture. When people come together day after day under the same roof friendships are formed, values are embedded, ideas are debated, successes are celebrated and failures interrogated. 

Through necessity, many businesses and their employees have adapted remarkably well to home working during the pandemic. But maintaining the same sense of togetherness and focus in the long-term will be more challenging.

Conversations I’ve had with c-suite executives suggest that not all employees will return to the office once the threat from Covid-19 subsides. Of those who do, many will continue to balance home and office working long into the future.

How then can positive organisational cultures be sustained when people are physically removed from one another?

Fostering engagement

Although the office dynamic cannot be replicated entirely at home, businesses can take steps to ensure employees continue to feel engaged and valued.

Basic needs: First and foremost, as an employer you have a duty to support people’s basic hygiene needs when working remotely. While it won’t be practical to carry out a risk assessment for every home, businesses need systems in place to ensure colleagues are safe and secure in their own space. Do they have the equipment they need? Are they comfortable? Do they have any concerns and if so how can you address these?

Switching off: Insist that people take regular breaks and a full hour for lunch. Do not, intentionally or otherwise, create a culture of presenteeism. It may feel that having people ‘always on’ is good for productivity but over time it will breed resentment.

Video chat: Ditch the phone and cut down on email. Phone calls and emails are fine for imparting specific information but they don’t help people feel emotionally connected to one another. Instead, encourage colleagues to have video conversations via platforms like FaceTime or WhatsApp throughout the day as the new normal. When people see another face they are instinctively more likely to engage in the kind of small talk that would usually take place at the tea station or by a desk and is so important in building relationships. The same goes for managers, albeit with the caveat that surprising team members with an unscheduled video call risks feeling intrusive when they are in their own home. Give people 10 minutes’ notice of your intention to call so they can prepare accordingly. Then invite colleagues to do the same to you. A reliance on emails, especially those filtered through managers or personal assistants, risks perpetuating any sense of disconnect employees working from home already feel.

Regular get-togethers: Where safe to do so, arrange regular face-to-face team meetings in the office. Buy coffees and cakes or sandwiches and leave plenty of time for colleagues to catch up before you get into the detail of the meeting. If this isn’t possible, build in time at the start of virtual meetings for non-work conversation.

Sharing news: Find creative, interactive ways to share company news that make the whole workforce feel involved.

Replicate perks: Celebrate birthdays and other events as you would in the office with cards, gifts and (where feasible) cake. Try to replicate office perks so home workers don’t feel they are missing out. A tea and coffee subsidy for home workers won’t cost much but will do a lot for people’s sense of worth and belonging.

Through all the factors facing retail leaders, one piece of advice is very straightforward: always listen to the needs of your people.