Industry Insights

Building a positive and successful company culture is tricky enough to begin with. Building a positive culture when people are remote, or a combination of remote and in-person, is an entirely different question.  

With more companies embracing the flexibility and opportunities that come with adopting a hybrid working environment, you open the door to hiring excellent talent from across the country,  but that means it’s harder to have your team feel like an actual connected, cohesive unit.  

It’s difficult, but not impossible! Here are some tips that might help your digital marketing team.  

1. Make sure everything is documented. With people scattered in different locations, and new members being hired at the same time, it’s all the more important to make sure all your policies, procedures, standards, branding and marketing guidelines and other important documents are in writing and available on a shared drive for easy reference. This ensures everyone is given the same directions, has access to the same information and that everything is done, and advised, uniformly. People who are starting from the same knowledge base, no matter where they physically sit, will feel like they’re part of a team if they’re all utilizing the same direction, compared with those who feel like those working in the office are getting one set of instructions that might be different from those working remotely.  

2. Schedule regular meetings and conversations. Make sure your team talks to each other. This starts with managers: Regular team meetings, whether weekly or twice a month, help keep everyone on the same page. Start by scheduling regular video calls with your overall team together and as many smaller groups as needed to get the ball rolling. Video calls are important with remote workers, as they let people see each other’s faces. It’s possible they might not be in the same physical place at the same time for a while, if ever, and this helps people feel more comfortable and familiar with each other.  

3. Encourage side conversations and collaborations too. One of the benefits of communication tools like Slack and Teams is the ability to have side chats and few things help bring people together and establish common bonds (and jokes!) like informal conversations between colleagues. Encourage your team to have separate regular chats amongst themselves as they work on projects, or designate contacts for new employees to call if they have questions about anything. The more they work together to solve problems or brainstorm, the more they’ll learn about each other and find common bonds.  

4. Find other ways to be “together.” We’ve had two years, if not longer, to learn how to work from home. But we’re also learning how to have fun together in different places. As important as it is to get together formally for meetings, every so often, have a “game day” or “happy hour” where people can set aside the work conversations and have a little fun together. Whether it’s a coffee hour and your company provides gift cards for hot beverages and snacks, or a monthly birthday celebration at the end of a given day, these little moments of humanity can help people relax together. There are plenty of creative ways to bring people together while we’re apart — if nothing else, the pandemic has helped us all embrace this kind of innovation.  

5. Be available for help. Remote employees are not all starting at the same comfort level: with being remote, when starting a new job, when learning new skills. Make sure there’s someone available to be there and talk someone through their questions and concerns. Whether that’s a manager, a supervisor, a team leader; anyone who is best suited to be a compassionate ear and a helpful guide can really help people feel welcomed and supported.  

We’re all learning how to adjust and trying new practices to bring our teams together. Marketing people are creative and eager to collaborate; use those strengths to find tricks that work for your group!  

If you need to bring on additional marketing experts, call Method Recruiting. We have fantastic, talented and flexible candidates available who would love to join your team and are ready to start right away. Contact Method Recruiting today and make your team stronger!