Is Remote Culture Killing Your Business?

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

– Richard Branson

The science surrounding the ability of employers to build and sustain healthy and productive remote working cultures is still evolving.  Most recently, Time Magazine published a summary of relevant data showing that companies started requiring employees to show up in the office more frequently this year.  And that those employers are struggling to recruit.  According to The Flex Index study released on July 18, 2023, companies (regardless of size) with flexible work policies are growing up to twice the annual rate of companies that required full-time onsite work.  This research was based on more than 4,500 companies at 30,000 global locations and more than 100 million employees.  And, according to this study, the more flexible the company, the higher the rate of growth.  Companies that required 1 – 3 days in the office grew faster, in other words, than companies requiring 4 or 5.

While headcount expansion is not alone an indicator of a company’s financial vitality, in an economy still experiencing low unemployment, talent wars, and difficulty attracting post-Covid workers who have shifted their mindsets about what they expect in return for their time and talents, this data point is informative.

Research suggests that for employees, remote work can offer benefits such as increased autonomy, flexibility, and reduced commuting stress.  Opportunities to start a career, advance an existing one, or transfer to something completely new are virtually (no pun intended) limitless.  Applicants who can now affordably find learning and development online while rationally dreaming about by their next job can do so without worries associated with restrictions based on current location and socio-economic circumstances.  Workers can live closer to family in more affordable cities.

Benefits for employers include the ability to hire a more diverse workforce from beyond office footprints.  While a company may have struggled to hire minority talent in a particular urban area, it can now find success in hiring such workers in more minority-rich or under-employed areas.  More disabled and veteran employees may also join companies with the option to avoid urban congestion and commutes that can be challenging.

The Science

All these benefits do not add up to heaven on earth in a vacuum of cultural planning unlike any we’ve had to do before.  Social isolation, reduced work-life boundaries, communication barriers, and a general lack of that practical apprentice-style “on the job” training for inexperienced workers are just a few of the potential downsides that can present serious risks to productivity and retention.  Research indicates that to build and maintain a healthy remote worker culture, employers should consider the following factors:

1. Communication and collaboration: Regular and effective communication channels are crucial to keep remote workers connected and engaged. Utilizing video conferences, instant messaging platforms, and project management tools can facilitate collaboration and maintain a sense of team cohesion.
2. Trust and autonomy: Empowering remote workers with autonomy and trust can enhance their motivation and productivity. Providing clear expectations, setting goals, and fostering a results-oriented work environment can help remote employees feel valued and motivated.
3. Well-being support: Employers should prioritize the well-being of remote workers by encouraging work-life balance, promoting self-care practices, and offering resources for mental health support. Virtual wellness programs, flexible schedules, and regular check-ins can contribute to a healthier work culture.
4. Virtual social interactions: Building virtual social connections among remote workers can combat feelings of isolation. Employers can organize virtual team-building activities, online social events, or even virtual coffee breaks to foster a sense of community and camaraderie.
5. Continuous feedback and recognition: Regular feedback and recognition are essential for remote workers to understand their performance and feel appreciated. Employers should establish feedback mechanisms, conduct performance evaluations, and acknowledge achievements to boost morale and maintain productivity.

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Model Performers

Several companies have successfully built remote cultures, and their approaches can serve as valuable examples.  Here are a few prominent ones:

1. Automattic (WordPress): Automattic is known for its fully distributed workforce. They prioritize open communication and transparency by using tools like Slack, P2 (an internal blog), and video conferencing.  They encourage asynchronous communication, allowing employees to work at their own pace and in their preferred time zones.  Regular meetups and team-building events help foster strong connections among remote employees.
2. GitLab: GitLab is a company that operates on a fully remote model. They emphasize a transparent and inclusive work culture by documenting processes, workflows, and company information in an open handbook accessible to all employees.  They promote asynchronous communication, use collaborative tools like GitLab itself and video calls, and have virtual coffee chats and team-building activities to encourage social interaction.
3. Zapier: Zapier has a distributed workforce and focuses on building a remote-first culture. They prioritize effective communication through written documentation and use tools like Slack and Zoom.  They encourage employees to set clear boundaries between work and personal life and have a strong emphasis on work-life balance.  Regular virtual team meetings and retreats help foster a sense of connection and camaraderie.
4. Buffer: Buffer is a company that has a distributed team across different time zones. They prioritize transparency, sharing regular updates on company goals, metrics, and progress.  They use a variety of tools for communication, including Slack, Zoom, and email.  Buffer emphasizes asynchronous communication, provides flexibility in working hours, and supports employee well-being with initiatives like virtual yoga and fitness classes.
5. Atlassian: Atlassian is a company that committed to a “Team Anywhere” policy in 2020. Since then, they have more than doubled their headcount from nearly 5,000 to over 11,000.  They tout their practice of “intentional togetherness,” which equates to planned times for groups of workers to be together and socialize.  Atlassian has noted that offsites create a spike of “connectedness” that fade after 3-4 months, at which time the company hosts another offsite.
6. Veeva Systems: Veeva Systems embraced a “Work Anywhere” policy during the pandemic. Their Chief People Officer reports that this policy boosted their recruiting, and headcount.  They now employ workers in all 50 states and report an “increase in interest” from potential employees as other companies are shifting to in-office requirements.  Veeva hosts offsites for whole departments once per year and “coworking weeks” in which the company pays for small teams to work together in a single office when they are working on finishing a project.  They require employees to be “camera on” for Zoom calls, have open calendars so that others can see their schedules, and work during “core hours” to be reachable when not in the office.

These companies have self-reported success with their remote cultures by prioritizing regularly planned in-person social connection, a multiplicity of communication channels, transparency, asynchronous collaboration, accountability for “showing up,” and employee well-being.  They leverage technology tools to facilitate virtual interactions and maintain a sense of team cohesion.  Providing effective and meaningful opportunities for in-person social connection and work together is valued as a regular and repetitive practice.

So….What if You’ve Tried Some or All of This and It Isn’t Working?

Your culture still seems disengaged, productivity is down or not where you believe it could be, dysfunction between key players or key functions is a constant frustration, leadership is lacking, turnover from top to bottom is troubling, ego is trumping collective goals…You know the rest if you’re experiencing this.

Psssssssssst.  Your problem isn’t that your culture is remote.  Your problem is that your culture is sick and needs fundamental care and treatment to improve before it kills your business.  If you were all in the same building, would it really be different?  If you are pining for how much easier it would be if you were all in the same building (even though that’s just not practical), recognize something really, really important.  You are choosing to blame an unbeatable enemy instead of taking a good, long, clear-eyed look in the mirror.

Culture always has been, and still is, about what human beings need to work together.  It never was about mandated togetherness, and let’s face it – many of us long-term office dwellers didn’t come out of our offices to give our colleagues the time of day unless absolutely required.  Do you remember going home and raving about how effective all of those in-person meetings were?  I don’t!  Did getting drunk together at the Company offsite and spending a few days together getting PowerPointed to death really boost productivity?  I have my doubts.  Whether you’re sitting next to your co-workers about to eat a sticky pasta salad and overcooked chicken piccata, or you’re in your own kitchen eating a PB & J, you won’t find culture in being required to share something about yourself once a week at a virtual coffee, unless the foundation for great culture is already there.  Yes, yes, those opportunities to be human together are still important.  But they are the icing, not the cake, and most definitely not the entree.

It’s about leadership that comes from a place of understanding that inspires the people you want to employ to keep showing up.  REALLY showing up.  People want meaning and purpose in their lives, including their work.  What inspires human beings to join a group of people under the same virtual roof to produce great things together?  Producing great things together, selling those things, getting the rewards…and then producing more great things.  People will put up with a lot of dysfunction and difficulty to have this feeling.  But not if they can go somewhere else where they don’t have to put up with it, and they can still have that feeling.  And guess what, they can go somewhere else.

If you’re a leader reading this, you may need a big, fat, healthy dose of humility.  Your best employees don’t need you as much as you need them.  If you need to verify that, take a look at the unemployment rate, and read about The Great Resignation and the realities of our labor shortage.  You may be the smartest person on the planet when it comes to inventing or producing or marketing or selling or whatever it is that makes you happy to get up in the morning.  But you must accept that leading people is  a science.  It may be a science that seems fairly easy to understand if you care to learn – but for the same reasons AI and game theory enthusiasts can’t “solve chess,” the perfect approach to leading people is elusive, complex, and actually the hardest thing that most of us will ever do.  Getting your employees to care about your company, to view their own success as tied up in its success, and stick with you to get from here to that vision in your head – well, that takes at least as much strategic thinking and investment as the product that’s keeping you up at night.

Steve Jobs wasn’t a “people person” according to most credible accounts.  He relied on a talented team of executives to complement his leadership style.  Through strategic partnerships with individuals such as Tim Cook and Jony Ive, Jobs built a strong leadership foundation that enhanced Apple’s culture and drove the company’s success.  Under Cook’s leadership, even though not all the leaders were “nice people,” Apple prioritized employee empowerment, encouraging individuals to take ownership of their work, which fostered a culture of accountability.

So how do you get remote workers to take ownership of their work and willingly participate in a culture of accountability and focus on results?  The same way it’s always been done – except now it’s with videoconferencing software, computers, AI and other systems and devices with more capacity than most people dreamed about even just 10 years ago, cameras with filters that make us look better, excellent internet connectivity that our kids and spouses also get to use, and engaging, interactive teamwork that recognizes all of the downsides of working alone from a room in your house.  And, as always, by living what you preach.

How to Build A Cohesive & Engaged Workforce With Enlightened Leaders

At PointerWise, we believe strongly in two critical models for teamwork, individual success, and cultural strength.  All our executive coaching and workshops are built with these models in mind.  Both are the inventions of Patrick Lencioni, a world-renowned author and organizational development expert.  Great results require problem awareness, solution awareness, strategic planning, and investment of time and money.  Here’s our take…

Solution No. 1 – The Five Most Critical Behaviors of a Team (based on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team© by Patrick Lencioni):

The science underlying Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team©, remains highly relevant and applicable to building strong and productive workplace cultures, especially in the current remote work environment.  The model outlined in the book identifies five key dysfunctions that can hinder team effectiveness: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.

Here’s why the model is needed now more than ever:

1. Trust is crucial in remote work: Trust forms the foundation of any successful team, and it becomes even more critical in remote work settings where face-to-face interactions are limited. Remote teams must establish trust through open and transparent communication, reliable follow-through on commitments, and fostering a supportive and inclusive environment.
2. Conflict resolution is essential: Addressing conflicts openly and constructively is vital to remote teams’ success. Without the benefit of in-person cues and interactions, remote teams may be more prone to avoiding or suppressing conflict, which can hinder collaboration and creativity.  The model emphasizes the importance of healthy conflict, encouraging teams to engage in respectful discussions and reach solutions collectively.  And by the way, as great as it is to have “team norms” on how people behave with each other, if they aren’t built together based on mutual trust, they become a joke – like the Charlie Brown “wah-wah-wah” you experienced when your parents told you to stop doing something they did every other day.  You can’t dictate healthy conflict from the top.  It has to be done through a process in which all are heard, and all are listening.
3. Commitment drives remote team success: Remote work requires a high degree of individual and collective commitment. Team members must align on goals, make decisions efficiently, and be accountable for their contributions.  The model emphasizes the need for clear communication and active participation in decision-making processes, promoting commitment to shared objectives.  That word “active” doesn’t just mean talking out loud.  It means you actively say what you mean and mean what you say.  In a way that others can hear and consider without defensiveness.  It means psychological and emotional trust.  Not “safety” as in I always feel excellent about myself and everyone else every minute of every meeting.  Not the kind that feels all comfy cozy like your favorite reading chair.  Hell no.  That’s magical thinking and that Koolaid is being served up a lot out there.  Being uncomfortable is a part of healthy conflict, and being committed requires people saying stuff that we don’t like.  But when they do that, if the reaction is that our teammates shut down or it turns into all-out war, or people just wait until the meeting after the meeting to build alliances or engage in self-adoration with like-minded people…well then, we are failing at Commitment.
4. Accountability promotes remote team productivity: Remote work can make it challenging to monitor and track individual contributions. The model emphasizes the importance of establishing clear expectations, defining roles and responsibilities, and fostering a culture of mutual accountability.  This helps ensure that team members remain committed to their tasks and deliverables, despite physical separation.  And it means the boss doesn’t have to be involved.  That’s right.  Accountability is ultimately a matter for peer pressure and not for the boss to drive as if we were a bunch of horses pulling a covered wagon.  Strong cultures don’t need the boss to step in except in extraordinary circumstances, which none of us should want to have plastered on our backs.
5. Focus on results in remote work: In a remote work environment, it is essential to maintain a strong focus on collective outcomes and results. That means it’s not about you, or the people you like the most, or the people who “get you” the most.  It’s about those collective goals and not any individual or mob egos.  If individual success is overshadowing collective goals by default, you need to push the reset button.  How you talk and behave with each other is where it starts.  But ask yourself what you are incentivizing too.  Do the rewards attach themselves to collective success or is it all about the superstars?  What behaviors are people modeling and why?  The model highlights the criticality of clarity, buy-in, and accountability for measurable goals.  Tracking progress and celebrating achievements are also fundamental.  Emphasizing collective results-oriented behavior helps remote teams stay aligned and motivated towards shared objectives.  If people are feeling isolated, it’s not just about whether they want to participate in the next team building call.  It’s about whether they have a sense that they are contributing to something bigger than themselves in a tangible and measurable way.  Money isn’t enough.  That’s not anybody’s end goal.  People want money because they want other experiences and things.  Give them an experience to aim for, such as a product that changes the world of work or makes a difference in people’s lives, and you’re onto something.

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Overall, the research and insights presented in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team©, are just as applicable today as they were when the book was written.  The model provides a framework for addressing common challenges that arise in team dynamics, regardless of whether teams are co-located or remote.  By addressing the dysfunctions and fostering a healthy team culture, organizations can cultivate strong and productive workplace cultures, leading to improved collaboration, engagement, and overall team performance.

Solution No. 2 – The Six Types of Working Genius (based on The Six Types of Working Genius© by Patrick Lencioni):

The Six Types of Working Genius© is a brand-new model, published in 2022.  It is a perfect tool for helping your employees become instantly more self-aware of how to find joy and connection in their work, as well as how to avoid what frustrates them and burns them out.  The model is also a recipe for how to work on a team of other humans who aren’t wired all the same.  Working Genius can strengthen remote work cultures by leveraging individual talents and fostering human connection, thereby boosting productivity and team cohesion.

Working Genius identifies six different areas of work that people tend to excel in.  These include the following types: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity.  There’s no science yet to support our theory that this model will do wonders in remote working environments.  But leveraging this framework within remote work cultures is an experiment worth exploring to enhance human connection and productivity.

Here’s how The Six Types of Working Genius© can be utilized in a remote work context:

1. Identify individual strengths: Encourage team members to identify their primary and secondary Working Genius types.  This self-awareness can help individuals understand their unique contributions and leverage their strengths effectively within the remote team.
2. Build complementary teams: Foster collaboration by creating diverse teams that encompass different Working Genius types.  This allows team members to complement each other’s strengths and encourages interdependence, leading to more effective problem-solving and decision-making.
3. Assign roles and tasks strategically: Consider the Working Genius types when assigning roles and tasks within remote teams.  Match individuals’ strengths with the specific requirements of a project or task.  This approach ensures that team members are engaged in work that aligns with their natural abilities, increasing motivation and productivity.
4. Encourage cross-functional collaboration: Remote teams can foster human connection by encouraging cross-functional collaboration.  By bringing together individuals with different Working Genius types, teams can benefit from diverse perspectives and problem-solving approaches, leading to more innovative and effective outcomes.
5. Provide opportunities for shared learning: Create platforms or channels for remote team members to share their expertise, experiences, and insights related to their Working Genius types.  This could include virtual workshops, presentations, or knowledge-sharing sessions.  Sharing and appreciating each other’s strengths can strengthen the sense of connection and understanding among team members.
6. Foster a culture of appreciation: Encourage team members to acknowledge and appreciate each other’s Working Genius contributions.  Regularly recognize and celebrate individual and collective accomplishments, emphasizing how different Working Genius types have contributed to team success.  This fosters a positive and supportive remote work culture.
7. More productive remote meetings: Working Genius can indeed promote more productive remote meetings by enabling participants to clearly state the purpose of the meeting in terms of the applicable stage of work.  This approach helps mitigate the challenges specific to remote work settings, such as limited non-verbal cues and potential communication gaps.  By aligning the meeting purpose with the appropriate Working Genius types, remote teams can enhance efficiency and effectiveness in their virtual meetings.

Here’s how Working Genius can improve productivity in remote work meetings:

• Defining the meeting purpose: Before a remote meeting, participants can collectively define the purpose and objectives, considering the applicable Working Genius types. This ensures that the meeting is focused on the specific stage of work required, whether it involves brainstorming ideas (Wonder), analyzing options (Discernment), or aligning on action steps (Galvanizing).
• Selecting the right participants: Understanding the purpose of the meeting and the required Working Genius types allows remote teams to invite participants with the relevant strengths. This ensures that the meeting brings together individuals who can contribute effectively to the discussion and decision-making process, even in a virtual environment.
• Clarifying roles and expectations: Clearly defining the roles and expectations of each remote participant based on their Working Genius types is essential. This clarity helps avoid overlap or redundancy during virtual meetings, as participants understand their specific contributions and responsibilities within the remote team setting.
• Leveraging diverse perspectives: Remote work meetings can benefit greatly from diverse perspectives offered by different Working Genius types. Encouraging participants to bring their unique strengths and insights to the discussion fosters creativity and innovation.  Remote teams can engage in dynamic conversations that consider a variety of viewpoints, leading to more well-rounded outcomes.
• Facilitating effective virtual communication: In remote work meetings, it’s crucial to facilitate effective virtual communication. Encouraging active listening, using video conferencing tools for non-verbal cues, and establishing clear communication protocols promote balanced discussions.  Valuing contributions from different Genius types ensures that all remote team members feel heard and involved.

By incorporating the principles of Working Genius into remote meeting practices, teams can optimize their virtual collaboration.  This approach helps remote teams operate with purpose, maximize their collective talents, and maintain productivity in the absence of in-person interactions.  It encourages remote team members to recognize the value of different Genius types and adapt their contributions accordingly, leading to more focused and fruitful remote work meetings.

Conclusion – Scientific Revolutions and Why It’s Not as Hard or Complicated as You Think

Human beings have undergone some rather dramatic changes in workplace norms since I was born in 1959.  My grown children roll their eyes when we talk about the days of corded telephones heavy enough to commit murder, typewriters that punched holes in the paper (and let’s not forget the smell of white-out), finding peace and solace in your car on the way to and from wherever, the dawn of copiers (the damp paper and scent of glue), cash registers that didn’t do the math for you, and cabinets full of files that required armies of people to curate.  Excitement for the possibilities and doomsday predictions lived side by side.  Just like they do now regarding the remote workplace and the allegedly impossible task of finding a way to generate culture and productivity without putting all of us back in the brick-and-mortar boxes we used for so long.

Instead of repeating the same mistake of generations before us and blaming the cultural revolution that’s happening with or without us, perhaps we should accept this as just another challenge to be met with creative thinking and a belief in ourselves and each other.  Part of that acceptance can come from understanding that even scientists tend to ridicule and resist new ideas that shake our views of “how the world is.”

In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a seminal work on the philosophy of science first published in 1962, Thomas Kuhn reached the following conclusions about how we resist change in our “scientific truths” until we have no choice but to consider alternatives:

1. Paradigms: Science doesn’t progress through a linear accumulation of new knowledge but undergoes periodic “paradigmatic shifts.” Most of the time, even scientists, trained to be objective observers of the world, solve puzzles within the framework established by the current paradigm.
2. Revolutions: A scientific revolution occurs when there’s a “paradigm shift.” These revolutions are not simply the result of new facts, but rather a reinterpretation of both old and new facts in light of a different theoretical framework.
3. Comparing Paradigms Doesn’t Work: Kuhn argues that old and new paradigms cannot be measured or compared against each other in a straightforward way. When a paradigm shift occurs, it’s not because the new paradigm is “closer to the truth” or “better” in a simple, objective sense.  It’s because the scientific community has adopted a new perspective, and the terms and concepts that were relevant in the old paradigm may no longer apply in the same way.
4. Non-Cumulative Development: Kuhn challenges the traditional view that science progresses cumulatively, building more and more accurate theories over time. Instead, he argues that scientific revolutions essentially reset the framework of understanding, and that previous theories and knowledge may be rendered irrelevant or obsolete.
5. Role of the Group Think: Lastly, Kuhn emphasizes the social and communal aspects of science. He argues that the acceptance (or refusal to accept) a new paradigm is influenced by the consensus of the scientific community, and that this process is not purely rational or objective but can be influenced by various sociological factors.

Here’s my point – we are having a hard time accepting remote culture because it’s not what many of us are used to and its uncertain territory with uncertain outcomes.  We resort to calls for throwing that baby out with the bath water at the first sign it’s not working, or we sit back and blame it for our own lack of certainty on how to lead.  Although it poses challenges, studies suggest that with the right strategies and support, employers can successfully build and maintain healthy and productive remote worker cultures.

Our suggestion is simple and doable.  Consider developing your leaders and treating how you lead your people as equally challenging and important as how you build your products.  Hire experts to help get you started and teach you how to keep it going.  What do you have to lose that you won’t lose by doing nothing?

“The great thing about working from home is you only have to look good from the waist up. The bad thing is, that’s also where my refrigerator is.”

– Conan O’Brien

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