Building a strong digital culture can feel like an impossible endeavor. How do we create virtual workplaces with a shared sense of values? How do we sustain mentorship relationships and strengthen information sharing protocols? Without a good framework in place, it’s extremely unlikely that a team can build a hybrid culture, let alone a completely remote workplace. To leverage remote work, every organization must employ tried-and-true precepts.

Here are the top 5 things organizations need to create robust remote cultures:

Strong communication policies

It almost feels trite to repeat, but communication is the foundation of any working relationship. In no uncertain terms, an open and direct communication policy is how great teams function at high levels consistently. The policies should always fit the work culture and environment while providing a clear set of protocols that leave little up to the imagination. To create truly free-flowing communication standards, some rules should be implemented that establish response times to messages and where to document conversations. 

These guidelines provide a firm and consistent basis of communication that will make organization simpler and optimization a breeze.

Open information sharing

Much like establishing necessary communication protocols, creating information-sharing hubs via productivity channels and workspaces is crucial in keeping an updated and functional organization. These hubs could be as detailed as project workflows or they might be as simple as a Slack thread with consistent updates. 

However your organization implements it, companies depend on logical and clear information sharing across departments. Draconian and traditional workplaces frequently run into the problem of siloing their information in an “everyone for themselves” attitude. 

As we have seen on a global scale these attitudes simply do not produce much more than greed and paranoia while bringing the organization down from the inside. Without information sharing, teams will quickly splinter and the disunion could be a fatal blow to a company’s reputation. 

Iterative design processes

The iterative design process is an important step in the evolution of the greater organization. Iterative design processes allow for an entire organization to work on a project in a ‘fluid’ way, from inception to deployment. What’s more, these systems can be applied to almost any department and can completely change the department’s efficiency. 

The strategies that can be employed from the kanban method to the agile method and everything in between. Regardless of the method used, iterative design processes will make your teams feel more independent and effective without having to revolutionize the workforce. 

Remote hiring experts

Another logically efficient way to create better remote teams is to enlist the help of remote talent consultants that know how to run a remote space and find great remote talent. Typically, the struggle in anything is finding the people who will flourish in a remote environment. 

This can easily be remedied by experts who know what to look for in remote talent. Small things can differentiate those who flourish in remote settings and those who can’t wrap their heads around it. Enlisting the right help will make those decisions simple and easy without requiring a class on psychoanalysis. In any event, remote experts can and will help to optimize and transition your organization to a remote or hybrid environment. 

Extensive documentation

Remote teams rely on communication and documentation to achieve their goals. Ensuring this typically means creating a policy of extensive documentation and enabling team members to easily share the information across departments. Keeping everyone on the same page is key to running the best remote teams possible. 

Conclusion

Whether you are hiring remote freelancers to help complete an existing project or spearheading digital transformation, you will need to understand the foundational concepts of the remote workplace in order to succeed. Strong communication policies and open information sharing are absolutely essential. Your team needs to set strong boundaries and set clear expectations with regular updates. 

Processes can always be improved, so it’s equally important that you employ agile strategies to continually analyze and optimize existing systems. Remote work experts can aid you in employing these strategies and can be leveraged to streamline complicated and cumbersome in-house initiatives.