Building Stronger Cultures at Remote-First Organizations

One of the go-to reasons some employers are demanding a return to traditional office spaces is for organizational culture, but there are plenty of remote-first organizations with robust cultures in place despite not being anchored to physical spaces. What are these organizations getting right? First, they overcommunicate. Everyone in the organization buys into the idea that it’s better to repeat themselves and make information explicit—and sometimes intentionally redundant—to make sure they are heard. They also take work-life balance seriously. Managers and leaders in strong remote-first cultures demand that everyone step away from their work fully and completely during their non-work time. They’re also obsessive about giving and receiving feedback and have clear and open channels for such communication to flow. Best practices for meeting and collaborating remotely have been deployed, such as making sure meetings are accessible for everyone regardless of communication style or ability. And finally, strong remote cultures support asynchronous work. If it’s within reason, employees are free to choose when and where they work.