What’s the best way to manage your team and nurture your company culture in the era of #remotework?

Here are the top tips we gathered from our SiftedTalks

1/ How do you keep company culture healthy?
Book time for individual and group coffee chats to connect with shy mates and social buddies
Encourage everyone on the team to host socials (bookclub, language exchange...)
Poll your team to know what each person likes doing

2/ @courtneyseiter from @hologram is a big believer in polling: “Every time you poll, take action and create change.” Learn what your team misses from the office and then recreate it remotely, she says.

3/ How do you make sure people don’t get overworked?Create an environment where people are comfortable to take naps or walks during the day to be more productive
Use tools that help people disconnect from work like Stretchly
Ask your team to set work/personal boundaries

4/ Since people are stuck at home and work longer hours, “we created a day per month where everyone’s off,” says April Hoffbauer. At @Gitlab, the team works asynchronously once a month for a set period of time.

5/ How do you bring on new people remotely?
Provide access to tools before day 1
Create a buddy system: match newbies with people who’ve been around for a while
Ask newcomers to set daily priorities
Hire people that will add to the company culture, not just “fit in”

6/ “At @Seedcamp, we’ve built a plan that has no more than two hours of face-to-face per day in the first week and created documents with links to understand the company culture,” says @Natashalytton. “Make them feel like they don’t have to hit the ground running from week one.”

7/ How do you deal with conflict resolution?
Set a call with the individual(s) involved
When body language is missing, always assume positive intent
Offer coaching or mental health services to your employees

8/ “Let’s not take this period as ‘business as usual’,” says @courtneyseiter from @hologram, who pointed out that the pandemic is a stressful situation and it’s okay not to be productive all the time. “Offering mental health counselling is important.”

9/ When asked about the future of the office, @Natashalytton from @Seedcamp thinks that “urban hubs won't disappear but will be more purposeful, like space where people go to bounce ideas and discuss. Not do productive work.”

What's your take on the future of workplaces?